Report: Prince had Painkillers in his Possession at Time of Death [UPDATE]

UPDATE: April 28, 2pm

Sheriff’s deputies investigating the death of superstar Prince have reportedly found prescription painkillers in the artist’s home and are asking for assistance from the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), according to several news reports.

Prince died suddenly last Thursday at the age of 57 at his Minnesota home, less than a week after his plane made an emergency landing in Illinois because he was experiencing health issues, his representatives later said.

It is unclear whether or not the painkillers played a role in the musician’s death; the day after Prince died, an autopsy was conducted but officials have said that the results would not be ready for weeks. The Carver County Sheriff’s office has reached out to the DEA for assistance in determining where the pills came from and what prescriptions Prince had obtained.

Some of Prince’s friends told TMZ that the artist had been taking Percocet since 2009 and continued to do so after undergoing hip surgery the following year.

UPDATE: The Associated Press reports that the Carver County Sheriff’s office denies reaching out to the DEA for assistance and has convinced a judge to seal the search warrant being used in their investigation.

“We have not asked them for help, or asked them to be a part of the investigation,” Carver County Deputy Sheriff Jason Kamerud told the Associated Press. “We might contact them to help us, but that hasn’t happened. We don’t have the medical examiner’s report yet. We don’t know to what extent pharmaceuticals could be a part of this.”