The Daily Populous Tuesday June 24th, 2025 evening edition
Authored by nbcnews.com and submitted by velvet_funtime

Animal rescue activist and YouTube star Mikayla Raines has died by suicide, according to her husband. She was 29.

Ethan Raines announced her death in an emotional video he posted to her YouTube channel on Monday.

He said that for years his wife suffered from various mental health issues and struggled to cope with online criticism.

"She couldn’t bear what she was feeling any longer, and she ended her life," he said. "And it breaks my heart that someone who is selfless and devoted her life to animals could have so much negativity pointed at her."

"And to those of you that pushed her to this, every one of you that had been responsible for making her feel this way, I wish you had to feel what she felt," he added. "I wish you had to feel what I feel."

Mikayla Raines created an animal rescue nonprofit, SaveAFox Rescue, in 2017, when she was just 20 years old. The organization, which is based in Lakeville, Minnesota, is dedicated to rescuing foxes from fur farms and providing them with "forever homes." The nonprofit has saved more than 150 foxes, according to its website.

In the years since, Mikayla Raines built a large following on social media dedicated to her advocacy efforts, accruing more than 2.4 million followers on YouTube and hundreds of thousands of followers on other social media sites.

Ethan Raines said he performed CPR on his wife for fifteen minutes before paramedics arrived.

He encouraged those who are "feeling lost and hopeless" to reach out to friends, family or a crisis hotline, and for those with loved ones who are struggling to "do something or say something before it’s too late."

"Despite this being the biggest loss of my life and feeling like I have a literal hole in my chest," he said. "I will not let Mikayla's light be extinguished, and I won’t let negativity win, and I won’t let her mission fall apart."

He said that he intends to continue his wife's work and requested privacy in the near future.

"As long as you guys will continue to support all of us here at SaveAFox," he said. "We will keep pushing forward. I’m confident we can bring more light to this world, and we’ll be doing it for Mikayla."

The wildlife activist also leaves behind a young daughter who was featured regularly on her social media accounts, Freya.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.

Uselesscrabb on June 24th, 2025 at 15:40 UTC »

Her husband's video is beyond heartbreaking. I've followed Mikayla and Save a fox for years now and she loved her animals so fiercely. I cannot even imagine how Finnegan and Dixie are doing without her. May her husband and young daughter Freya have the time to grieve ❤️

L1ttleMonster on June 24th, 2025 at 15:40 UTC »

Imagine bullying an animal rescuer…

PennMarx on June 24th, 2025 at 15:31 UTC »

Oh no, this is tragic... She spent so much time and energy saving foxes, and people were bullying her for it? What the fuck is wrong with people on the internet to do something like that to an animal advocate? Goodness, we need more people like her, not fewer... RIP.