Vanished Without a Trace: What Happened to Nikki McCain?

A text message. A borrowed SUV. A midnight drive. That's all Nikki Cheng Saelee-McCain's family had to go on after the 39-year-old mother of four disappeared without a trace in May 2024. Nearly a year later, the case has shifted from a search for a missing woman to a homicide investigation — and the details are as haunting as they are unresolved.

The Last Known Movements

On the night of May 17, 2024, Saelee-McCain sent her family a series of texts saying she was at a hospital in Redding, California, due to an emergency involving her brother-in-law.

According to her family, she left the hospital with her mother-in-law in a possibly borrowed white Chevy Tahoe. After dropping her mother-in-law at her home on Redding Rancheria — a Native American reservation — Saelee-McCain drove back to her residence. But then she texted her family that she was returning the vehicle sometime after midnight. That was the last time anyone heard from her.

After days of silence, she was reported missing by family members on May 21, 2025.

Is It Actually Murder?

Initially treated as a missing person case, Saelee-McCain's disappearance was eventually reclassified as a homicide by the Shasta County Sheriff's Office in March 2025. Investigators cited compelling evidence, interview details, and the absence of any contact from Saelee-McCain as reasons for this conclusion.

Federal agencies — including Homeland Security and the FBI — assisted with the investigation. Multiple search warrants were served, including at Saelee-McCain's home in Anderson, California, where she had been living at the time of her disappearance. Authorities stated that they had identified persons of interest but were withholding their names due to the ongoing nature of the case.

Troubled Relationship and Legal Shadows

Saelee-McCain's husband, Tyler McCain, came under public scrutiny early on. In December 2023, he was charged with four felony counts related to an alleged domestic violence incident involving Saelee-McCain.

He pleaded not guilty, and Saelee-McCain was scheduled to appear at a settlement conference on June 3, 2024 — just over two weeks after she vanished. When she failed to appear, the case against McCain was dropped.

District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett explained the difficult decision in an interview reported by NBC News, "I hear the community's pleas for answers and justice for Nikki Cheng McCain. I share in those sentiments and frustrations ... in the United States, everyone has a constitutional right to confront the witnesses against them. That means the accuser — the victim — must be present in trial to testify against them. And we haven't been able to locate her."

Still, the charges could be reinstated if new evidence emerges.

A Public Plea and Private Pains

Tyler McCain's only public statement came nearly 10 months after Saelee-McCain vanished. At a March 2025 press conference reported by NBC News, he addressed the media and offered a brief apology for not speaking out sooner, saying, "I'm just here in support, so anything that I can do, I want to do that." He also added a message for his wife, saying, "We miss you."

Meanwhile, Saelee-McCain's sisters Chloe Saelee and Kaye Ford have taken guardianship of her four children and only had this to tell NBC News, "Our mission is clear. We must bring Nikki home."

The Unknown Driver

There is only one public lead still on the table: a mysterious red truck with an unknown driver who may have picked up an unidentified man along Highway 36 between May 18 and May 25, 2024.

Authorities have not revealed the significance of this red truck at the time of writing. Whether Saelee-McCain will be found remains uncertain, but it is clear that her family wants her back.

This investigation is ongoing.

References: Calif. Mom Texted Family Members and Then Vanished without a Trace. Now Police Believe She Was Murdered | Nikki Cheng-Saelee McCain's missing person case now being investigated as a homicide | Husband of missing Redding, California woman Nikki Cheng Saelee-McCain speaks out for the first time since her May 2024 disappearance | Family of Nikki McCain relieved, saddened by homicide ruling; still seeking answers