← True Crime with Kendall Rae
True Crime with Kendall Rae
Mom of 4 Vanishes Before Abusive Husband’s Trial: Where Is Nikki Cheng Saelee McCain?
01:21:12
Loading summary
Transcript21 lines
- [00:00]
Kendall Ray
Foreign and welcome back to True Crime with Kendall Ray. Thank you so much for joining me today and if you are new then welcome. I am so happy to have you here. So guys, today we're going to be getting into a case that is so, so important to talk about because it is unsolved and the victim is actively missing. Today I'm going to be telling you about the unsolved disappearance of 39 year old mother Nikki Chang. Saly McCain and I was very fortunate to connect with two of her sisters who have agreed to come on the show today and tell the story a bit from their own words, which is always super valuable. And God, I was on the phone with them for about two hours the other day and I'm just blown away by everything that they have been through, everything that Nikki had gone through. And I mean the way that they have just stepped up to support her sister and her children as well is, is so commendable. They have been so, so strong and I'm just very grateful that they agreed to take time to come on the show and tell you about Nikki story themselves because I know they are quite, quite busy these days. But it is always just so valuable to hear directly from family members throughout this episode. You're going to be hearing from Chloe and Kay and I just can't thank them enough for trusting me with their sister story. And if you are familiar with Nikki's case at all or have watched any other coverage you likely have heard from them before, they have been very active in the case. They have dedicated a ton of time to fighting for answers and justice for Nikki and doing their best to spread the word about her case. And I want to just, you know, my audience is incredible. You guys always really come out and huge support, especially when we have, you know, family members actually coming on the show. So I want to see awesome support for them in the comments and I hope you guys will also go the extra mile. We have some steps that you can take to help them even further that we will get into in a little bit. But yes, they're just such awesome people. I really look up to them and everything they have done is just so commendable. I mean, after everything they have been through, all of the trauma that they have experienced, they have remained so strong, so focused on the end goal here and I don't know, it's just beyond words. Impressive really. Their whole family has just spent years supporting Nikki even before she went missing and I know that they're going to continue to do so until they get justice and as always, this is is an ongoing investigation and everyone that I speak about in this case is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. So with all that being said, let's go ahead and jump into the case. I did find out after recording last week that I actually had bronchitis. So I am, I think, pretty much at the tail end of that. But I don't know, I may sound a little nasally and coffee and whatever, just sick today. So just bear with me. But let's get into this. I am eager to tell you more about Nikki and the awesome person that she was. And that begins with learning the story behind her name. Nikki Chang Saily was born on November 9, 1984 in Thailand, which is where her parents had been living in a refugee camp following the Vietnam War. Their ancestors were originally farmers from China, and over time they migrated to places like Laos, Vietnam and Thailand. And Nikki's family line was among those who ended up in Thailand to escape the war. And I bring this up because Chang is Nikki's MIA name and that's what her family called her when they were together, but others started calling her Nikki when they immigrated to the United States. Nikki was the second of four siblings born in Thailand, including her older sister May and her younger sister Kay. And eventually her parents left Thailand and found their way to Seattle. However, they ended up moving again and this time they moved to Northern California in Reading, where they had three more kids, including her other younger sister, Chloe. And I've got to say, I just loved learning about Nikki. She seemed like such an awesome person to be around. She was fun, she was free spirited and very funny. And of course, I never got the pleasure of meeting her myself. But just by talking to Chloe and Kay, they really did such a great job of bringing her spirit to life and allowing people to get to know her as well as possible. And she just, you know, embodied that type of person that was always so positive and looking for fun experiences, always wanting to make other people laugh. She was that kind of mom as well, where, you know, she always wanted to do the fun things for her kids. Like she got into holidays big time, you know, even things like Valentine's Day. She would just go all out with the colors or any type of, you know, school event or you know, how they'll have like themed days at school. She would just go all out for that and always was looking for ways to make other people around her and her children have a good time. And I think that's such an amazing quality in a human now Growing up, Nikki and her siblings had the fortune of living close to a bunch of their other relatives, which meant tons of time with their cousins and building a really strong sense of family. And there were actually quite a bit of boy cousins. So the girls kind of stuck together and formed their own little girls group in a way, and that only made them that much closer. And having that experience from such a young age and having such a big, close knit family is what really made her so attached to her family and led her to want a big, close family of her own. And one of my personal favorite things that I learned about Nikki is that she was someone that always wanted to make sure everyone felt included. She never wanted anyone that she was around to feel like they were on the outside. She was the kind of person that would go out of her way in any situation to make people feel like part of the group and it didn't matter if that was someone she knew or a complete stranger. And I think she did a lot of that through humor, like even making jokes if it was at her own expense. And some of the stories her sisters were telling me the other day made me laugh out loud. And I had bronchitis. I was like almost choking, but she just sounded absolutely hilarious. Like she had that sense of humor that she was. She was just so, so goofy. And I love being around people like that. And another huge part of Nikki's personality is that she just had the biggest heart. Didn't matter who you were, she would look for the good in anyone. Her sister said that she was even into true crime. And whenever she would watch a true crime show or documentary or podcast or whatever, she would find sympathy for the killer in some way, which I know can sound kind of crazy, but I've even had times like that, and I'm sure some of you have too, where, you know, people have had a horrific background which leads them to do these horrible things. And even though they deserve to be punished, she was that type of person that could try and see the good and even some of the worst people. Her sister said that she would look at the killer in these cases and say that she could see sadness in their eyes. She always found a way to forgive people and had this positivity about her that was incredibly endearing. And unfortunately, at times this could be to a fault. And you're going to understand that more as I explain today's case. And that being said, Nikki's big heart and her kindness is just what made her who she was. And to tell you more about that, here are her sisters.
- [07:34]
Kay
Hi, I am Nikki's sister, K. Something about Nikki that sometimes people don't always notice is that she is kind of like, she reminds me of a little Chihuahua sometimes. She's super fun and bubbly and always wanting to enjoy every piece of life, but sometimes she doesn't realize she's just. She's such a, you know, physically, she was a small, little petite person, but she had a heart and a personality that was just so much bigger than what her body could even encompass. And, you know, she was super scrappy. Not what you. You would expect from someone like her. But she. She's, I guess, like a little chihuahua would go up to, like a big dog and. And still, you know, she'll. Still. She thinks she can take it on. So I think that's very, very much Nikki. She was very confident, sure of herself in that way. And, yeah, she was just such a free spirit.
- [08:33]
Chloe
My name is Chloe, and I'm one of Nikki's younger sisters. I think the best way to describe Nikki is that she is such a silly and goofy person. She is always giggly. She's also very gentle and kind, and she's also such a caregiver. She loves being able to take care of someone and she loves nurturing someone.
