Mikayla Raines, animal rescue YouTuber, dies by suicide, husband says in video
"Despite her pouring out all of her love for the animals, she still found some love to give to me," Mikayla's husband Ethan said in a YouTube video.
This article discusses suicide and suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
Mikayla Raines, an animal rescuer who shared her work on YouTube, has died by suicide, her husband Ethan Raines shared on Monday.
In a nearly 12-minute video titled, "An unimaginable loss for the rescue," Ethan said Mikayla had taken her life as a result of mental illness and harassment she faced online.
Since 2009, Raines had maintained a YouTube channel for her animal rescue, Save a Fox Rescue, located in Rice County, Minnesota. The channel's following grew to more than 2.4 million subscribers.
"Mikayla was the most bright and shining example of what you could accomplish if you really set your mind to something," Ethan said in the video. "She was never held back by ideas everyone else considered unrealistic."
Ethan explained in the video that in recent years, people online, including owners of other animal rescues, had begun to spread "claims and rumors" about Mikayla and Save a Fox.
"Being the sensitive human that she was, Mikayla took it all to heart. And it hurt her. It hurt her a lot," Ethan said. "If you only have negative garbage to say, just shut up. And if you are feeling lost and hopeless, please reach out to someone, whether it's friends and family or calling a hotline."
USA TODAY has reached out to the Rice County Sheriff's Office for more information about Mikayla's death.
Who was Mikayla Raines?
Mikayla established her nonprofit, Save a Fox, in 2017, with the intention of saving foxes from the fur trade industry. According to the rescue's website, the rescue has saved about 150 foxes from death over the past eight years. Once foxes are brought into the rescue and nursed back to health, many were available for adoption. Save a Fox also works with cats and minks.
In addition to sharing videos of how to care for various animals, Mikayla discussed living with autism on social media.
Mikayla also suffered from depression and borderline personality disorder, Ethan said in the YouTube video. She spent years in and out of different kinds of therapy, trying various different types of medication, he added.
"She put the animals' wellbeing over her own time and time again. She would forgo sleep, eating and showering if there was an animal that needed her help. Despite her pouring out all of her love for the animals, she still found some love to give to me," Ethan said in the video, while choking up.
Mikayla was also a mother of a young daughter named Freya.
Animal rescue community mourns loss
Since Ethan's YouTube video posted on Monday, countless followers and animal rescues across the country have shared their condolences.
"This week, the rescue world lost a bright light. Mikayla didn't just rescue animals – she moved mountains for them," South Carolina based KJ Farms Animal Rescue wrote in a social media post on Monday.
KJ Farms explained in the post that Mikayla has recently started a financial campaign for Save a Fox to rescue about 500 foxes from a fox farm. But Mikayla's efforts to save the foxes was met with online criticism.
"Anyone in rescue knows what it feels like to say, 'Yes,' from your heart, even when your head is screaming, 'How?' She scrambled for space. For homes. For medical help. For funding. And when things got hard, the judgment rolled in faster than the support ever did," KJ Farms wrote. "Some of the very people who should've stood by her – other rescuers – joined the mob instead."
The campaign remains on the Save a Fox website and YouTube channel. As of June 24, more than 117,000 had been raised, of a $700,000 goal.
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Dozens hospitalised as Kenyan protesters, police clash
Fifty-six people have been hospitalised, most of them with bullet wounds, after participating in rallies in Kenya to mark the one-year anniversary of deadly protests against a tax bill, a hospital source says. Thousands of Kenyans took to the streets to commemorate last year's demonstrations, in which more than 60 people died, with police firing tear gas and water cannon to disperse them in the capital Nairobi, according to local media and a Reuters witness. It was not immediately clear who had shot them, and Kenyan police spokesman Muchiri Nyaga declined to comment on the injuries. Some protesters clashed with police and an official at the capital's main Kenyatta National Hospital said the facility had received dozens of wounded people. "As at 16:00 hours, 56 patients had been admitted at KNH from the protest related injuries. Majority had rubber bullet injuries," the hospital source told Reuters, adding that no deaths had been reported at KNH. The source and Kenya's Citizen Television had earlier reported that at least 10 people were hospitalised. Large crowds were seen heading in the direction of State House, the president's office, in scenes broadcast by Kenyan channel NTV before it was pulled off the air after defying an order to stop live broadcasts of the demonstrations. The Communications Authority of Kenya's order was condemned by the Kenya Editors Guild, which called it "a gross violation of the constitution". "We have been switched off from all the signal broadcasters, now we are only live on YouTube and the website," a senior official at NTV's parent Nation Media Group told Reuters. Kenyan broadcaster KTN was also taken off air, it said on its Telegram channel, adding that it would continue to offer live coverage on YouTube, Facebook and X. Protesters torched court facilities in Kikuyu town on the outskirts of Nairobi, Citizen TV reported. Flames and thick smoke billowed from the court building in a video posted on the broadcaster's X account. Isolated clashes were reported in the port city of Mombasa, according to NTV, with protests also in the towns of Kitengela, Kisii, Matuu and Nyeri. Although last year's protests faded after President William Ruto withdrew proposed tax hikes, public anger has remained over the use of excessive force by security agencies, with fresh demonstrations this month over the death of a blogger in police custody. Six people, including three police officers, were charged with murder on Tuesday over the killing of 31-year-old blogger and teacher Albert Ojwang. All have pleaded not guilty. Ojwang's death has become a lightning rod for Kenyans still mourning those who perished at last year's demonstrations, blamed on security forces, against a backdrop of dozens of unexplained disappearances. "We are fighting for the rights of our fellow youths and Kenyans and the people who died since June 25... we want justice," Lumumba Harmony, a protester, told Reuters in Nairobi. The unprecedented scenes on June 25, 2024, showing police firing at protesters as they broke through barriers to enter parliament, created the biggest crisis of Ruto's presidency and sparked alarm among Kenya's international allies.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
