Mikayla Raines’ Husband Honors Her Legacy With a Quiet Night Ritual

25 June 2025

Mikayla Raines, her pet rescue fox Finnegan. Mikayla Raines/Instagram

Just days after the tragic loss of Mikayla Raines, the beloved YouTube star and founder of SaveAFox Rescue, her husband Ethan Frankamp shared a profoundly moving moment that spoke volumes. On the night of June 25, Ethan filmed himself walking Finnegan, Mikayla’s cherished rescue fox, under a soft glow of streetlamps.

With a tremulous voice, he spoke of Mikayla’s unwavering dedication to the nightly ritual “no matter how long or terrible our day was, no matter how cold” and admitted he hadn’t felt up to it that evening. Yet he knew Mikayla wouldn’t have skipped it. “At least I can do this,” he said, hoping she could see him and be proud of him for continuing what she started.

This video marks Ethan’s first public message since announcing Mikayla’s death by suicide on June 23. In his earlier announcement, he recounted finding her lifeless and performing CPR for 15 harrowing minutes before help arrived. He also revealed that relentless online bullying from strangers and even people she trusted had weighed heavily on her sensitive heart, describing how she began to feel as though “the entire world had turned against her”.

Mikayla founded SaveAFox in 2017, turning her lifelong passion for foxes into a mission that attracted millions of viewers and helped rescue hundreds of animals. Her nonprofit grew into the largest fox sanctuary in the U.S., and Mikayla’s warm, educational videos brought intricate wildlife care into viewer homes. But that same visibility exposed her to an undercurrent of criticism and cruelty that intensified over time.

In the new nighttime footage, Ethan’s voice breaks with grief more than once. He describes Finnegan’s loyal wait at the gate, the fox’s joy as Ethan clips on the leash and steps into the yard. Each movement is ritual and remembrance. “She’d want me to do this,” he murmurs. His gesture to honor Mikayla through this quiet act is a defiant continuation of her legacy.

Ethan also used the video’s emotional weight to deliver a message of hope. He implored anyone feeling lost or overwhelmed by negativity to seek help, reinforcing the message from his earlier post.

For those who loved Mikayla, watching Ethan walk Finnegan through the night feels like bearing witness to the bridge between her world and his. He may not match her energy or resilience, but in that simple walk, he sustains the bond she built with her animals and her audience. It’s a moment of gentleness in grief both memorial and mission.

As Ethan steps forward in the coming days to continue SaveAFox’s rescue work, it will be this memory that of Mikayla ensuring every creature she loved had its place and its walk that guides him. It’s a tribute not just to her unwavering devotion to animals but to the profound impact carried even in quiet footsteps beneath the night sky. In grief and gratitude, he keeps moving.