A California mother named Nikki Cheng Saelee-McCain, who has been missing since May 2024, is now believed to have been murdered. Authorities have identified potential suspects in her disappearance but have not disclosed their identities due to the ongoing investigation, according to a press release from the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office on March 14. Detectives have confirmed that Nikki is a victim of homicide.
Nikki was last in contact with her family shortly after midnight on May 18, 2024, when she informed them that she was at a hospital in Redding, California, dealing with an emergency involving her brother-in-law. Subsequently, Nikki and her mother-in-law left the hospital together in a white Chevy Tahoe. After dropping off her mother-in-law at her residence on the Redding Rancheria Indigenous reservation, Nikki went back home. She texted her family later that she was on her way to return the car to her mother-in-law’s place, but she has not been heard from since.
Nikki is described as a cherished daughter, sister, and mother of four children shared with her husband, Tyler McCain. At the time of Nikki’s disappearance, her husband was facing four felony abuse charges related to an alleged domestic violence incident involving Nikki. The case was dropped in July 2024 as Nikki was unable to testify against him.
Tyler publicly addressed his wife’s disappearance for the first time at a press conference on March 10, expressing his distress and pledging to support the investigation. The sheriff’s office is seeking the public’s help in identifying the driver of a red truck who may have picked up a man in the area of Highway 36 in Tehama County between May 18 and May 25, 2024. A reward of up to $30,000 is being offered for information leading to Nikki’s whereabouts.
If you have any information regarding this case, please contact the sheriff’s office’s Major Crimes Unit at 530-245-6135 or email MCU@shastacounty.gov. If you are experiencing domestic violence, reach out to the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or visit thehotline.org for assistance.
