YouTuber Mikayla Raines, who was also the founder of the Minnesota-based SaveAFox Rescue organisation, has sadly died by suicide, according to her husband, Ethan Raines.

In a video posted on the popular animal rescue organisation’s Instagram and YouTube pages, Mikayla’s husband shared the heartbreaking news. Wearing a SaveAFox T-shirt, Ethan Raines tearfully revealed that he did not seek prior approval from the board to disclose the devastating loss.

“This is a video I never planned on making and it’s completely devastating having to sit down and write this out,” he began. Eventually announcing that his wife died a couple of days ago, he read out a tribute dedicated to her.

“Mikayla was the most bright and shining example of what you could accomplish if you really set your mind to something,” he said. “She was never held by ideas that everyone else considered unrealistic.” The SaveAFox founder’s husband also divulged that Mikayla Raines was on the autism spectrum.

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Mikayla Raines dies after personal struggles, online harassment

Through the 11-minute statement, Ethan detailed her personal struggles, including autism, depression and borderline personality disorder. He further opened up, “She was always in and out of different kinds of therapy, trying various mood stabilisers and meds but nothing really seemed to help.”

Ethan eventually confessed that Mikyala had been a target of prolonged online harassment. The people allegedly behind the campaign included strangers, those she knew in her personal life and even other animal sanctuaries. “They consistently spread ridiculous claims and rumours and being the sensitive human that she was, Mikayla took it all to heart. And it hurt her. It her a lot,” he continued.

Despite the mental challenges that came along with online harassment, Ethan said that his wife pushed through it all and went on to rescue hundreds of animals. Eventually, things took an even worse turn as people she called close friends also began spewing the most hurtful things, leading her to feel as if the whole world had turned against her. Raines then confirmed that the mental toll of it all led Mikayla to end her life.

Per Ethan’s account, he even performed CPR on Mikayala in his attempts to revive her before the first responders arrived. In spite of the devastating loss, the SaveAFox founder’s husband pledged to continue his wife’s mission and rescue the remaining fur farm foxes and as many animals as possible.

While for the time being Ethan asked everyone to respect his and his family’s privacy, he said that there will come a day when they would open the grounds for everyone else who wishes to pay their final respects to Mikayla’s loving memory.

“We have suffered a loss that is unimaginable. Mikayla was truly the most amazing and inspiring individual I have ever known, and not having her here makes everything feel empty,” he captioned the Instagram post. “I feel broken. But I will continue her dream, and I hope to have your support going forward so that we can do good in her name.”

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Mikayla Raines’ journey to SaveAFox Rescue

In a message shared by Mikayla Raines on the SaveAFox website in 2019, she revealed that she had been working with foxes for over 10 years. Her interest in the field sparked at a young age because her mother was a rehabilitator. At the age of 15, she “bottle-fed and raised” her first fox, a baby gray dox kit she found nearly drowned next to a lawn sprinkler.

At 18, she decided to enroll in classes so that she could become a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. In college, Mikayla pursued studies in a veterinary technician program. And yet, she never followed these paths professionally.

Upon finally finding herself in the world domestic foxes, she wrote “It was in discovering the need for these domestic foxes to have a place to go when met with uncertain situations that I founded SaveAFox Rescue, which has been operating since 2017. To date, we have rescued approximately 150 foxes from certain death.”

She went on, “I no longer rehabilitate wildlife, nor do I study or work as a veterinary technician. Instead, my sole focus is to rescue these captive-born foxes, and other captive-born exotics, and see that they are spayed/neutered/provided for all necessary veterinary needs. SaveAFox also tends to their care and socialization to prepare them to live happy lives in knowledgeable forever homes. My purpose is reflected in SaveAFox’s Mission Statement: ‘To rescue and provide forever homes for captive-born, non-releasable wildlife.'”

According to Mikayla’s Instagram bio, the non-profit animal rescue operates from Minnesota and Florida. Lauren Williamson’s book “Saving Foxes: Portraits of Rescued Foxes and Their Stories” dives deep into her journey. Raines edited the piece while also offering photographs for it.

Mikayla Raines is survived by her husband, Ethan, their daughter Freya and hundreds of animals she loved and rescued along the way, as also reflected on her social media filled with countless images of these furry friends.

Tributes for Mikayla Raines

Ever since Ethan’s statement surfaced on the Internet, netizens who’ve personally followed Mikayla and SaveAFox’s journey all these years were overtaken by grief. Tributes continue to pour in on social media.

One such person mourning Mikayla wrote on X: “We lost a true hero, a beacon of hope, an inspiration and a beloved person. She helped save thousands of animals, especially foxes. What happened to her was cruel and truly heartbreaking, and she will be missed. Rest in peace Mikayla Raines.”

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Another individual said: “Absolutely devastated by the loss of Save a Fox’s Mikayla Raines right now. She was a beautiful soul who dedicated her life to rescuing animals. I’m not sure what drove others to be so cruel to her, but please remember to be kinder to animals AND your fellow humans.”

A third person added: “as someone who has followed/subscribed SaveaFox for almost 2 years… this was absolutely devastating and shocking… imagine bullying, harassing, hating, and spreading rumours about someone that’s doing God’s work on rescuing foxes? condolences to her family and friends.”

Many joined in and urged others to consider purchasing SaveAFox rescue merchandise and donating to them in the time of need. Another group of people seemingly familiar with the hate campaign against Mikayla noted “the saveafox snark subreddit” that supposedly spewed vicious remarks against her had gone private.

A fellow non-profit wildlife sanctuary, Juniper Wildlife Refuge, commented on the IG post: “This is so tragic. So many in our community have foxes that only came to us because of Mikayla’s dedication to her mission and empathy toward animals. We will all carry a small piece of her light that lives on through them. There are really no words to describe how sorry I am for your loss and the pain that you and all of her loved ones are suffering. I hope her memory continues to bring all of you strength.”