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A well-loved YouTube personality and fervent advocate for animal rights took her own life after enduring persistent cyberbullying, as disclosed by her grief-stricken husband.
Mikayla Raines, a renowned content creator and the founder of the Save A Fox animal rescue center, was subjected to a sustained campaign of online harassment by individuals she knew, as well as those associated with other animal sanctuaries, over a period of time, revealed her husband Ethan Frankamp in a poignant YouTube video released on Monday.
The 29-year-old was also a mom to a baby daughter.
Expressing his profound anguish, Frankamp addressed the perpetrators directly, stating, “To those of you who contributed to her suffering, every single individual who played a part in making her feel this way, I hope — I hope you had to witness my discovery of her, and I hope you had to observe my attempts at resuscitating her for 15 minutes until the paramedics arrived,” Frankamp expressed.
“I wish you had to watch helplessly as paramedics attempted to revive her lifeless body.”
Recently, Raines’ close friends began to criticize her, according to Frankamp. He claimed the criticism caused her mental health to take a tragic turn for the worse.
“She felt as if the entire world had turned against her,” he shared. “She has always battled with borderline personality disorder, causing emotional instability as well as impulsive behaviors, but this time it went too far. She couldn’t bear what she was feeling any longer and she ended her life.”
Frankamp added that his wife also had autism and struggled with depression.
He ended the tearful video by telling critics spreading “garbage” rumors to “shut up” — and urged people feeling “lost and hopeless” to reach out to a loved one or call a hotline for help.
“Despite this being the biggest loss of my life and feeling like I have a literal hole in my chest, I will not let Mikayla’s light be extinguished and I won’t let negativity win,” he added.
The Minnesota mother’s death announcement came one day after her husband posted a sweet video of Raines smiling after she rescued a lemur that didn’t appear to be house-trained.
The Save A Fox YouTube channel boasts 2.45 million subscribers.
“She was never in it for fame, money or personal gain,” Frankamp said. “She was truly one of the most selfless people I have ever known. She put the animal’s well-being over her own time and time again.”
Frankamp said he “will do whatever I can” to continue the Save A Fox rescue center.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.