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Sandi Raines says her daughter was driven by an unrelenting passion to care for animals, inspiring millions of internet users along the way.
“All her mind ever said was, ‘I got to find places for these animals,'” she said of her late daughter, Mikayla Raines, known to the internet as the face of Save a Fox Rescue and for her fox friend, Finnegan.
Raines died by suicide on Friday, June 20, her mother said.
The 30-year-old fox rescuer based in southeast Minnesota died by suicide as a result of mental illness and harassment she faced from other animal rescuers online, her husband Ethan Frankamp said in a video shared with more than 2.4 million subscribers on Raines’ YouTube channel Monday, June 23.
For the majority of her life, Raines dealt with autism, depression and borderline personality disorder, Frankamp said in his video. Raines often found herself in dark moments of elongated sadness she couldn’t understand, Sandi said.
“She made such an impact, even though she struggled so much,” Sandi told USA TODAY through choked up tears on Wednesday.
In 2017, Raines established her nonprofit, Save a Fox Rescue, located in Rice County, Minnesota. With the intention of saving foxes from the fur trade industry, the rescue had saved “thousands” foxes since opening, Sandi said. In 2020, Raines and her team opened a second Save a Fox location in Lake County, Florida.
Before her death, Raines had been working with a fur farmer to rehab and rehome about 500 foxes, Sandi said. In 2024, Raines spent about $1 million moving 400 foxes from the farm and getting them the proper care they needed. About 100 foxes remained in need of care at the time of her death, Sandi said.
“It had really been wearing on her,” Sandi said. “She would sit here and she’d go, ‘Mom, I feel like I’ve failed. I only found homes for 400 of these foxes,’ and I’m like, ‘Mikayla, do you understand that people that are even in good health … to be able to do what you have done in 16 months? Do not beat yourself up. We’ll get this done.’ But it was so wearing on her and every time she loses any animal it was just so hard on her.”
Raines didn’t stray away from discussing the weight of operating the rescue. In a social media video posted in December 2024, Raines told followers she “didn’t think I can handle it,” after the death of one of the rescue’s beloved foxes, Felix.
“When I was younger and a fox would pass away, obviously I would take it really hard, but I would bounce back, but I think just like all the trauma of loss over the years, like I’m just not bouncing back anymore,” Raines said through tears in the video. “I don’t feel passion or happiness or drive to keep going. I just feel a lot of pain.”
A celebration of life will be held for Raines on July 12 at Save a Fox, where her ashes will also be scattered, Sandi told USA TODAY.
An everlasting love for animals
Mikayla was introduced to wild animals through Sandi, who was a licensed wildlife rehabber throughout Mikayla’s childhood. Sandi said Mikayla had an “unbelievable” relationship with animals, able to “walk up to a wild deer and talk to it.”
Sandi, who is now 76, said it was a surprise when she gave birth to Mikayla at age 46. She said she found herself turning to God, questioning why she gave birth at an older age. But her daughter’s passion for animals made it all make sense.
“And I would think, ‘I know why you’re here now,'” Sandi told USA TODAY.
When Mikayla was about 16, she and her mother took in a baby wild fox. Naming the critter Finnegan, the fox has been prominent throughout Mikayla’s social media content. Sandi said Mikayla even taught Finnegan how to use a dog pee pad inside.
“She’d get off the school bus and the fox (Finnegan) would run out of the woods and see her off the bus,” Sandi said through tears.
Fans, animal rescue community mourn loss, start petition
In the days since Frankamp’s video went live, countless fans of Raines’ and other animal rescues throughout the country have shared their condolences online.
In addition to messages of support, thousands of users have signed an online petition to shut down internet communities created for the purpose of bashing public figures and in many cases, female influencers. As of June 26, more than 15,700 people had signed the petition, asking Reddit to provide stricter policies around hateful content.
“Reddit condemns hate, harassment, and bullying, and explicitly prohibits this behavior in our sitewide rules,” a Reddit spokesperson told USA TODAY. “Our dedicated internal safety teams enforce these rules, including banning users and subreddits, using a combination of automated tooling and human review.”
Leaving behind a loving husband, young daughter
Outside of her beloved animals, Raines’ immediate circle included Frankamp, who she had been married to since December 2020, Sandi said, and her 3-year-old daughter Freya.
Sandi said Raines and Frankamp met at the rescue – he was a volunteer − and also got married there.
“I thank God so much when he came into her life because he took over where I left off,” Sandi said. “His love and concern for her was like my love and concern for her.”
“He loved her so much,” she said.
Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Story idea? Email her at gcross@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mikayla Raines’ mom remembers daughter’s unwavering love for animals
