South Dakota reporter reports the tragic death of a fentanyl overdose by his own daughter

A South Dakota journalist who covered the opioid crisis for years reported on Wednesday the death of his own daughter, explaining how the 21-year-old took a fentanyl overdose a few days before a scheduled surgery.

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 do not care about a million defeatists or people who do not understand," he said. Kennecke in a special segment. "I just care about that mother that I can stop feeling the pain that I have."

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

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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 Groth had six times what would be considered a therapeutic dose of fentanyl for a tall man, said Kennecke, adding that Groth "was just a young woman" and "had no chance" .

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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 not going well here," Kennecke said.

An intervention for Groth was scheduled for May 19th.

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 push her away," she said in a KELO clip.

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

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