Fox Rescuer Mikayla Raines' Husband Shares Beautiful Video Tribute After Her Death by Suicide

One month after confirming his wife's tragic death by suicide at just 29 years old, Ethan Frankamp returned to Instagram with an emotional tribute to Mikayla Raines.

Tearing up as he spoke about his late wife in the new video posted on Sunday, Frankamp thanked fans for their ongoing support "through what is definitely the hardest time for everyone here." Raines gained fame on social media for her work through the SaveAFox Rescue nonprofit, which she founded in 2017 when she was 20 years old.

"I wanted to thank you all for the comments and the letters and the flowers and the gifts for Freya," he said, referring to their young daughter, "and just for all the positivity that you guys have been outpouring on us, because it’s been really hard for the staff and the family and for everyone that was close to her."

The video was posted to the SaveAFox social media pages, with Frankamp telling the organization's followers, "I know that you all saw her as a hero to the animals but she was a lot more than that and I wanted you guys to kind of see some stuff that you wouldn’t typically see on the SaveAFox social media."

That "stuff" peeled back the curtain, showing the loving mother and family woman behind the nonprofit, offering a peek into Raines' personal life. Frankamp explained that he wanted to show how his wife was more than "just an animal rescuer," but also "an advocate and an educator and a daughter and a sister and a mother."

Frankamp went on to say that outside of her rescue work, Raines was also an artist, a singer, and "a lot of things that most people didn't get to see." And so he put together this tribute so supporters of her nonprofit "could kind of get a glimpse of what she was like behind the scenes."

"It’s really hard to watch but it is worth the watch," he added.

The video itself features extensive clips of Raines with their daughter, as well as shots of her riding horseback and spending time with various animals, including some of the foxes she's rescued over the years.

"Thank you all for supporting us through this impossibly difficult time, I hope you can enjoy seeing Mikayla in some of these candid clips," he captioned the Instagram share. "She truly was a radiant positive energy. A pure glowing individual; one in a trillion. A piece of me that I'll never get back. A loss that I won't ever recover from. But I'm so glad we all were gifted these many years with her."

In a comment to that post, one SaveAFox follower wrote, "We can see just how deeply you loved her by how you captured her in videos. She poured her heart into all that was around her. Especially Freya. She loved her so deeply. Sending you so much love. This was a beautiful tribute to her. 🖤"

"The amount of pain she must have been experiencing to leave behind what she clearly loved so deeply shatters my heart. Holding her spirit close to my heart ❤️," wrote another.

Frankamp broke the news of his wife's tragic death by suicide in a heartbreaking video posted to the organization's social media pages on June 23. Explaining Raines was on the autism spectrum and also dealt with both depression and borderline personality disorder, he opened up about her struggles.

Per Ethan, Raines "took negative to heart," claiming that over the last "few years" there has been "a group of people" who have been "throwing dirt on Mikayla's name and rescue."

"Recently, some of the rude words, accusations and name-calling came from some of those she considered close friends. I think all of this stems from jealousy and envy, but she felt as if the entire world had turned against her," he continued, before revealing her death by suicide.

"She couldn't bear what she was feeling any longer and she ended her life and it breaks my heart that someone who is selfless and devoted her life to animals, could have so much negativity pointed at her," he said through tears. "Why? That's all I can ask, is why? In a world that's filled with darkness, she was just light. She was just light."

Ethan then shared a message to "those of you that pushed her to this, every one of you that that been responsible for making her feel this way."

"I wish you had to feel what she felt. I wish you had to feel what I feel. 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," he exclaimed.

"And I wish you had to watch helplessly as paramedics attempted to revive her lifeless body. I wish you had to hear the screams and cries of her family. I wish you had to see tiny, heartbroken Freya try to understand why she can never see her mommy again."

"I wish you understood what you were doing before you did it, before it had to go this far, and I wish you understood words to have real and terrible consequences," he concluded. "If you only have negative garbage to say, just shut up."

He also urged anyone feeling hopeless to reach out for help, and told others to "keep an eye on those around you." Despite feeling like he has a "literal hole in my chest," Ethan then vowed to continue her advocacy work and keep SaveAFox going without her.