PHOENIX — A pill bought over Snapchat was laced with enough fentanyl to kill five people. It's the reason one family will never get to say goodbye to their son.
Roy Plunk's family adopted their son, Zach, when he was just 6 months old. The family moved to Arizona where his son became a great athlete, playing running back throughout high school.
One day during his senior year, Zach left his house early to meet a drug dealer he met on Snapchat.
He never made it home.
“He died right in front of the house on the curb, alone, by himself,” Plunk said. “You talk about softening a man's heart, lose your child. You lose half of your heart. It’s gone. I don’t want to see anybody go through this pain.”
Since his son's death, the Plunks have joined other families around the country demanding accountability from Snapchat.
The picture-sharing app seems to have heard the families' call. The company recently announced it is trying to make it harder for drug dealers to use its app to get potential customers in a recent blog post.
"In order to be discoverable in Quick Add by someone else, users under 18 will need to have a certain number of friends in common with that person -- further ensuring it is a friend they know in real life," the blog said.
Snapchat said it also improved AI to catch drug dealers. In addition, the social media giant said it increased staffing on its law enforcement operations team.
The families don't see these new measures as enough to stop future tragedies from happening.
“If it saves a life, it’s better than nothing. But it's not going to do much. Snapchat needs to do more,” Roy Plunk said.
Katey McPherson, a child advocate with Bark For Schools, said children or drug dealers could lie about their age to get around the new barrier. She said more steps are needed to strengthen parental controls like allowing parents to know who their kids are talking to.
“The reality is kids are smart and will find a way around that," McPherson said. "If they really cared about kids they would take a more holistic approach."
McPherson said parents should talk to their kids and know how they are using all social media apps.
The Plunks hope parents understand the dangers of social media and these fentanyl pills that are killing thousands around the country.
Some families of those who have lost loved ones to drugs bought through Snapchat plan to rally outside of the company’s headquarters Friday to push for more change.
RELATED: Valley teen posts Snapchat video of him firing several gunshots at another teen's home, records show
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