20 people struck by single lightning bolt at South Carolina beach
A single lighting bolt along a South Carolina beach struck nearly two dozen people on June 24, including 12 children, local officials confirmed. Twenty people were struck by the lightning bolt near the Lake Murray dam in Lexington County, outside the state capital of Columbia, county spokesperson Vanessa Diaz told USA TODAY on June 25. Twelve people visited local hospitals for treatment while six others were assessed by first responders at the scene, Diaz said. All injuries were considered non-life-threatening. No deaths were reported in connection to the strike, which came during National Lightning Safety Awareness week. Officials received a call around 5 p.m. for an electrocution, Diaz said, adding it was a "bright and sunny at the lake, with clouds nearby but not overhead." 'Horrific': Baby found dead in hotel dresser drawer, parents charged 1 year later The patients' ages were not immediately known, but 12 of the victims were children, Diaz said. "The bolt of lightning that hit the water energized a metal cable with buoys on it that surrounds the swimming area," Diaz said. "Several people had swam out to the buoys and were holding onto the cable when it hit, and others were nearby swimming. Everybody got quite a jolt, we're so fortunate that injuries were not worse than they were." Agencies responding to the scene included Lexington County Fire, Irmo Fire, Lexington County EMS and Lexington County Sheriff's Department. Florida death: Man killed by lightning in New Smyrna while on his honeymoon As previously reported by USA TODDAY, here are four ways people are struck by lightning: Conduction: This is the cause of most indoor lightning deaths and injuries. Lightning travels through wires and other metal surfaces Direct strike: The person becomes a part of the main discharge channel, usually when outside in an open area. Side flash: Lightning strikes a tall object and part of the current jumps from the object to the victim − for example, when a person is struck while standing under a tree. Ground current: Lightning enters the body at the point closest to a strike, travels through the body and leaves at the contact point farthest away from the initial strike. This causes most deaths and injuries. A fully enclosed car or truck can be an option of last resort, but don't touch the steering wheel, radio or ignition. Choose the closest large, enclosed space with plumbing and electrical wiring. Don't shelter in unprotected open buildings, such as metal sheds, picnic pavilions, baseball dugouts and porches. If a shelter isn't available, keep moving to search for a safe place. Don't lie down or crouch on the ground. Avoid trees, light poles, metal fences and bleachers. Contributing: Dinah Voyles Pulver with USA TODAY, and Nina Tran with the Greenville News Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@ and follow her on X @nataliealund. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lightning strike hits 20 people at South Carolina beach: Officials
USA Today
4 hours ago
- USA Today
Emil Bove, Trump's former personal lawyer, faces renewed scrutiny for federal court seat
A top lawyer in the Department of Justice seeking a seat on the federal bench is facing allegations that he was a key player in pushing the Trump administration to ignore court orders and make sure deportation flights took off no matter what judges said. The allegations, made by a Department of Justice whistleblower in a report obtained by USA TODAY, are now hanging over Bove's nomination by President Donald Trump to be a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which hears appeals from Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The whistleblower, Ere Reuveni, was suspended from his job at the Department of Justice after he told a court that the Trump administration erred in deporting a Maryland man to El Salvador despite a court order to keep him in the United States. His complaint leaked the night before Bove's hearing. He alleges that Bove told the Department of Homeland Security in March that it could violate a court's injunction because it had not been issued in writing; that he told people in a meeting that deportation flights needed to take off no matter what; and that he said the department would need to consider telling courts "f--- you" and ignore a court order. "I don't understand how we are seriously considering someone for a lifetime appointment on the federal bench who has such disregard for court orders," Sen. Cory Booker, a Democrat from New Jersey, said during Bove's confirmation hearing Wednesday. Bove was already a controversial appointment to the Department of Justice and the federal bench because he served as Trump's personal lawyer, most notably representing him in a business fraud case in New York City that resulted in 34 felony convictions. Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, said Bove was "in a category all of his own." He accused Bove of weaponizing the Department of Justice against Trump's enemies and receiving the nomination as a reward. He also cited an allegedly abusive management style, and Bove's firing of dozens of career lawyers who prosecuted cases related to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection. But Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa, vocally backed Bove's qualifications, and dismissed criticism as "an intense opposition campaign by my Democratic colleagues and by their media allies." "Mr. Bove checks every box," Grassley said. "Academic distinction. Federal clerkships. Complex trial and appellate litigation. Senior justice department leadership. His experience isn't just sufficient; it is very exceptional." Additionally, Republican attorneys general from 20 states, including Alabama, Florida, and Ohio, wrote in a letter that Bove's choice to represent Trump was a feather in his cap: "The courage to represent unpopular defendants under harsh scrutiny is precisely the type of character that the Senate should consider in judicial nominees." Bove, a former federal prosecutor who was born in upstate New York, said he is being inaccurately described. He emphasized his early-career experience as a paralegal in the Department of Justice. "There is a wildly inaccurate caricature of me in the mainstream media," Bove said Wednesday. "I am not anybody's henchman. I am not anyone's enforcer. I am a lawyer from a small town who never expected to be in an arena like this."
