TV reporter announces the death of his own daughter

A South Dakota journalist who covered the opioid crisis for years reported the death of his own daughter last week.

Angela Kennecke chose to share the loss of her daughter Emily Groth on the KELO-TV news channel to raise awareness of this alarming trend.

"Because if only one person hears me, if one person does one thing to save a life, then I make fun of a million defeatists or people who do not understand," Kennecke said in a statement. a special segment.

"I just care about this mother that I can stop feeling the pain that I have," she said.

Groth had been addicted for more than a year before her death on May 16, the station reported.

Kennecke was surprised to learn that his daughter was shooting heroin because of her middle class education, she said in an interview Friday.

Synthetic opioids such as fentanyl are often mixed with black market supplies of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine and anti-anxiety medications.

An autopsy revealed that Ms. Groth had six times what would be considered a therapeutic dose of fentanyl for a tall man, said Kennecke, adding that his daughter "was only a young woman" and " had no chance ".

She said she noticed red flags in the weeks leading up to her daughter's death.

"Everything in my instincts has said that something is really wrong here," Kennecke said.

An intervention for Ms. Groth was scheduled for May 19.

Kennecke said reporting on the opioid crisis and helping his daughter was a balancing act.

"I had to make a very good line between trying to help her, trying to talk to her and away or repelling her," she said in a KELO clip.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of 155 Americans die each day in the United States from an overdose of opioids.

Kennecke has set up a fund called Emily's Hope to raise funds to pay for treatments for people with addictions.

This article was published on Fox News and has been reissued here with permission.