(SIOUX CITY, IA) It's a mother worst nightmare - to get a knock at the door saying your son is dead. Dealing with the death of a loved one can be even harder when it's unexpected. 

The body of 27-year-old Daniel Boone was found here in Leeds nearly two months ago where he died from huffing duster. Now his family hopes the lessons learned from their tragedy can help save yours.

"He was fun, he was always laughing. He was always a jokester. He was a jack of all trades," says Kay Abbe, Daniel's mother.
     
No mother ever wants to bury their child. But now all that remains of Kay Abbe's son Daniel are the memories.

"You just got to keep going," says Abbe.

About a year ago, Daniel told his mother he was inhaling. But she thought it had stopped.

"The problem with the whip-its and the huffing is it's everyday things that you have in your house," says Abbe.

Household items like canned whipped cream, spray paint or duster can turn deadly in an instant.

"In the Poison Center here, we consider them drugs. They can have mind-altering affects just like drugs, can cause sudden cardiac arrhythmias," says Linda Kalin, Iowa Poison Control Center.

"It was cheap and it was easy," says Abbe.

For Daniel, getting high was an escape from reality.
     
"People look for something to make them feel better. Everybody does. And that was his something," says Abbe.

But a cheap and easy high can easily end in tragedy.

"Of the persons who die from inhalant abuse, over a third died the first time they sniffed," says Kalin.

"There's no reason to do it at all. And you're basically playing a type of Russian Roulette," says Ryan Bertrand, Sioux City Police Detective.

Daniel Boone may be gone but his family wants to make sure his death was not in vain.

"I think a lot of parents don't know symptoms. We didn't know the signs and symptoms," says Abbe.

"People don't realize that that's killing off brain cells," says Tiffany Abbe, Daniel's sister.

His mother and sister hope talking about why Daniel died will keep another family from losing their child to huffing.

"That I love him and I miss him. And I want him back," says Kay Abbe.

"Because you only have one life to live. And when your older brother or any family member is taken from you, it's just a reminder of that," says Tiffany Abbe.

In the state of Iowa there's no law that makes huffing or inhaling illegal. But here in Sioux City, a municipal code does. You can be charged with a simple misdemeanor and get up to 30 days in jail for the act of inhaling, being under the influence, or the unauthorized sale of inhalants.

Kay says Daniel showed signs of huffing all along but she didn't know how to recognize them. Symptoms include glassy eyes, loss of appetite, chemical burns, and memory loss.

Reported by Erika Thomas. You can contact her at ethomas@kmeg.com.