- [08:57]
Kendall Ray
So as you can see, after hearing the way that they describe her, Nikki was just an incredibly loved person. And I hate that we even have to be here talking about her story today. And as we get into the case here, you're going to realize what a strong person she was as well. I mean, she went through the worst of the worst before she went missing. And despite all of that, she had really turned the corner and was ready to get her life back on track. But before she was ever able to do that, she vanished. And many believe it's because of her husband, Tyler McCain. So who is Tyler? What's his story and what's their story? For almost two and a half years now, I have been on a journey to optimize my nutrition and overall health. And one of the biggest things that has helped me get there the most is planning ahead, especially when it comes to lunches at the office, because it's very tempting to eat something that I know is not going to be great for my body when I see other people eating it, or it's just easier to order something in. But if I already have something set for my meal, I'm going to be setting myself up for success. And that's why I love Factor Factor. Has Chef made gourmet meals that make eating well easy. Their dietitian approved and ready to heat and eat in just two minutes. You can feel right, feel great no matter what life throws at you. Plus, they are delicious. Factor arrives fresh and fully prepared. It's perfect for any active, busy lifestyle. And with over 40 options across eight dietary preferences on the menu each week, it's easy to pick meals that are tailored to your personal goals. Choose from preferences like Calorie Smart, Protein plus and Keto. Factor can help you feel your best all day long with wholesome smoothies, breakfast and grab and go snacks and more add ons. They really have a huge variety of options and I'm telling you, they taste great, but I also feel fueled. I feel like I just did something good for my body, which keeps me energized and motivated throughout the rest of my workday. Reach your goals this year with ingredients that you can trust and convenience that you just can't beat. Eat smart with Factor. Get started@Factor Meals.com TCKR50OFF and use code TCKR50OFF to get 50% off your first box plus free shipping. You just cannot beat that deal. That's code TCKR50OFF@Factor Meals.com slash TCKR50OFF to get 50 percent off plus free shipping on your first box. Well, in the late 2000s, Nikki was living in Reading and she worked at the Wind River Casino as a cocktail waitress. Her sister Kay actually worked there too, which was super fun for the two of them. And that's where she met Tyler, who worked there in the slots department. Now, Tyler definitely had the reputation of being sort of a flirty guy, and it wasn't something that Kay said she saw directly, but it was something that she had heard from other people. So when he took an interest in her sister, she kind of warned her, you know, make sure that he's really into you and not you and a bunch of others. But it did seem that Tyler was genuinely interested in Nikki, and Nikki felt the same. Maybe not at first, though, because he, according to her sisters, really wasn't her normal type. So he definitely had to put on the charm. But eventually he did manage to get her attention. And of course, like I've said, Nikki definitely had this super fun, bubbly personality, super funny, but she also had a introverted side, and she was more introverted than most people would have realized. And I guess Tyler was sort of the same way. And so her sisters believe that that was something that they sort of connected over. But Tyler certainly was not without his faults. He actually had a felony burglary charge and some vandalism charges. But as I've said, Nikki always saw the best in people and she saw something in Tyler that she wanted in her life. So after dating and a super long engagement, I'm talking like six years, the two of them did end up getting married. Now, in Nikki's family's culture, weddings are a big deal, big production. It's normally like a three day event, so lots of planning involved. And that's really why their engagement was so long, because the planning of it just seemed like really overwhelming, which I totally get. And eventually, after thinking about it over those six years, they ended up deciding to do something much more simple because by that point, they had already started their family. After struggling with fertility in the beginning, Nikki and Tyler ended up having four beautiful children. And truthfully, those early years seemed to be okay. At least okay enough that nobody realized where all of this would end up. Because despite how it may have started with him, it ended in the worst way possible. Over the years, Nikki and Tyler's relationship definitely had some problems. And one of the biggest problems was Nikki had accused him of infidelity, actually multiple infidelities. And one of those Tyler actually did admit to. And as you can imagine, this was a big ordeal in their relationship and caused, you know, a lot of fighting and just overall trouble. But eventually they did work through it, even though at one point her sisters really thought that this was going to be the end of their marriage. But despite how bad things got, they did eventually work it out. And the really big decline in their marriage happened during the pandemic. And by that time they were living on a three and a half acre property just outside of the Reading Rancheria Reservation on Linda Road in an area known as Happy Valley. Before the pandemic hit, she was a stay at home mom and he had a job as a spa manager. But after Covid hit, he lost his job and was home with Nikki and the kids for prolonged periods of time. And like I said, this is when things really took a huge turn, as I know it did for so many couples all across the world. And to cut to the chase, Tyler started isolating himself in the garage for long amounts of time. And Nikki was under the suspicion that he might be doing drugs. His sister was actually an addict and she had been living in the garage unit that they had. And so when Tyler was spending more and more of his time in there with her, and he was also acting different, like just strange behavior, Nikki was pretty sure. I mean, it became pretty clear that he was probably using meth. And whenever she would voice her concerns to him, it would turn into a giant argument. And it wasn't just yelling. I mean, it was bad and it turned physical. And so there were times where Nikki would end up locking herself and her children in the bathroom and Tyler would try to break down the door. Now, we're unsure if he was ever violent with the kids. That is completely unknown. But her sisters do believe that the violence was directed at Nikki and that she did what she could to shield them. But as for shielding herself, she didn't stand much of a chance. Nikki was a very small person. I'm talking tiny. She was 411 and like 90 to 100 pounds, which compared to Tyler, was nothing. That being said, as I said earlier, Nikki was very tough. Her sister said that she was scrappy and would have tried to fight back, but of course, in terms of pure size, it was very difficult for Nikki to do that. And sadly, their family wasn't even aware of the abuse until it got really bad. The pandemic, as far as we know, is when things got physical. But because they were sheltered inside, her siblings weren't able to actually see any of the signs of abuse. They'd obviously been texting like normal, but Nikki didn't tell them the extent of what was happening. Her sisters did generally know that she and Tyler had their arguments, but they just didn't realize that it had turned that violent. And it was only when restrictions were lifted that they saw her again, and they realized quickly what was going on. And once they were aware of the abuse, they desperately tried to get Nikki to report him. And just like so many others in a situation like this, Nikki didn't want him to get in trouble. She didn't want to report him for that reason, but especially because she didn't want to break up their family. And that's also why she didn't tell anyone to begin with. And her sisters also believed that she was trying to come across as strong. I mean, she was the big sister in the family. She wanted them to believe that she could handle it, that she was okay. Plus, with Nikki's big heart, she thought that Tyler would change, or at the very least, the old Tyler was still in there, and maybe with time things would go back to normal. And they actually had gone to marriage counseling on and off throughout the years, but things never went back to normal. In fact, there was one incident that was seen by a witness, and this witness said that Nikki was running barefoot away from her house, screaming for help with Bloodied feet from running through broken glass. And that same person saw cuts on her face and marks around her neck that made them think that she might have just been choked. And then in another instance, a witness said that they saw Tyler chase Nikki through their yard with a wrench. And a different time, they heard him yell that he was going to cut her head off, which is just absolutely terrifying to think about her going through that experience. But despite all of this, she never reported him to the police. But that's not to say that the police weren't called. They were actually called to their house pretty often. And whenever they would get there, Nikki wouldn't file anything. And this went on throughout most of the early pandemic. Now, when it comes to the police, I'm sure we all have our frustrations that they didn't step in. I mean, especially with how many times they had gone over there. You would hope that they would have done something about this pattern. But if Nikki wasn't ready to report him and she didn't have any visible signs of trauma, there honestly wasn't much that they could do. But they did eventually intervene when it came to the kids. In late 2021, their four kids