A mysterious red truck may be the essential clue that advances a homicide investigation regarding a missing California mother-of-four.
Nikki Cheng Saelee-McCain, 39, of Redding was reported missing by one of her sisters on May 21, 2024 after she had not heard from her for four days.
Her shock disappearance was being handled as a missing person investigation for 10 months, until the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO) announced it believes Nikki was a homicide victim.
‘Based on evidence gathered, information learned from interviews and the fact that none of Nikki’s family members have heard from Nikki since May 18th, 2024, detectives have determined Nikki is a victim of Homicide,’ the SCSO wrote on March 14.
Detectives have identified people of interest, but are keeping their identities classified due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.
An ominous detail in the already convoluted case is that authorities are seeking out the driver of a red truck spotted around the time and place Nikki went missing.
The vehicle is believed by detectives to have ‘picked up a male adult’ off the side of a western Tehama County highway between May 18 and May 24, 2024.
Based on details publicly released by authorities, it is unclear what kind of red truck they are referring to.
Nikki Cheng Saelee-McCain, 39, of Redding was reported missing by one of her sisters on May 21, 2024 after not hearing from her for four days
Nikki, pictured with her sister Kaye Ford, was last believed to be visiting her husband’s relative in the hospital
Investigators are looking for information about a red truck that was seen when Nikki went missing (stock image)
It is also unknown who they believe was driving the truck was or who the man they allegedly retrieved from the side of the road is. Investigators have asked anyone with more information to come forward.
Kaye Ford, one Nikki’s sister, told The Sun the man on the highway may have been a hitchhiker who has information about what happened to the missing mother.
DailyMail.com has reached out to the SCSO for clarification.
The last time she spoke with her sisters, Chloe Saelee and Kaye, Nikki said she was heading to a hospital with her husband, Tyler McCain, to visit one of his relatives.
She later updated them, saying she was going to her mother-in-law’s property on Redding Rancheria, a Native American reservation in Shasta County.
Her sisters began to panic after days of radio silence from Nikki. She was reported missing and Redding police launched a into the extensive search that turned into homicide case.
On May 25, 2024, police found Nikki’s Chevrolet Avalanche abandoned in a remote location in Tehama County.
Nikki disappeared from the same town that Sherri Papini famously staged her kidnapping in 2016.
After Nikki disappeared, the charges her husband had regarding alleged domestic violence against her were dropped, sparking outrage from her loved ones
Chloe Saelee (pictured left) told DailyMail.com she has her suspicions about what Tyler McCain, Nikki’s husband, knows about her disappearance
At the time of her disappearance her husband, Tyler, was facing four felony charges tied to an alleged domestic violence incident against Nikki from December 2023.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges – which were dropped soon after she went missing, sparking outrage from Nikki’s loved ones and her community.
Shasta County District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett admitted the decision to dismiss the charges was heartbreaking.
‘I hear the community’s pleas for answers and justice for Nikki Cheng McCain,’ Bridgett said in an interview.
‘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.
‘The dismissal preserves our ability to re-file the case once Nikki is located or sufficient evidence is obtained to utilize her statements in her absence.’
Tyler spoke publicly about his wife’s disappearance for the first time last month, saying he misses her.
On May 25, police found Nikki’s Chevrolet Avalanche abandoned in a remote location in Tehama County
Tyler, pictured with Nikki, spoke out for the first time since his wife disappeared last month at a press conference
‘I’m just here in support, so anything that I can do, I want to do that,’ he said at the press conference.
Chloe – who said she has her suspicions of Tyler and what he knows about her sister vanishing – told DailyMail.com she was less unimpressed by her brother-in-law’s display at the press conference.
‘I wish he would’ve said more. I know it takes a lot of courage to stand up there in front of cameras and a crowd and say something […] but when you’re fighting for a loved one, you do it, but with Tyler I didn’t understand it,’ Chloe said.
‘I didn’t know what he was trying to say, and then he apologized. But what was he apologizing for?
‘Was he apologizing for hurting Nikki? I thought he’d give us a little bit more to push us in a direction away from him, and for me to change my mind about him.
‘But the press conference just gave me even more confirmation about what I already feel.’
