Mum issues warning after heartbreak as daughter, 34, is found dead in tent

Shawnell was once a bubbly California cheerleader was had been fighting a battle with addiction for nearly 20 years, and now her mum has opened up about what happened

Linda Renee’s world stopped with one phone call. Her 34-year-old daughter Shawnell had been found dead in a tent in woodland, leaving behind six children.

“The police called,” Linda says “I knew before they spoke that this was the one we weren’t going to rescue her from.” Shawnell, once a bubbly California cheerleader, had been fighting a battle with addiction for nearly 20 years. Her mother had done everything she could to help – but in the end she could not be saved.

Linda’s life now revolves around raising three of her grandchildren, her days filled by school runs, packed lunches and bedtime stories. In the evening she is online, making videos to help other parents understand the devastation addiction can bring.

“If one mum hears me and one kid rethinks the ‘one time’ that becomes every time,” she says, “then my girl didn’t die for nothing.”

Shawnell was a fierce and defiant child, the kind who tested every boundary and smiled when caught. Then she started school and something shifted; she became organised and popular and joined the cheer squad.

Teachers loved her energy and friends adored her confidence. For a while, it seemed as though the stormy toddler years had passed.

But behind the bright smile and cheerleader uniform, Linda noticed signs that her daughter’s restlessness hadn’t disappeared, it had just gone quiet. “The descent wasn’t a cliff; it was a staircase, one small step at a time,” she says.

At 13, Shawnell met an older boy “the kind of boy every girl wanted.” His charm disguised something darker: his mother was secretly cooking methamphetamine in the basement. What began as cigarettes passed around at school turned into alcohol, then marijuana, and by 15, meth.

Linda remembers the shock of realising how quickly things had spiralled. “I thought if I shouted loud enough, grounded hard enough, loved big enough, I could pull her back,” she says. “But addiction doesn’t bargain.”

There were stays at juvenile detention centres, probation officers, counsellors and treatment centres. Each time, Linda held onto hope. But each time her daughter slipped away again.

Desperate for a fresh start, the family moved from California to North Carolina. Linda prayed the distance would break the spell. Within weeks, Shawnell hitched a ride back to California to be with the same boy – and when she returned home she brought him too.

He did not stay for long but Shawnell’s problems got worse. Then at 19, she became pregnant by “a white supremacist who dressed in Nazi gear.”

Ironically, his ideology meant he refused drugs, and the pregnancy was drug-free. Her first daughter Kirsten was born healthy. “He left soon after,” Linda says.

Shawnell went on to marry Michael, another addict who was in recovery, and for a time Linda hoped they might save each other. But when one relapsed, the other did too and soon Kirsten was taken into care.

Two more children followed, Bella and Frankie, both born while their mum was in treatment. Frankie was born addicted and the pair went to live with Linda who said the situation was overwhelming “financially, emotionally, and mentally.”

During those years, the family cycled through hope and heartbreak. Some treatment centres helped for a while; others didn’t.

Shawnell was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which Linda, who lives in Goldsboro, North Carolina, says helped make sense of her behaviour.

“In my husband’s family, bipolar is so rampant. Everybody in his family has bipolar,” she added. “They all mimic the same symptoms that my daughter had and some of her children have.

“The addiction made sense. The behaviour made sense. It wasn’t just rebellion or poor choices. It was an illness.”

The chaos of addiction became normal for the family but they struggled on until April 14 last year when one terrible phone call brought an end to nearly two decades of relapses and recovery

Shawnell, the girl who “once lit up every room” had been found dead outside Goldsboro, North Carolina. A toxicology report concluded she had taken methamphetamine and fentanyl, a combination that has claimed countless lives across America.

In the months that followed, Linda replayed every decision, every argument, every attempt to fix what couldn’t be fixed. “I questioned myself for eighteen years,” she says. “Every detention slip, every overdose, I asked what I’d missed.”

She finally found some comfort in her faith – and a purpose in educating other parents about addiction @‌linda.renee3 on TikTok.

Linda’s advice is simple but practical, telling families to watch for signs such as missed curfews, secrecy, sudden new friends and money disappearing. Acting early is key and she advises addressing mental health alongside substance use.

What to watch out for:

• Sudden secrecy or withdrawal – locking doors, avoiding eye contact, or becoming unusually defensive.
• Changes in mood or sleep – dramatic highs and lows, irritability, or staying up for long periods.
• Loss of interest in school, sports, or friends.
• Money or valuables going missing – unexplained borrowing, theft, or constant requests for cash.
• New “friends” or relationships that appear quickly and seem to change behaviour.
• Physical signs – weight loss, skin picking, nosebleeds, or marks on arms or legs.
• Decline in hygiene or appearance.
• Frequent excuses or unexplained absences from school or home.
• Unusual packaging, burnt foil, or missing spoons among their belongings.

If you or somebody you know has been affected by this story, contact Talk To Frank for free, confidential advice on 0300 1236600, texting 82111 or visiting their website

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