were removed from the home and guardianship was given to Tyler's family through the tribal court. And I feel like I should just mention this now because it does apply now, but also applies later as we get further into the case. But Tyler's family is a very high ranking family within the reservation. In fact, his aunt is actually on the tribal council. And as you can imagine, the tribal council obviously makes a lot of decisions as to what does and doesn't happen. And so they decided that his family got the kids. However, Kay and Chloe fought for the kids to be in their custody, and through that fight, they were actually granted shared guardianship. And even though official reports hadn't been made, there definitely was recognition that this was not a safe environment for the children. And you would think that, that something like this would be a giant wake up call for Tyler and it would stop the abuse, but that definitely was not the case. It went on for the next two years. And during that time, Nikki would often have to spend days at either her mom's house or at one of her sister's houses. And whenever she would go there, they would try to convince her that she needed to leave him. But no matter how many steps she would start to take in the right direction, she always went back to him. And how that would usually go is that Nikki would go to one of their houses for a few days. And Tyler would text the sisters saying things like, tell Nikki I love her and I'll change. And he would even go as far as calling them and trying to explain the situation very calmly and explain why he was in the right. And his sisters even said that during those moments he sounded very believable and level headed. But of course now in hindsight, it's very clear to them that he was manipulating them and gaslighting Nikki to make it seem like he was in the right, that she was overreacting and he really was a good guy. But Tyler was not the good guy. And over and over again, despite saying that he would change, he continued with his behavior every single time she went back. And there were even points in time where his mother, Jeanette would get involved. And there was actually one incident where she got physical with Nikki when Nikki tried to go and see the kids. And it turned into this whole big thing. And in the end, Jeanette ended up pressing charges against Nikki for what happened. Yet Nikki didn't do the same in return, which was very frustrating to her family because now she had a record. But Jeanette and Tyler didn't. And ultimately, no matter how many times her sisters begged her to get help, Nikki would make up excuses, saying things like he didn't mean it. Which this is very common in abusive, violent relationships because of the level of manipulation, gaslighting and control that abusers can have over the victim. However, In November of 2023, Tyler attacked her so brutally that all of her years of silence finally came to an end. It was November 29th and Nikki had got home between 8:15 and 8:30pm and realized that she was home alone. So she goes into her room and just starts to brush her hair. And Tyler returns about 15 minutes later. And according to the police report, Nikki stated that when he got home, Tyler appeared agitated and he wasn't making any sense. First he locked the back door, then came into the room with a glazed look in his eyes and immediately jumped on her. From there, he held her down to the ground and dragged her. All while he yelled at her, what's going on? What are you doing? And as he is doing all this, Nikki is trying her best to get him to stop, trying to calm him down, but nothing she could do could get him to stop up. And so he continued to verbally and physically attack her for hours. Among the many things that he did to her that night, Tyler repeatedly hit her in the face with an open hand, pulled her by her hair, and even poured large Amounts of cold water on her from the jug that had been beside her. This brutal assault went on for three hours. Here's a quote from the report. During which time he bound her ankles and wrists together with white tape tape. He also placed a piece of tape over her mouth so she could not speak properly. Confidential victim Nikki stated that part of the tape was not covering her mouth fully, so she was able to breathe, Though she could not speak during this time, Confidential victim Nikki stated that Tyler turned her over onto her stomach and straddled her from behind, pulled on her hair, and forcefully pulled her head back, saying that he was going to kill her. It was also reported that at some point, Nikki felt something around her neck, as if he was going to strangle her. But for whatever reason, he didn't. Now, this absolutely vicious attack only ended at 11:30. Think about that. I mean, she gets home between 8:15 and 8:30. He comes home 15 minutes later. That's how long this went on. And at this time, for whatever reason, Tyler went into the kitchen, and Nikki mustered up the strength to escape. She put on her bathrobe, which actually had her car keys in the pocket. She got in her car and left. But it didn't even end there because Tyler ends up running after her and then jumped on the hood of her car as she drove away. And despite him screaming at her to stop, thankfully she didn't. Nikki drove straight to her mom's house, where she was finally safe. And she stayed there for a few days. And after that, she went over to Chloe's house. And it was after seeing her sister with two black, swollen eyes and injuries to her head, that Chloe said, enough's enough. She put her foot down and told her, you're going to the hospital. And so on Friday, December 1, Nikki was checked into Mercy Hospital, where she was treated for her injuries and where she was finally able to report Tyler. And when the officer responded to the hospital, he said that he immediately noticed that she had injuries to both her eyes, her forehead, and the rest of her face. And when he asked her who was responsible for the injuries, Nikki said it was her husband, Tyler McCain. And we also learned some other things from this report, such as Nikki telling the officer that Tyler had done this to her before, but never to this degree. Not only that, but she explicitly said that she believed it was Tyler's intent to kill her. Now, as for why he did this, other than just being an abusive piece of, it's hard to say. Nikki told the officer that she believed he used meth periodically, but but as we all know, this was not his first time physically attacking her. She did say, though, that she wasn't planning on going back there after this and that she was going to stay with her sister, which ended up being true. And the officer also recommended that she go to One Safe Place, which is a justice center for all types of victims where she could get assistance with obtaining a restraining order. Now, One Safe Place is an incredible resource center, and there are a handful of locations all across the country, and they offer a variety of free services to victims. This includes trauma treatment, acquiring restraining orders, evidentiary exams, safe housing assistance, child advocacy services, legal assistance, and more. And I will definitely be sure to link them in the show notes and description box of this episode, depending on where you're consuming this episode, because the work that they are doing is incredibly important.
- [26:33]
Chloe
When I found out what had happened to Nikki, I was very terrified. I was very worried for her, and she was very scared, and she didn't want to go to the hospital, and she didn't want to make a report. But just seeing how badly beaten she was, she was beaten to the point where I didn't even recognize her. She looked very scary, and I couldn't believe that a person could look this bad. And so I told her, that's enough. You need to go to the hospital. We have to make sure you don't have a concussion or any broken bones. And I told her, this has gone on way too far, and you need to file a report.
- [27:16]
Kay
When we all found out about Nikki's incident on the 29th, when she told us that Tyler had severely beat her, bound her, and essentially tortured her for three hours, we were all. I mean, I was initially very shocked because, you know, I was shocked that that had happened. And it had been a couple days by then, she had gone and stayed with my mom for a little bit before coming to Chloe's. I think she took that time to. She was in shock, so I think she took that time to kind of process it all, and she knew that my mom's place was safe as far as just being alone for a little bit, having to face anyone, and I think just really process what happened to her. But once she went to Chloe's, you know, Chloe saw her and then by that point, communicated to the rest of the family about what had happened. We were all on the same page. We all said, you need to get to the hospital. You need to get looked at. We don't know what kind of injuries these are. We saw what was there physically, but there could Be, you know, there could be other trauma that we, you can't physically see. This time being that she was at Chloe's, Chloe took her to the hospital and obviously she's a grown adult so we couldn't just force certain things on her. But, but with her permission and, you know, with her just knowing, you know, this is what we're going to do, we're going to need to call the police. That was, I think, a big turning point for her because not only was she beat within, you know, who knows how many minutes of her death, and the fact that now she's finally finding her voice and her strength to call the police, file an official report, I mean, all of that I think was an eye opener for her, that it needs to happen and she needs to be done protecting him. And if he could get this far with things, how much further can things get? So I think the severity of what could happen was finally, I think she finally could see that because it was, she was nearly there. And that's what she told us too. She was, she thought she was going to die that night.
