Cindy DeMaio noticed one night her daughter Rachel's bedroom light was on much later than it should have been for a school night. When she opened the door, she rushed to hold Rachel just before the 17-year-old took her final breath.

Her parents knew Rachel had been drawn into the world of drugs, and were struggling to find her the help she needed. But the cocaine she took that night was laced with carfentanil, said to be 100 times more potent than fentanyl and 10,000 times more powerful than morphine.

Determined to help prevent other families suffer the loss of a child, Cindy founded Rachel’s Angels, a nonprofit with the mission of discouraging kids from experimenting with drugs through education & awareness. Her efforts have led to school presentations given by student ambassadors and awareness billboards throughout the country, using photos of teens who lost their lives to drugs.

Click here to learn more about Rachel’s Angels: https://rachelsangels.org/

Original air date: February 13, 2025.