CLEVELAND — In May 2022, Rich Iler received a devastating phone call.
"I was in Chicago on a business trip. I got a call telling me my little girl was in cardiac arrest," Iler said.
His immediate response was disbelief.
"That's impossible. She's 21 years old. How can she be in cardiac arrest? They said you better get here," Iler said.
Within hours, his daughter Tiffany was dead. She was one of two Ohio State University students who died during finals week. Police and autopsy reports said fentanyl, the synthetic opioid, killed the 21-year-old as she was about to finish her junior year.
An investigation by Columbus police said the drug was present in a bag found inside an OSU library. The students who found it believed it was the drug Adderall, but it wasn't; it was fentanyl.
"I didn't know what fentanyl was. Tiffany didn't know what fentanyl was," Iler said.
Now, Rich Iler is on a mission to educate parents and students about the dangerous drug, and so is the DEA.
"It's scary," said Joe Dixon, DEA Special Agent in Charge.
The DEA launched a campaign to educate college students about the dangers of drugs on campus.
"Don't just take any types of medications that are given to you by anyone, if they're not prescribed to you by a doctor, from a certified and licensed pharmacy. Do not accept the Xanax, all these other hydrocodones, all these other drugs that are out there," said Dixon.
That's because the DEA said those drugs could be counterfeit and laced with deadly opioids like fentanyl. The agency reached out to campuses across Ohio, including Kent State University.
Karissa Wahl is president of the Public Health Student Alliance. She said the school does a good job with resources, but education remains crucial.
"I think it's so important. We were given fentanyl test kits at health fairs on campus. It's so important. It can be so dangerous," Wahl said.
"We don't know what we don't know," said Ivory Kendrick, president of Kent's student government.
“Some people, they’re just like, alright, I guess I’ll take this to help me, and for all you know, that could be something that ends up ending your life, “ said Kendrick.
As for Rich Iler, he is on a journey to teach that lesson before it's too late.
"Tiff doesn't have a voice. I'm her voice now. I don't want to see other people die. I don't want to see other people go through what we've gone through," Iler said.
The DEA also offers parents and students information online. CLICK HERE for more information.