- [29:24]
Kendall Ray
While she was at the hospital, Nikki ended up meeting with a victim's advocate. And this ended up being a really big help for her. And her sister said that this gave her, her sort of a sense of empowerment and strength to finally leave Tyler. At least at first, she was even excited to look for another job again because in the past Tyler had prevented her from working. So ultimately the attack was a huge, huge wake up call. And thankfully, because she had reported him this time, action was finally being taken. After the officer left Mercy Hospital, he and other deputies went to Tyler and Nikki's house where he was arrested and he was taken into custody. Which is when he of course started telling conflicting stories about what happened. At first, Tyler said that he was aware of her injuries, but he never saw them. He said that he last saw her on the 29th around 8pm and said that her injuries were from a physical altercation that she had with the woman that she was having an affair with. However, he didn't actually see the fight take place, which makes no sense. I mean, how do you know that she got in a fight with this so called woman that she was having an affair with if you didn't actually see it? It also didn't make sense because Nikki straight up told the officer that Tyler was the one who was responsible. And Tyler, of course denied all of this. And then he started talking about how he and Nikki had this great relationship and there had never been any kind of violence between them, which, of course, is just bullshit. So on December 2nd, he was ultimately charged with corporal injury to a spouse, f imprisonment making criminal threats, an assault likely to cause great bodily injury. Now, following all of this, Nikki continued to live between her sister's house and also her mom's house. And it seemed like she was finally really ready to leave him for good. Tyler, on the other hand, he wasn't done with her. And at one point, he convinced Nikki to drive him to a court hearing because he had a suspended license. And she agreed. But as they start driving, he directed her her to his lawyer's office instead. And when they got there, he and his lawyer tried to convince her to drop the charges. And when she said no, he drove off in her car, just abandoning her at his lawyer's office, even though he had a suspended license. And this wasn't the last time that he would try to pressure her to drop the charges. And it was the same old same old as all of the times before. He kept telling her he would change and that they could possibly get their kids back if she moved back home home. And as hard as it is to say this, it worked. And In March, April ish of 2023, Nikki moved back in with him. And of course, this was just heartbreaking to her family, but they ultimately couldn't stop her. She tried to assure them that Tyler wasn't going to hurt her anymore, but, well, she's missing. I mean, that's the reason that we're here talking about her story today. And she went missing right before his trial for the domestic violence charges, which. Which brings me to her disappearance. After Nikki moved back in with Tyler, she still held her ground when it came to the charges. She refused to drop them. So on May 7, 2024, he had to appear in court for a preliminary hearing, where he pleaded, of course, not guilty. And it was actually on this day that Nikki ended up texting her sister Chloe and told her that she was officially done, that she was tired of his bullshit and she wanted a divorce. In fact, she was already looking for furniture for a new apartment. And she said that she was determined to get custody of her kids back. And at this time, it really felt like a turning point for her. And everyone was so eager about it. But just 10 days later, on May 17, Nikki vanished. And so I'm going to do my best to try and explain the timeline of events, but I wanted to preface that by saying that this has been pieced together by Chloe and Kay based on stories they've heard and text messages. So just keep that in mind. There's a lot of gray area here and things that we just don't know for certain, especially at this point in the case, because this did happen fairly recently. And so there's a lot of information that hasn't been released by law enforcement. And so here's what they've gathered and what they believe likely happened on the evening of May 17th. Nikki was texting Chloe and she told her that she was at Mercy Hospital because Brian, who is Tyler's brother, actually ended up there in pretty critical condition. From what I understand, he had some blood clotting in his lungs and it was pretty severe. So he was in the icu. And Nikki, Tyler and Jeanette, Jeanette is Tyler's mom, as a reminder, all drove to the hospital together in a very chaotic rush and they all drove together in Jeanette's car. Now, Nikki and Jeanette ended up staying at the hospital until about midnight, during which time Nikki was texting Chloe, Chloe just letting her know what was going on with Brian and sort of the status of it all. And around midnight, it's believed that Jeanette and Nikki left the hospital. And because of how distraught Jeanette was, Nikki was the one who drove her car, Jeanette's car, straight back to Jeanette's house. But Nikki also needed to go home that night. So her sisters believe that after dropping Jeanette off at her house, Nikki took Jeanette's car back, back to her own place, Nikki's place. Now, for context, Jeanette lived right by the Wind River Casino, which is about 10, 15 ish minutes away from where Tyler and Nikki lived. And here's where things start to get strange. Around 12:35 on what would now be May 18, Nikki or Nikki's phone, keep that in mind. Texted Chloe saying that she was driving from her house to Jeanette's house to drop off Jeanette's car, which was weird because she was supposedly just at Jeanette's house dropping her off. So based on this message, it sounded like Nikki went back to Jeanette's house a second time. That's if you believe she was the one texting. And sure it was Jeanette's car that she probably wanted at her house, but it didn't and doesn't make sense why Nikki would have gone back again so late that night. Better yet, if she was just at Jeanette's house dropping her off, why didn't she leave the car there in the first place and get picked up by someone else else? And all of this Will come full circle here in a little. Just trust me. Anyways, that's what this text said. And at first it didn't raise any alarm bells and Chloe didn't even respond to it right away. She responded the next morning when she woke up because it of course came in after midnight. And when she texts her the next morning, she just sends her something pretty general, just asking how Brian was doing. And this time Nikki didn't respond. Although at the time that wasn't super weird. And Chloe ended up getting distracted with other things and didn't really think much of it at first. And then that morning, Nikki's daughter, who was in Chloe's care, had a soccer game and they were running around because they realized they couldn't find her jersey and so they're looking for the jersey. And at some point Chloe realized that maybe it was at Jeanette's house because the kids went over there from time to time and she figured it was possible that it was there. So between like 9:30 and 9:45, her fiance, Chloe's fiance, goes over to Jeanette's house to see if it's there. And while he was there, he briefly spoke with Jeanette.
- [36:54]
Chloe
On Saturday, May 18, we were trying to locate my niece's soccer uniform and so we thought maybe we'd go to Jeanette's house to check and see if it was there. My fiance had drove to Jeanette's house along with my niece and my niece had gone inside the house to look for the uniform while he stayed back inside of the car. While he was there, he saw Jeanette and he had asked Jeanette, hey, where's Tyler? And Jeanette had told my fiance, oh, he had stayed the night at the hospital with Brian. I didn't want to stay at the hospital because it's just too sad knowing that I'm going to lose my son.
- [37:32]
Kendall Ray
And after that interaction, the day went on as normal, or normal ish texts were being sent in their sister group chat that they had and Nikki wasn't responding to any of them. But again, it wasn't that weird for her not to reply right away. However, on the 19th, they did get their first inkling that something could be wrong. That day, Tyler texts Chloe asking if Nikki is at her house and she wasn't. But again, Chloe didn't read too much into it. We know that Nikki sometimes left her house for a few days after a fight, so she figured this was Tyler trying to reconcile. But then two more days went by and that's when they really started to worry. Not only had they not heard from their sister at all, but now their text messages were sending as green, not the normal imessage blue. But the real gut sinking moment was when Chloe received this text message from Tyler on the 21st. It reads, have you heard from your sister? I think she's missing. Given everything, it was becoming more and more clear that that something was going on here. And what they ended up finding out from Tyler next made them feel even worse. Now, to preface, Tyler has told many stories as to what happened on the 17th and 18th. So this is what he told them. First, according to Tyler, he returned home from the hospital sometime between 1:30 and 2am after getting a ride from his sister. And when he got home, Nikki supposedly wasn't there. If we believe their story, that would mean that Nikki was still at his mom's house. And because she wouldn't have had a car there, Tyler said he went over there to pick her up. He also says that he was accompanied by a guy named Justin who is otherwise known as Too Tall. Now, Too Tall is a bit of a third party in all of this, but basically he's a friend of Tyler's who lived on their property in a trailer. Anyways, according to Tyler, he and Too Tall go over to his mom's house to pick up Nikki. And when they got there, there he and Nikki get into some sort of fight. And at the end of this fight, Nikki ends up just walking off. And this was, at least in this version of his story, the last time that he saw her. But then over time, the story changes and he starts saying that they actually got in a fight back at their house and that Nikki left in an Uber. So pretty huge difference. And then in other versions of his story, he straight up says that he just doesn't remember where the fight happened at all. And get this, this, their brothers end up reaching out to Tyler to see if maybe they could get some answers. And in various conversations with Tyler, he tells them this new story where Nikki ran off with her lesbian lover. Oh, and there was also another version of the story where she ran off to Vegas with her boyfriend. So he's already just reeking of suspicion with all these different versions that are so different from each other. And this. Then there's Jeanette's story, which changed too. At first she said that she couldn't remember anything that happened that night. And later she said that the Uber Nikki left in was actually from her house. So overall, nothing that anyone was telling them was making any sense. And obviously they didn't get all of these stories at once. They were told over time, but even that first story just doesn't seem to add up at all. And at first they were just hoping that there was some sort of explanation, that maybe Nikki had gone over to her mom's house or maybe she had found her way into a shelter or something like that.
