YouTuber SaveAFox aka Mikayla Raines's mother opens up on cyberbullying for the first time since her death
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SaveAFox aka Mikayla Raines (Image via Instagram/@saveafox_rescue)Popular YouTuber Mikayla Raines, widely known as SaveAFox, died by suicide on June 21, 2025. She passed away at her home in Faribault, Minnesota, at the age of 30, according to an obituary on legacy.com.
Days after her unfortunate demise, her mother, Sandi Raines, reflected on the tragic loss in an exclusive June 27 conversation with Us Weekly.
Looking back at Mikayla's last days, she opened up about the harmful impact of cyberbullying. She also spoke about her daughter's unconditional love for animals since her childhood.
Mikayla Raines's mom discussed how cyberbullying cost her life
While expressing her thoughts about Mikayla's passion for saving wildlife and her struggle with mental health, Sandi shared,
"I thought [she] would be here a little longer, but her mental issues were … They started when she was just very, very young."
She revealed that the YouTuber also struggled with anxiety and depression. Sadly, she also received her autism diagnosis. Due to these challenges, the late Raines faced difficulties in interacting with fellow young people and making friends. Worst of all, other children also teased and mocked her.
According to Sandi's comments, her son-in-law, Ethan Frankamp, was determined to continue his wife's legacy and work hard to rescue foxes. In fact, Mikayla spent many days rescuing around 500 foxes. She successfully found homes for 400 of the animals and was trying to find homes for the rest 100.
Recounting all these efforts, Sandi further continued,
"She was just beating herself up that she couldn’t find homes for the last hundred; it wasn’t quite fast enough. She was still finding them, but not as fast as she found the other ones. She was beating herself up about that."
During the exclusive interview, she also revealed how online bullying and harassment bothered her daughter. Though netizens began trolling her on Reddit and Tumblr around four years ago, the mocking and nasty remarks turned harsher in the last few weeks. The recent hurtful comments "broke" the content creator and "put her over the edge."
Unfortunately, one of her trolls was someone whom she knew as she was helping that person with their sanctuaries. Betrayal from someone known impacted her mental health terribly. Reflecting on the deception, Mikayla Raines discussed it with her mother "a couple nights before she" went to her mom's place.
While SaveAFox did not think much about the internet comments on her or her rescue case, the false statements disturbed her. Sandi also shared that many were posting "complete lies" and accused the creator of hoarding animals instead of rescuing them.
People alleged that she was ruining their lives. Among so many people targeting her, she rarely found any netizen supporting her or he cause.
Mikayla Raines was passionate about animals since her younger days
Since her childhood years, she has expressed her affection for animals and wished to work for their protection. Sandi noted:
"She just adored animals … and there are just so many occasions where … I mean, there was a wild deer in our side yard [when she was younger], she was talking to [it], and [its] ears were going up and stood right there while she walked up to it. I just knew from [then]."
Remembering how her profession influenced her daughter's interests, she also stated,
"I became a wildlife rehab worker for the state of Minnesota, so she grew up bottle feeding every kind of animal you can [name] – from squirrels to foxes to just [about] everything. [I think] she was … about 15 when we got a wild fox. And I mean it was a little fox. It had to be bottle fed and [Mikayla] bottle fed that wild fox."
She further continued, saying,
"[Mikayla] got that little fox to potty on a potty pattern — oh my gosh, she just loved that fox."
Though Mikayla desired to keep the animal to herself, she chose to give it up later. Despite releasing the fox, it did not forget the Raines family. Sandi explained:
"We would let it out at night and it would come back about an hour later and scratch on the door and go on the potty pad and then leave again."
On June 23, Ethan Frankamp confirmed Mikayla’s death on Instagram and shared a heartening video, expressing his thoughts and raw emotions.
He announced:
"This is a video I never planned on making and it's completely devastating having to sit down and write this out but a couple days ago, Mikayla Raines passed away. This is the most hurtful and difficult time of my life."
Frankamp captioned his long, emotional post, penning,
"We have suffered a loss that is unimaginable. Mikayla was truly the most amazing and inspiring individual I have ever known, and not having her here makes everything feel empty. I feel broken. But I will continue her dream, and I hope to have your support going forward so that we can do good in her name."
Husband Ethan Frankamp, father Don Borchert, mother Sandi Raines, stepfather Del Goetze, sisters Jennifer Swanson and Ashley Borchert, and brother Jeff Goetze survive Mikayla Raines, according to legacy.com.
TOPICS: SaveAFox, Mikayla Raines, cyberbullying