The mother of Taylor Mitchell, the 19-year old Canadian folk singer who was killed by coyotes while hiking on Tuesday, released a statement today about her daughter’s tragic death:
On behalf of my family, I want to express my deepest thanks for the outpouring of condolences and support from Taylor’s friends and fans, near and far. My thanks to the hikers who called 911, the RCMP officer who first arrived on the scene and did his utmost to help her, as well as the incredible doctors and nurses at Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Halifax who tried desperately to save her. I wish to also thank RCMP’s Victims Services, and the Atlantica Hotel who’ve gone out of their way to support us during this difficult time.
There are no words to describe my grief. Taylor was my shining light, my baby, my confidante and best friend. My world is turned upside down and forever transformed without her. I don’t know how to move forward from here but I know that she would want that for me and I will try to do that in her memory and celebrate her life in the way she lived it—with passion, commitment and an unbridled loving heart.
I’ve noticed that the media have often mentioned that Taylor was hiking alone when the coyote attack occurred. I want people to know that Taylor was a seasoned naturalist and well versed in wilderness camping. She loved the woods and had a deep affinity for their beauty and serenity. Tragically it was her time to be taken from us so soon.
We take a calculated risk when spending time in nature’s fold—it’s the wildlife’s terrain. When the decision had been made to kill the pack of coyotes, I clearly heard Taylor’s voice say, “please don’t, this is their space”. She wouldn’t have wanted their demise, especially as a result of her own. She was passionate about animals, was an environmentalist, and was also planning to volunteer at the Toronto Wildlife Centre in the coming months.
Her loss is an incomprehensible tragedy on so many levels—but everybody’s messages of love and support and desire to keep her memory and music alive will help me to move forward and honour her short but full and vibrant life.
There will be a service and visitation, as well as a concert to celebrate her life and music.
Details will be finalized in the coming days.
With love and deep appreciation,
Emily Mitchell
More Taylor Mitchell:
Music Mix: Taylor Mitchell: So who was this talented young singer?
Sad story. Fix the headline — the ‘s’ is missing in “responds.”
Tragic in so many ways.
So sad. My sympathies to her family. Who would’ve thought a pack of coyotes would attack a human. Although, I guess it shouldn’t be too surprising because a pack of domesticated dogs will attack a person.
Very sad story.
If the coyotes attacked her out of their natural instincts, then I feel you should not kill the pack. But if they were influenced by rabies or another disease, then I think the control measure is needed to kill them so that a) no one else gets hurt, b) the disease does not spread and c) to put the animals out of their misery.
This is such a sad story.. I have no idea how, but I actually stumbled upon Taylor a while ago and thought she was pretty good, but forgot about her until now.. Its horrible how things can turn around.
I lost my boyfriend and i know it will be hard for you to live these good words for some time. First of all it feels like half your body being ripped out and an axe in your head, but after a while it really gets easier.
My Sympathies To The Family, My Prayers Are With You.
so sorry to her about taylor i m fr nothern cape breton no ar fr the trail wher tarylor was gotten was so sad to here about her acc rip taylor
so sad to hear about this. unfortunately i hadn’t heard about taylor’s music until her death, but i think she would have been big eventually. and the coyotes must have been injured or confused if they were attacking and killing someone, since it’s apparently unusual for someone to die from a coyote attack. also it’s not like taylor was hiking at night. i read that she was hiking in the afternoon. it’s normal for a person to hike alone in the afternoon. and who knows if hiking with someone would have made a difference. two people might have died. but this is really sad and her music is pretty good. seems to have a lot of potential. so sad that taylor won’t get to play her music anymore. my thoughts go out to her mom, the rest of her family, and friends. rip taylor. i don’t know why i got so upset about this. maybe because taylor and i aren’t far apart in age. it’s sad when people die so young.
Who is this person? If I was canadian I might know, I guess.