- [41:18]
Kay
If you look at the timeline, it seems like we waited several days to report Nikki missing. But in any family dynamic, there are times when. When one of us would go a couple days without communication. And that could be for a variety of reasons. You know, you. You really just. You've been busy with school, with work, with the kids, friends, lots of things. But, you know, in the moment, we. We didn't really think that much of it because it'd been a few days, it was the weekend. But the last communication that we had from her was to Chloe was when she texts Chloe on the. The night of the 17 of May 17th into the morning of May 18th. And I mean, that's. That's a weekend, you know, so it was. It wasn't insane to not have heard back from her maybe the next day. And then usually, you know, by. By like Monday, Sunday, everyone's kind of had a chance to wind down from the weekend and catch up a little bit. Maybe by Monday. We were kind of trying to piece together the puzzles. Like, we started to say, oh, like, I know. And we do that the same thing with. If they. If someone hadn't heard from me in a while, you know, they'll text my husband and say, what have you and Kay been up to? I haven't heard from you guys in a while. Something like that. So when we didn't hear from her, we all were just kind of like, oh, you know, when's the last time you talked to her? And then, you know, like, well, let me talk to mom. I know she was at. With mom the, you know, the other week or the other day. So when you kind of piece together the timeline, you know, between like, Monday and Tuesday, like, okay, well, we kind of determined the last communication may have been that night when Chloe was texting her.
- [42:52]
Chloe
It had been a few days that I. I had last spoke to Nikki and I was getting a little bit worried. And so I remember texting in my family group message, asking when everyone had last spoke or seen Nikki. And then I remember calling my mom, asking her, when was the last time you talked to Chang or when was the last time he had seen her? And we all came to realization that it had been A few days since we last had spoke to her. And so on Wednesday, May 22, I had called her victim's assistant through the Shasta County. I called her and I asked if she had spoke to Nikki. I also called one safe place to see if maybe my sister was there. And unfortunately, they told me that they couldn't give me that information because everyone that goes there, it's confidential. And so they told me I could call RPD and maybe RPD could give me that answer. So I called RPD and they told me that my sister was not there. And so her victim's advocate also had. Had left me a message and told me, if there's any way I feel like my sister's in danger than to file a missing person's report. And so then I remember just kind of realizing that I something is seriously wrong. And so then I remember regrouping with all my siblings in the group message and telling them, we need to file a missing persons report.
- [44:17]
Kendall Ray
And so on the evening of May 22, they filed a missing persons report with the Reading Police department. When they really sat back and thought about it, they realized that if Nikki and Tyler did get into a fight like he claimed, that she would have gone to one of their houses. As I've gone over, that was the pattern that had happened for years. I mean, if they had really gotten into this fight, why would she have done anything different than what she had always done? Plus, as I already explained, every time that they would get into one of these fights and Nikki would go to one of their houses, eventually Tyler would text or call one of them and try to reconcile. In all of those other times that he had reached out to them, he had never once even had the thought that maybe she was missing. So why was it different this time? It just made no sense. But anyway, the same evening that she was reported missing, Chloe also called the police to ask if they would perform a wellness check. And she actually went with them. But it didn't appear like Tyler was home. They weren't able to go inside, but the deputy did knock on the doors and walk around the immediate vicinity. However, Too Tall was home. Home. And he gave a completely different version of events as to what happened on the night that Nikki went missing. That evening, he explained that after she went to drop off Jeanette's car, only he went to go pick her up, which was different from what Tyler said because he said that both of them went together. According to Two Tall, Tyler had asked him to follow Nikki back over to his mom's house so that he could give her a ride home afterwards, which he says he did. He said he followed Nikki to Jeanette's, which is where the three of them, he, Nikki and Jeanette, quote, bullshitted for a bit, had some food, and then he brought her home. And after getting home, he said that Tyler was hanging out in the garage while Nikki was doing laundry. And then he said that at some point, she got into an Uber and left, which is also something Tyler mentioned in one of his stories. So Chloe then followed up by asking if he knew where Nikki's truck was because they'd realized that it was also missing. And that's when Too Tall said he saw Tyler driving it. So super, super weird, right? And because they weren't able to get a hold of Tyler that night, Chloe ended up calling the police again the following morning. So on the morning of the 23rd, there was a second wellness check. But just like the first, Tyler wasn't home. Now, Chloe wasn't able to go to that wellness check, but she did end up going back over to the house on her own later around 6pm and this time, Tyler was there. And he had some interesting things to say about Nikki' the day after I.
- [46:57]
Chloe
Made the missing person reports on my sister, I decided to go back to Nikki and Tyler's house to see if Nikki was there or if Tyler was home. And so as I got there, I saw that Tyler was home. And I asked Tyler, have you seen Nikki? And he said, no, he hasn't. And I asked Tyler, where's Nikki's car? And Tyler told me that the car had broken down near a bridge out on Bowman Road. And so I asked him, would you like me to take you there to get the car? And he told me no, that it was okay and that one of his buddies was going to take him to go get the car. But I was very anxious and I really wanted to go get the car. And so I told Tyler, please, like, let us take you. We'll take you to the car. But he insisted that it was fine, that one of his buddies will take him there.
- [47:48]
Kay
Welwyn Road kind of runs. It runs like, east and west in a community called Cottonwood, which is just south of where Tyler and Nikki live. And Chloe offered to give him, you know, take him out there to help him look for the truck, but he declined that offer, so they didn't end up going. But Chloe shared this information with us, and our brother went that night on Thursday the 23rd, and. And he just drove around looking for bridges and looking just Poking around. Anyway, he ran into a gentleman, you know, coincidentally. And, um, the gentleman did tell him that there was a spot the past weekend. He said someone was being kind of weird out there. Someone drove out there late at night and just parked their car. And he didn't see them do anything suspicious, but he just said it, thought it was kind of weird because he's from that community and that, that just wasn't some. Someone that he was familiar with. So the next night, on Friday night, after we all had gotten off work, Chloe, her fiance, myself and my husband went out to Bowman River Road. We kind of did the same thing. We looked for bridges and poked around to see if we could. If we could see or find anything. And we actually ran into the same gentleman and he kind of gave us the same thing that he had seen someone there the past weekend and they were behaving kind of strangely, but that's. That's all he really saw. So that was kind of the extent of what we were able to find that evening.
