COYOTES KILLED YOUNG FOLKIE...Taylor Mitchell

Here's your Halloween horror...a talented 19 year-old singer who released her first CD less than six months ago has died after being mauled by two coyotes.

Taylor Mitchell was hiking in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Highlands National Park when she was set upon by the wild animals. Park rangers rushed to the scene, fired some shots, and wounded one of the coyotes. The animals raced away. So far nobody knows if the coyotes were rabid.

Fatally mauled, Taylor died the following day, October 28, after being airlifted to a hospital in Halifax. In a remarkable statement to reporters, Taylor's mom, Emily Mitchell, voiced concern for the hunt that brought down several coyotes in the area.

"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." This was reportedly only the second fatal incident involving coyotes and humans. The first was back in 1981 when a 3 year-old girl, Kelly Keen, was killed near her home in Glendale, California.

Emily Mitchell added, "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."

Too soon? The timing was rotten. She had just been nominated for a Canadian Folk Music Award as "Young Performer of the Year," and she won praise at July's Winnipeg Folk Festival for her performance, and her debut CD, "For Your Consideration." Some felt she showed the same promise as another Canadian artist, Joni ("No Regrets Coyote") Mitchell, who was not related to young Taylor.

For your consideration, listen to two of her remarkably mature, and instantly haunting songs, "Clarity" and "Don't Know How I Got Here." You'll find more about Taylor, and the Taylor Mitchell Memorial Fund, at her website: http://www.taylormitchell.ca.
DON'T KNOW HOW I GOT HERE by TAYLOR MITCHELL
CLARITY by TAYLOR MITCHELL