Thirty-nine-year-old Nikki Cheng-Saelee McCain has been missing since May 17, 2024. She last communicated with her sisters that evening by text. She was reported missing to the Redding Police Department, after no one had heard from her for several days.
The case was turned over to the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, and they are currently handling the case.
Nikki had last told her sisters she was heading to her mother-in-law’s property on Redding Rancheria, a Native American reservation in Shasta County.
According to court documents, as well as Nikki’s family, Nikki was due to appear in court for a settlement conference on June 3, 2024. She went missing just a few days prior to that.
Her husband, Tyler McCain, was facing four felony charges stemming from an alleged domestic violence incident against Nikki in December 2023. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.
On July 5, the charges against Tyler McCain were dismissed, prompting community outrage. Shasta County District Attorney Stephanie Bridgett addressed those concerns in an interview posted on Facebook. “I hear the community’s pleas for answers and justice for Nikki Cheng McCain,” she said. “I share in those sentiments and frustrations.” Bridgett described the decision to drop the charges as difficult. However, “in the United States, everyone has a constitutional right to confront the witnesses against them,” she said. “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, she said, “preserves our ability to re-file the case once Nikki is located or sufficient evidence is obtained to utilize her statements in her absence.”
Last week, on Monday, March 10, McCain spoke to the media at a press conference, for the first time since his wife’s disappearance. He told the media, “I’m just here in support, so anything that I can do, I want to do that.” He also had a message for his wife, Nikki, saying, “We miss you.” McCain also apologized for not speaking publicly, up to that point. “I haven’t been in the public eye, and I haven’t done very well with it. I apologize to everyone, especially my children,” he said.
On Friday, March 14, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office shared a press release on their Facebook page, stating that Nikki’s case is now being investigated as a homicide. “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 press release reads.
A search warrant was executed at Nikki’s residence that same day. “On Friday March 14th, 2025, Detectives with the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit along with agents of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation served a search warrant at 17277 Olinda Road, Anderson,” the press release reads. “This address is where Nikki Cheng Saelee-McCain resided when she was initially reported missing by family members on May 22nd, 2024.”
The sheriff’s office also noted this was not the first time Nikki’s residence has been searched during the investigation. “Since the initial investigation, Detectives have worked tirelessly to locate Nikki and to determine the events leading to her disappearance,” the press release states. “Detectives have served numerous search warrants, including a prior search warrant at Nikki’s residence.”
The release went on to say authorities have identified persons of interest in what they are now classifying as Nikki’s homicide. “However, their identities are being withheld due to the ongoing nature of this investigation.”
The Shasta County Sheriff’s Office urges anyone with information about Nikki’s case to come forward, and is “asking for the public’s help with identifying a driver of a red in color truck who may have picked up a male adult in the area of Highway 36 in the western portion of Tehama County near the R Wild Horse Ranch or the Beegum Gorge bridge between May 18th & May 25th, 2024.”
The combined reward of up to $30,000 “for anyone who provides information that leads to Nikki’s location” is still in effect.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit by email at [email protected] or at 530-245-6135.