Longtime WSVN Investigative Reporter Carmel Cafiero has passed away.

Cafiero worked for more than 4 decades at the Miami station. She was known for her hard-hitting questions and fighting to get to the bottom of every story.

Born in New Orleans, Cafiero initially worked in radio before making her mark at WAFB-TV in Baton Rouge, where she became the first woman to anchor an evening newscast in the state. In 1973, she joined Channel 7, then known as WCKT, as a general assignment reporter, becoming the station’s first female journalist at a time when newsrooms were predominantly male.

In 2008, Carmel Cafiero’s groundbreaking reporting unveiled the opioid crisis, with Broward County at its epicenter.

“It was a scourge on our community. Seven Floridians a day were dying from overdoses,” Al Lamberti, former Broward County Sheriff said.

Millions of highly addictive prescription painkillers flowed freely from clinics to people. Many from out of state, who used, abused and sold them.

For Cafiero, it was never about her, it was always about the story and the people involved in the story.

Full Disclosure: I worked at WSVN with Cafiero back in the early 90’s. She will be greatly missed.