Soon her mother would bury her, too. Nessie's death came at a time when heroin began to take a deadly grip on this New Mexico community, set in the red dirt foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Here in the Espanola Valley, where Spanish settlers made their home in the cradle of what Tewa Indians considered holy ground, heroin has become a way of life. It has also become a way of death. Like never before, heroin is moving out of the inner cities and into America's suburbs and rural communities, communities such as Chimayo, which has seen a surge in heroin-related deaths in recent years.
Officials estimate that as many as one in four people is a heroin addict.
Despite the recent federal intervention and efforts by residents to rid the community of the drug infestation, however, hospital visits involving heroin-related emergencies remain high and overdose deaths in this region rose again slightly last year, which is a sign to some here that the drug is still in high demand. Quentin McShan, of the New Mexico state police in nearby Espanola. We have addicted grandfathers, addicted fathers and addicted grandsons. Most people in this valley have a relative that has had an addiction problem. It has touched a lot of lives.