A message on her official website confirmed that she was “hiking alone on the Syline Trail when a pair of coyotes attacked her”.
Tourists apparently rushed to her aid when they heard screaming, but they found Mitchell bloody and bruised, with multiple wounds all over her body. She was airlifted to hospital but died on Wednesday morning.
The message on her website reads:
“We are devastated by the loss of our dear friend Taylor Mitchell.
If you would like to leave a message for Taylor’s friends and family, please sign the guestbook. Then browse around the site and get to know Taylor just a little bit through her music, words and images. You can also head to Taylor’s MySpace page and listen to some music from a wonderful talent who was taken way too early.”
Park officials said it was highly unusual for coyotes to be involved in such an aggressive attack.
Newspapers are reporting that one of the animals was later shot by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, but the other coyote got away.
Ten daysearlier, Mitchell had excitedly blogged about completing “my first ‘official’ show of the tour”, adding, “I could definitely get used to doing these.”
She was a rising star of the folk music scene, having been recently nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award, and she was due to play at a concert after her hike.
“She was happy in her last days, which is comforting,” says fellow folksinger, Jadea Kelly. “She was doing what she loved.”
