A French couple who lived in Guadeloupe took their first holiday since Covid-19 and it turned into a nightmare. In August 2021, he rented a house in Palm Beach, Florida through Airbnb. The couple wanted to spend a week there with their five children, but a few hours after their arrival, their 19-month-old daughter did not wake up from her sleep, reports Le Figaro.

“We discovered that our daughter was dead after she fell asleep,” father Borys Lavenir told TF1 with tears in his eyes. When they got to the bed, the parents found that their child’s face was bruised and he was foaming at the mouth. White was flowing from his lips. The couple rushed to ask for help, but it was too late, reports news.ro.

A coroner’s autopsy and an independent toxicology report show that Enora died of an overdose of fentanyl, a drug that is 100 times stronger than morphine.

“I thought it was the sudden death of children,” says the mother. Then there was no reason to think that there could be danger in this house. “Right after I read (the report), I went (on the Internet) to find out what fentanyl was,” says the mother.

Fentanyl, the leading cause of death for young Americans

Little known in France, fentanyl is already a scourge in the United States. According to the Washington Post, the drug is one of the leading causes of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 49. A very small dose is enough to kill an adult.

So how could little Enora have swallowed the fentanyl? More than a year and a half after the tragedy, the question remains unanswered.

No drugs were found in the house. Enora’s parents announced that they would go to court. They are suing the rental giant Airbnb, the homeowner, the rental manager and the previous tenant who threw the party a few days ago.

The family claims that the fentanyl was left somewhere in the house by the partygoers and claims that the house was not cleaned.

“Actually, someone just didn’t clean the house properly,” Mom says, and Dad, for his part, says that it can’t just end like that and he needs to know what happened.

It is not known how Enora ended up ingesting the synthetic opioid

Airbnb has yet to respond to the lawsuit, but the Washington Post said, “Our thoughts are with the Lavenir family and their loved ones for their terrible loss.”

For their part, the owner and former tenant in their answers to the court accused the parents of “negligence”, the tenant added that he cannot be responsible for what happened.

No one knows how Enora ended up ingesting the synthetic opioid, which has already become a major problem in the United States. Federal agents say they have seized enough fentanyl to kill every American in 2022, while only two milligrams are needed to kill an adult.

The highly addictive substance is 50 times stronger than heroin, making it the most dangerous drug threat facing the United States.

The drug is so powerful that the lethal dose is small enough to fit on the tip of a pencil.

Police investigation

Investigators failed to find evidence of fentanyl in the vacation home rented by the French. Police initially suspected the parents, but investigators found no traces of drugs among their belongings, and Lida and Boris tested negative.

Investigators tried to question previous residents, including one who admitted to throwing a party where cocaine was involved.

“At this time, I cannot determine how the child Enora Lavenir ingested the fentanyl,” the researcher wrote in the latest report.

“Therefore, I cannot determine the probable cause of abuse or neglect that led to Enora’s death. The manner of death is currently classified as accidental,” said the report, cited by The Washington Post. The case has been closed pending further investigation.

Deaths of children who have taken fentanyl are still rare compared to the devastating effects the drug has on adults, especially drug users.

An “epidemic” of fentanyl deaths

But stories like Enora’s have prompted activists, families and elected officials to sound the alarm and push for reform and action.

Fentanyl has become one of the leading causes of death in Americans between the ages of 18 and 49. This is already turning into an epidemic.

The families of at least 15 teenagers and young adults have sued Snapchat over online drug sales.

However, these cases are complicated by the difficulty of tracing the origin of the deadly fentanyl.

Most likely, the Mexican cartels remain the main source of supplies to the American market. (Photo source Dreamstime)