Photo: @saveafox_rescue/Instagram
Animal rights activist influencer Mikayla Raines was officially ruled to have died by suicide, the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office determined, confirming her husband, Ethan Frankamp's initial post announcing her death, TMZ reports.
Raines, 29, hanged herself in a barn on the couple's Faribault, Minn. property in June. The activist, who founded the Save A Fox rescue center and gained popularity online as a content creator, was targeted in an "online bullying campaign" by people she knew and people who worked at "other animal sanctuaries" over the years, according to her husband.
โTo those of you that pushed her to this, every one of you that had been responsible for making her feel this way, I wish โ I wish you had to see me find her, and I wish you had to watch me perform CPR on her for 15 minutes until the first responders arrived,โ said Frankamp, who shared a daughter with Raines. โI wish you had to watch helplessly as paramedics attempted to revive her lifeless body.โ
Raines' close friends began criticizing her, which Frankamp claimed caused her mental health to shift drastically, prior to her death.
โShe felt as if the entire world had turned against her,โ he said. โShe has always battled with borderline personality disorder, causing emotional instability as well as impulsive behaviors, but this time it went too far. She couldnโt bear what she was feeling any longer and she ended her life.โ
Frankamp said that his wife, who had autism and battled with depression during her life, was victimized by people spreading "garbage" rumors and urged others that felt "lost and hopeless" to reach out to loved ones or call a suicide hotline for help.
โDespite this being the biggest loss of my life and feeling like I have a literal hole in my chest, I will not let Mikaylaโs light be extinguished and I wonโt let negativity win,โ he said.
Raines' death was announced one day after Frankamp shared a video of her smiling after rescuing a lemur.
Frankamp said he would continue to "do whatever I can" with Raines' Save A Fox rescue center, which has a Youtube channel with more than 2.45 million subscribers.
If you or someone you know is at risk of suicide please call theย U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifelineย at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or go toย SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resourcesย for additional resources.