10 things about Happy Valley, California’s Nikki McCain

Nikki Cheng Saelee McCain is a Mien-American woman from Happy Valley, Shasta County, California, United States, which is 11 miles southwest of Redding, Shasta County. Mien is the majority branch of the Yao people, a classification for various ethnic minorities in China and Vietnam.

BIOGRAPHY

McCain is also known as Chen Orn Saelee, Cheng O Saelee, Nikki Cheng Saelee and Nikkicheng McCain. Her disappearance in May 2024 was initially investigated by the Redding Police Department.

Due to information suggesting McCain was last seen in the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office jurisdiction, the office’s major crimes unit has taken over the investigation. Here are 10 more things about her:

1. She is Tyler Scott McCain‘s wife.
2. Her mother-in-law Jeanette Hayward lives near the Redding Rancheria, a Native American reservation in Shasta County.
3. She is Mey Martin,Chloe Saelee and Kaye Ford‘s sister and Nying Saelee‘s stepsister.
4. She has four children.
5. In 2014, she and Tyler got married.
6. When the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic struck in 2020, her relationship with Tyler began falling apart, according to Chloe and Ford.
7. In 2022, she and Tyler lost custody of their four children, who were removed by the state of California from the couple’s care.
8. Her last known residence before she was reported missing on May 21, 2024 is a property on the 17000 block of Olinda Road in Anderson, Shasta County.
9. On November 9, 2024, her family celebrated her 40th birthday without her.
10. As of August 20, 2025, she is still missing.

TIMELINE

Nikki is 4’11” tall and her registered weight is 100 pounds. She has a tattoo on her left forearm.

2023

• On November 30, 2023, Tyler allegedly tied her up and beat her for three hours inside their residence in Redding.
• On December 1, 2023, Shasta County Sheriff’s Office deputy Gerry Maul responded to Mercy Hospital in Redding and encountered her after she had been treated at the emergency room. Maul, who reported noticing trauma to her eyes, face and forehead, arrested Tyler. He was charged with four felony counts of domestic violence.

2024

• On May 7, 2024, she sent a text message to Chloe saying she was going to divorce Tyler, re-enroll in school and regain custody of her four children.
• On May 17, 2024, she visited Tyler’s brother Brian McCain at a hospital in Redding. In a text message she sent to Chloe, she said she was leaving the hospital to drop her mother-in-law’s truck back at her in-laws’ house near the Redding Rancheria and one of Tyler’s friends was going to follow in a vehicle behind her to later drop her off back at her home in Redding.
• On May 18, 2024, she was seen near Win-River Casino in Redding.
• On May 21, 2024, Chloe reported her missing to the Redding Police Department.
• On May 25, 2024, her 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche truck was found in a remote location inTehama County while she was still missing.
• On May 31, 2024, the community conducted its first large-scale search for her.
• She was scheduled to appear in court for a settlement conference on June 3, 2024, the same day the Redding Rancheria erected a billboard along Interstate 5 in Anderson, offering a reward for information that leads to her location.
• Tyler pleaded not guilty to four felony charges of domestic violence, which were dismissed by Shasta County district attorney Stephanie Bridgett on July 5, 2024 because she was not available to testify. That day, her family, friends and supporters held a rally outside the Shasta County Superior Court to protest against the dismissal.
• On July 19, 2024, Redding Rancheria offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to her location. In addition, Shasta County Secret Witness and Kingsman Philanthropic Corp each offered a $10,000 reward.

2025

• On March 10, 2025, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office held a news conference at the Shasta County Emergency Operations Center in Redding to provide updates on her disappearance, which was attended by Tyler, marking his first voluntary appearance to the media since she disappeared.
• On March 14, 2025, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office announced that the missing person’s report filed for her was upgraded to a homicide investigation. That day, a search warrant was served at her residence in Anderson by the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
• On August 20, 2025, her husband Tyler was arrested in connection with her disappearance and presumed death.

Anyone with a tip about Nikki Cheng Saelee McCain‘s disappearance is asked to contact the major crimes unity of the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office by calling 530-245-6135 or by emailing MCU@shastacounty.gov.