On the same day a young girl who died tragically over Easter weekend in Sylvan Lake was laid to rest, her central Alberta family said the death was preventable and urged other parents to talk to their kids about substance use.
Olivia Dawn Johnson, 13, from Red Deer, and another 12-year-old girl from Sylvan Lake, died on Sunday, April 9, in a room at the Best Western Hotel the town about 15 kilometres west of Red Deer that’s popular with recreationists and lake-goers.
The night Olivia passed, her family said she was with a friend at a birthday gathering.
The family said the girls went swimming at the hotel’s pool, had dinner and then were having a sleepover in their own room while a parent stayed in the room next door, checking in periodically.
“There are no words for how tragic and unnecessary Olivia’s death was,” her family said in a statement to Global News. The family said they did the hardest thing imaginable on Tuesday: saying goodbye to their Olivia.
“It is still hard to believe this is all real, and we all remain in a state of shock and grief.”
Police said there are no indications Olivia or the other girl took their own lives or were killed, and believe the deaths were non-criminal.
The official cause of death is still being determined but police have told the family it was most likely an overdose.
Police also said publicly last week an overdose is being looked into, but toxicology testing takes anywhere from a few days to a few months to complete.
The family said it is confident the RCMP investigation will shed light on how the evening unfolded and, on Tuesday, made an impassioned plea for parents to have frank conversations with their kids about drugs.
“Please take Olivia’s passing and bring a bit of light from it — use this experience to talk to your children,” the family said.
Olivia was a normal 13-year-old girl, doing normal 13-year-old things, the Johnson family said.
“Drugs were never something we worried about, but it only takes once for it to go all wrong.”
Last week, her family said the teenager was a compassionate soul, always generous with her kindness and caring for others. She loved to laugh, and her sense of humour was contagious, often making others laugh right along with her, the family said.
There were “no indications this was something she was thinking about, and those around her can’t imagine how this could ever happen to her.”
Take time to talk to your young adults, the family urged other parents, and tell them about the risks.
“We would never want anyone else to experience all that we have.
“The grief and hurt seem even greater when we think that maybe it could have been prevented.”
Olivia’s family pleaded with parents to hug their young adults tight, and encourage them to talk and ask questions — even if everything is “normal” and “ok.”
“It could make all of the difference,” the family said.
According to Government of Alberta data, 1,496 people in the province died in 2022 from drug poisonings.
That includes deaths substances such as cocaine, methamphetamine, alcohol, benzodiazepines, and any opioid (non-pharmaceutical opioids like fentanyl, heroin, designer opiates (i.e. U-4470) and pharmaceutical opioids like codeine, hydromorphone, methadone).