- [49:16]
Kendall Ray
Which, by the way, Nikki's truck was actually a gift from Tyler two weeks prior, which was weird because she already had a perfectly fine working car. So her sisters aren't really sure why he got her this car in the first place, but he did, and now it was missing along with Nikki. And honestly, guys, a big part of this case that I just need to continually remind you all, because I know this one is confusing, and that's just because there is so much we don't know. And that's something you just have to keep in mind as we continue to go through, through this. Despite the active investigation into her disappearance, law enforcement has shared next to no information about literally anything. Nikki's sisters have had to go out of their way to try and figure things out, but a lot of it is just still up in the air, especially when it comes to the timeline of the day that she disappeared. I mean, for all we know, she didn't even send that text message at 12:35am we have no idea if that was actually sent by her. And if you've watched any other videos or podcasts, any coverage on this case before, before, especially things that included K and Chloe. You may have heard them say that they believe that the text message was sent by Nikki, but as time has gone on, they've started to question that overall, they've had to question a lot of what they've heard and try their best to put together an educated guess as to what it all means. And the reality is that the answers to A lot of these questions have to exist, right? Law enforcement has probably pulled phone records and gotten a good sense of where people. People were that night and if it aligned with their story. But we as the public and their family, haven't been told anything about it. Which, you know, there's a reason for that. But that's really why there are so many gray areas and changing opinions. And I know that a lot of you and just a lot of people who have followed this case in general feel really frustrated with these lack of answers. But, you know, you've got to hope that it's for a good reason, that things are being done behind the scenes, and they've got to keep some stuff close to the vest. And generally speaking, Chloe and Kay said that they've had a pretty good experience with those who are looking into Nikki's disappearance. However, there is definitely some concern that law enforcement isn't being as aggressive in their approach in this case compared to other cases in the area. And specifically, one case is probably going to ring a bell and stand out to you. I mentioned that they originally reported her missing to the Reading Police Department, but pretty quickly it was transferred to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office. And I'm sure that sounds familiar to a lot of you because that brings up a case that I have covered a couple of times. That is where Sherry Papini faked her disappearance. And as you can probably tell, there are very big differences in the efforts between these two cases. I mean, I'm sure most of you are familiar with that case, and I'm sure you remember how much coverage and. And attention and resources were put into looking for Sherry, especially in the early days and throughout the whole time that it was believed she was missing. God, that case pisses me off so much. But, yeah, pretty big difference here. But regardless, I don't want to get distracted here. That is who is handling Nikki's case. And on May 30, they announced a big update. That Thursday, they shared that Nikki's 2002 Chevy Avalanche was found in Tahama Cat county about 45 minutes east of where she lived. And it was found on the side of the road off Highway 36, nowhere near where Tyler said it had been abandoned. Now, it was reported that the car had burn damage, but I want to clarify that it did have burn damage before it was purchased. And I also want to clarify that the 30th isn't actually when her car was found. It was actually found on the 25th. But for whatever reason, they waited five days to make that information public, which, as you can imagine, was very frustrating for people who were, were spending their time trying to search for the car because that was five days where it would have been nice to know that it had already been located. Here's an interesting thing about where the car was located, though. It was found on a road that leads to property that Tyler's family owns. And also, this is not a heavily trafficked area at all. In fact, it's really remote and very hilly and it has little to no cell service service. And it's also somewhere that if you were to ditch your car, you would have to be picked up by someone else. So just something to think about. Now, just because her car was found doesn't mean the searches were done. If anything, it meant that things needed to pick up steam. So community led search efforts kicked off and they searched the south fork, Cottonwood Creek, hiked into the wildlands, and even looked inside abandoned cars and buildings. Unfortunately, though, nothing turned up. And in a not so shocking twist, Tyler refused to help with the searches at all. Which, as the husband of a missing person, is beyond disappointing and speaks volumes. I think we can all confidently say that if one of our loved ones or a friend, or maybe even just a member of the community was missing, you'd probably be out there. But especially if it was someone in your family, family, your spouse, your immediate family, you would be out in those searches. Especially if other strangers and all these other people who have, you know, spent their spare time trying to find your loved one and you're not there. I mean, it just says everything, right? But anyway, around this time time, Nikki's sisters also had requested the video footage from the Wind River Casino, because a casino is obviously going to have a ton of cameras both inside and out, but so far they haven't been granted access. Not that they believe she went there, but Janette did live close by, so getting any kind of footage from that area is better than nothing. Now, it's very possible. In fact, we're pretty sure that investigators have been given it. But if anything was found in this footage, that we just don't know. We also have no idea to what extent Tyler and his mom Jeanette have been questioned. And we do know they have been spoken to. But what they said is a mystery at this point. On June 25, law enforcement was seen searching Jeanette's property and neighbors told the sisters that boxes were carried out, which is interesting. But if anything was found in relation to Nikki's disappearance, that is information that also has not been related least. And of course, you know, I understand that that could be for very good reason. We did find out that Tyler's cousin was arrested because I guess they searched his house, too, and they found weapons that he legally wasn't allowed to have. But to my knowledge, that was unrelated to Nikki's case. Now, there is another big topic that we need to get into here, and that is that part of the difficulty in the search for Nick Mickey has had to do with the fact that she went missing either on or near tribal land. It's believed that she was at Jeanette's house, which is just next to the Wind River Casino, which is on tribal land. The Reading Rancheria is a federally recognized Native American tribe. And with that comes different laws in terms of who can search where. For example, the tribal court did permit two community search efforts in early June, which took place both on foot and by plane lane. However, there is still a large area that people aren't allowed to search because it's private tribal land. And remember, Tyler's family are members of the reservation and his aunt is a member of the tribal council. And due to what they call a lack of tribal law enforcement, they are not conducting a criminal investigation into this case whatsoever. That being said, they say that they have been very supportive of the Shasta County Sheriff's Office office. And on June 5, a billboard went up along i5 near the Anderson Outlets, and the running Rancheria actually paid for it. They also put forward a $10,000 reward for information and have shared that they've provided law enforcement with information and video footage as it's been requested. And I'm just going to be really honest with you guys here, especially after my conversation with Chloe and Kay. Obviously, these two things that they have done are very helpful for Nikki's case. And her sister. Sisters are very appreciative of those things. They do sort of feel like their efforts are more for show than anything else. Almost like, look, we helped instead of actually doing any of the work to help. And what would really help them is to open up all the land to be searched or at least making contact with Chloe and Kay directly. I mean, they didn't even know that they were going to be posting that reward. They ended up finding out through the NORCAL alliance for the Missing. So have they helped? Sure. But does it feel very sincere to their family? No, it doesn't. And I know that this is a very complicated and controversial issue, and I'm just trying to, you know, explain some of the feelings that Chloe and Kate and their whole family are feeling. And I know that it is deeper than what I can understand, but I do agree that when someone has gone missing and could have been murdered, that it would be great to have as much help and cooperation as possible. Right. I do get that the reservation is very protective of their own, and Tyler's family is very high up in the reservation. And ultimately, despite being married to a member and having kids who are members, Nikki is not one of them. Maybe if she was, they would be bringing out all the stops, but she isn't and they haven't.
- [59:14]
Kay
The Reading Rancheria has put up a large, Beautiful billboard on Long i5 to bring awareness to Nikki's case, as well as a $10,000 reward for information leading to the safe return of Nikki. And we are very grateful for those contributions. And those are very impactful, very big and publicly visual things. And then there has been a search on tribal land, on specific areas of the rancheria that, you know, that were. We were allowed access to. I think it would be helpful if we could work together with them more to find a better approach, maybe to actually finding answers. Like, you know, they're such a big entity. They have such a big influence. You know, what can they use their influence for rather than just, you know, their financial influence? But I think that we could definitely utilize their influence in other ways that could be a lot more effective in finding Nikki and be more effective in targeting some of these witnesses for this case. And I. And I know that they are contributing in ways that maybe that's just what they're used to. You know, they're used to doing very, you know, the much more public things that are. That are a little bit louder, that are. Now you see the billboard, you see the $10,000, and those are all very. You. You hear that, and it sounds big. But sometimes with certain situations, and I think Nikki's case might be one of those, is that sometimes we might just need to look a little closer, you know, and find where we can better utilize the resource that we have right within our spheres of influence. And I think that they can definitely tap into that influence and could very much help with solving the case or at least getting a little more. A little more push in the right direction.
- [61:09]
Chloe
I feel that the Redding Rancheria, they are a very big part of this community. They've been here for a long time, and they also have a lot of influence on our community as well. I think that, yes, they could do more, but at the same time, too, I think that Tyler, being a Tribal member, he needs to also ask and also be the one to push for this help from the tribe. Because us, we're not tribal members, but Tyler is a tribal member. And I think if Tyler pushed for something, it would mean so much coming from him. It would mean so much just from him wanting to help find my sister, but also from the tribe. I think the tribe will see this as a tribal member who was desperate to find his wife.
- [61:58]
Kendall Ray
But let's take a step back here and think about why. Why would Nikki go miss, and who would stand to benefit? Well, considering that Nikki was pressing charges against Tyler, many believe that that could be the motive. I mean, just speaking earnestly, he stood the most to gain from Nikki disappearing. Not to mention that his trial was quickly approaching. On June 3, he appeared for a preliminary hearing, which Nikki was scheduled to appear at. Obviously, though, she wasn't there. And the next hearing was scheduled for June 28th. And this hearing was the scene of a big justice for Nikki rally. As. As well, over 100 people showed up with posters and banners. And as Tyler entered the courthouse, they could be heard chanting, no justice, no peace while Tyler's on the streets. And as he left the courtroom, some people ran after Tyler yelling, where is she? And with this hearing came some devastating news, some extremely frustrating news due to lack of evidence. Emotion was filed to drop all charges against him. And think about it. Nikki's testimony was crucial because she was the one accusing Tyler of violently attacking her. And per his sixth amendment right, he has the right to face his accuser. So the judge basically said, you guys have until July 5th to find Nikki or more evidence from this attack, otherwise this will be dropped. And that's exactly what happened. But before that even happened, two insane things happened. First, and when I say things, I mean fires. On July 2, Tyler's cousin's property caught fire and burned a total of 19 acres. And what's interesting here is the area that burned just so happened to be an area that was set to be searched very soon. Just a few days before the fire, a few people posted in the Facebook page that they wanted to go look there. And then it went up in flames, causing the search to be canceled. Which at first was a bit like, okay, that's extremely frustrating and weird, but it is California in July, so. So maybe it was just bad luck. But then the very next day, another fire started, and this time, it was on Tyler and Nikki's property. And this was a big fire. In total, 98 acres. And several cars were burned as a result of the July 3rd fire. And guess who literally admitted to starting it. Big shocker here. It was Tyler. But he claims he didn't set it on purpose. Apparently, he had parked his car over some dry grass. Gas and a faulty catalytic converter sparked the flames. Cal Fire also reported that the catalytic converter is what caused the fire. But I don't know, it just seems incredibly strange that two fires happened two days in a row. Now, I want to be really clear here. I'm not saying that they did anything because we don't know. I mean, there's no proof or evidence of that. I'm just saying, and I think we can all agree it looks really, really strange, especially because part of the area that burned was an area that Chlo, her fiance, and Kay had been searching just days before. They had gone over to the house to get some of Nikki's more traditional me and clothing, and they ended up poking around. Tyler had this area where he'd scrapped junk cars, and so that's the area that they were walking around. He was a mechanic, so he would often work on cars at the property. And so they'd been looking in that area while that specific spot was where the fires initially sparked, which they say is a piece of information that is not lost on them. In fact, and this is a big one. I mean, I certainly agree with them on this part that this is very, very weird. But Kay and Chloe believe that Tyler would have had the knowledge as a mechanic to be able to set a fire like that and make it look like an accident. Not to mention, the area where he parked his car is not where he'd normally park a car that he was actively working on. He would normally pull it near the garage, not off to the side with the cars that were junked. And that was not the only strike. Strange thing they learned that day because I guess while they were there, Chloe's fiance ended up speaking to Tyler, and he told him that he planned to pay Nikki off to drop the charges. According to her fiance, he said he didn't know why people thought he killed her because he was going to pay her off. Which is a really bizarre thing to just admit, if you ask me, especially to the victim's family. But again, going back to the fire and the idea that it was purposely set, I have zero. No one has any proof that he did this. There is literally nothing. Just. I think we can all agree it's pretty. Pretty strange, pretty crazy timing. But in the end, he was only given a citation for the fire because they couldn't Prove that he said it on purpose. Oh, and get this. There was another fire on July 9th, 9th, at Hooker Creek. Now, this was a lot smaller, but it was an area they talked about wanting to search in the Facebook group. And I get that fires happen and this is summer in California, but I do think it's pretty wild to have these three fires start so closely together in such a short period of time. But going back to the charges that Tyler was facing, I mentioned that the judge said that they were going to be dropped. So on July 5, the DA's office ultimately announced that they were dismissing the domestic violence charges against Tyler because they were able to produce additional evidence. That being said, with this decision, they do reserve the right to refile these charges within a certain amount of time. When all of this happened, they had about two and a half years left on the statute of limitations. So now they're looking at about two. Now, at the courthouse, some 200 people showed up in another massive rally. And despite the heaviness of it all, there were moments of empowerment. People who didn't even know Nikki came from all over the place to show their support, even either because they were victims of domestic violence themselves, or they had also been wronged by the tribe. And there was a big turnout in the man community as well, which only added to the support this family needed to feel. However, this hearing didn't go the way they wanted it to. And to say that people were disappointed would be a huge understatement. I mean, to have those charges dismissed after beating Nikki within an inch of her life just seems so unfair. I mean, it is unfair, but I think knowing why they did this is important. If they did move forward with the case, Tyler could have been found not guilty. And because of double jeopardy laws, he would never have to face the consequences of his actions, even if he straight up admitted to attacking her. So I do understand how this was strategic, but at the end of the day, it doesn't take away from how up it is that as of right now, Tyler's just off the hook. And I think a huge reason out of many why this dismissal has been particularly upsetting is this was the second time in two weeks that something like this happened. I mean, just listen to this. There was another man in Reading who was arrested and charged with attempted murder after he nearly beat his wife to death in front of their son. Charges were filed in May of 2023, but in March of 2024, the charges were dismiss missed because, get this, there wasn't a judge or a courtroom available to hear his case. And the DA's office also had the right to refile the charges, which they did. But then it happened again. No judge or courtroom was available. And now I guess they're just out of luck. They can't file them again. And now this maniac just gets to walk free. And this is just another example of, of how truly up our justice system is in so many ways. Like, I'm sure there are some of you out there who didn't even know something like that could happen. So, of course, when this community heard that Tyler's charges were also being dismissed, understandably, there was a ton of outrage. People started calling for District Attorney Stephanie Bridget to basically be removed because they don't think that she has the interest of victims in mind yet. She seems to pride herself on being victim focused. But neither of these victims have justice. And God, this next detail pissed me off when I first heard this. But Tyler literally flipped Nikki's sisters off as he left the courtroom. And if that doesn't tell you how he feels about all of this, I don't know what does. And again, this is just another example of why I said at the beginning of this episode that I'm just so impressed with how Chloe and Kay have been able to stay. So I don't know what the words are. Calm and focused, not get distracted by any of Tyler's. They are focused on the goal, which is getting justice for their sister. Getting those answers. And I just, oh, I would lose it if I were in their position. But on another note, a better note, at the end of July, Tyler did end up getting arrested during a traffic stop. He had been driving on a suspended license in a vehicle without a license plate. And when they searched his car, they found ammunition, which violated a protective order. But obviously these charges are nothing compared to what many believe, including myself, that he should be charged with. And he bailed out the following day. And on October 7, he was present for a hearing related to that arrest. And about two dozen people gathered outside the courtroom once again holding their justice for Nikki posters. But besides this, you guys, things have really slowed down. The spokesman for the sheriff's office has continued to say that the investigation into Nikki's disappearance is active, but at the same time time, they're unable to share any details regarding their case to protect the integrity of the investigation. Which is frustrating because it feels like the case of Sherry Papini had the immediate attention and outward facing focus of investigators. And this case is just not being handled the same. And obviously we'd like to hope that it's for the best and that there's good reason for all of this, but it's just undeniably frustrating. As most of you know, Sherry's case got national media attention and countless man hours spent searching for her, tons of resources. And it's really shocking, yet not shocking at the same time to see the difference. We all know awareness is key in a missing person's investigation. And the fact that someone who faked being missing got more attention than Nikki, it's just not fair. It's absolutely infuriating. And, I mean, if I feel pissed about it, and I'm sure most of you do, just imagine how her family feels. But investigators say they are working on the case, and I guess we just have to believe and hope that they really are. Let's all just hope that whatever evidence that they have and are withholding will be well worth the wait, the day that Nikki finally gets the justice that she deserves. But it's so frustrating and shocking that Tyler has not even been named a suspect or even a person of interest in her disappearance, even though he's done nothing to help look for for her, which is possibly the biggest red flag of all. He's shown no interest in her disappearance. And there's word, keep in mind, just word, that a new woman has been seen hanging around the house. There's just so much that we don't know at this point that I wish. I mean, I could give you guys the answers to, but really, I wish her family had the answers, too. But in this downtime, since things have slowed down, Chloe and Kay have been able to sort of go back and think about things, revisit things, and they've been able to come up with sort of their own theory as to what happened.
- [74:06]
Chloe
I think that my sister was ready to move on from her old life and start a new life by getting her kids back and also working and enrolling in school. And I think that really hurt Tyler's ego, and it also, I think, terrified him. I think that he saw how serious my sister was, and that scared him. And so. So he got rid of my sister. And there's no way that my sister would have just left. She would never leave her kids, and she would never leave us.
- [74:37]
Kay
I think what happened to Nikki was that she was fighting her voice and her independence. She was trying to get her life back on track. She was working on getting the kids back, getting a divorce, and finally being independent. And all of that was a total threat to Tyler. Tyler, I. That meant he would have to pay child support. It would mean she was sticking with her charges, and that could potentially mean jail time. Nikki's independence and strength meant a lot of trouble for Tyler. And I think that that just was not going to be something that he or his family was going to put up with. So I think that they devised a plan to get rid of the.
- [75:21]
Kendall Ray
The problem. What this entire family has been through is just beyond heartbreaking, especially when you think about her kids. She was so loved as a mother. She loved being a mother, and her children loved her. And I'm sure this has just been so hard for them to wrap their mind around and understand. And I mean, heartbreaking doesn't even feel like it cuts it. That being said, I know that the four of them are in the best care possible with Kay and Chloe. And again, I'm just so impressed with them. I mean, what amazing people to have stepped up and done their best to take care of these kids. And I truly believe, especially after speaking to them, that they have done an excellent job of making sure that they are as well taken care of as possible and getting the support that they need through an incredibly difficult time. They told me that the kids are doing okay. All things can stay considered, but that doesn't mean it isn't hard. And they don't have questions. A lot of those questions there just aren't answers to. They've tried their best to navigate how and when to have these difficult conversations, and there just really is no rule book that tells you how to do it. Nothing can prepare a family for something like this. And it's cases like this that partly made me want to start our foundation, Higher Hope. And so I'm currently working with Kay and Chloe to get them a HOPE grant. The financial toll that a situation like this puts on a family is just so overwhelming and unexpected. And so truly, in these times, anything helps. So we spent a lot of time talking about it the other day, and they've decided that they ultimately want to put the funds towards a billboard. And I completely agree with them that that's an excellent use of the funds. And by the time that this episode goes up, we should be well on our way to getting that purchased, if not already have it done. Possibly. We'll see it does. It can get a little complicated, but that's going to happen. And if you guys want to help them as well, They've also just set up a GoFundMe to increase the reward for information. The reward right now is sitting at $30,000. It was increased In July, with the help of the Shasta County Secret witness and the Kingsman Philanthropic Corporation, each pledged an additional $10,000. And they're all hoping that this money will incentivize someone to come forward because someone has to know something. I mean, we know someone knows something, right? They also have a link tree set up where you can find updated information on her case so that along with the GoFundMe will be linked in the description box or the show notes. But it's also a great place where you can connect with them and connect with others as well. Because I know so many of you out there have experienced domestic violence and that's been. One thing they've said has been really nice is to connect with some of these people that have come out to rallies and stuff who have experienced DV themselves and just are. Are looking for ways to support others and to make a connection. Now if you want to go the extra mile, another big way that you can help this family is by emailing the Reading Rancheria Tribal Court. The email address will be linked below or in the show notes. And we've also created a template that you can copy and paste, asking them to work collaboratively with their family and law enforcement. If you want to, you can write the email in your own words or change or add, but please, you. What is the phrase? You catch more bees with honey or something? You know what I'm trying to say? Keep it nice. Okay? We have found that when you come from an attacking angle, oftentimes it goes nowhere and gets shut down. So we've got to keep the respect there. You know, focus on what's important. Stick to the. The goal here, which is to find answers and to get justice and not to send something angry that's just going to make someone mad. You know what I mean? So please, please, if you decide to write your own, keep it friendly. But you can easily just copy paste what we've already written. This is a really fast and easy way that you can support this family and support Nikki and with enough people, which you guys have really truly come out and droves in other cases. So I really hope that you can, you know, take some time out of your day to help with this because it does make a big difference. And we're just hoping that this will encourage the Tribal Court to take the necessary steps to work with Nikki's family. It really is as simple as that. And it's a great way to help if you are not in a financial place to support their GoFundMe as a reminder, Nikki is 41190 to £100 with brownish red hair. She also has a floral tattoo on her left forearm. And if you have any information regarding the disappearance of Nikki Chang Saly McCain, please call the Shasta County Secret Witness at 530-245-6135 or the Kingsman Philanthropic Corporation at 786-509-7135. You can also directly message their family on their Facebook page with any information relating to Nikki's details disappearance. That is all I have for you on this case at this point in time. I hope that there will be more answers soon and eventually justice because God, this is just so beyond heartbreaking. I definitely want to hear your thoughts so let me know. I know you will. That is going to be it for me today guys. Thank you for joining me for another episode and make sure you follow the show on Spotify and Apple podcasts. It really does help me out. If you want to watch the video version of this show, you can find it on my YouTube channel which will be linked or you can just search Kendall Rae. I will be back with another episode soon, but until then stay safe out there.