More than a year after mother-of-four Nikki Cheng Saelee-McCain vanished, her husband has been arrested and charged with her murder.
Authorities say 39-year-old Tyler McCain was booked into Shasta County Jail on Wednesday, accused of killing his wife to prevent her from testifying against him in a pending domestic violence case. McCain is being held without bail on charges of special circumstance murder llegal firearm possession, and refiled domestic violence counts from December 2023.
Nikki, 33, was last seen on May 17, 2024, after a late-night visit to a Redding hospital. She texted her family just after midnight that she was “heading home” to Anderson, where she lived with Tyler. It was the last time anyone heard from her.
Days later, her Chevy Avalanche was found abandoned off Highway 36 near Beegum Gorge Bridge, close to the Shasta–Tehama county line. Investigators processed the vehicle and recovered evidence consistent with foul play, though Nikki herself was never located. Despite exhaustive searches, interviews, and multiple search warrants, the case remained unsolved until detectives reclassified it as a homicide investigation in March 2025.
In announcing McCain’s arrest, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office emphasized the long trail of evidence gathered in the case. Their statement reads, “Since the start of this investigation, detectives have worked tirelessly to locate Nikki and to determine the events leading to her disappearance.”
The arrest puts the troubled history between Nikki and Tyler under a microscope. Tyler McCain was charged with felony domestic violence in December 2023 after Nikki accused him of restraining her during an hours-long assault. He pled not guilty to the charges and the case was dismissed in July 2024 following Nikki’s disappearance. Those charges have now been refiled with prosecutors alleging that Tyler killed Nikki to keep her from testifying in the previous assault case.
McCain’s arrest comes months after he stood before reporters at a March press conference and pleaded for his wife’s safe return. “We miss you,” he said then. “I apologize to everyone, especially my children. My wife’s family, mine as well. I’m just here in support, so anything that I can do, I want to do that.”
Now, more than a year after those remarks, authorities allege he is responsible for her death.
A $30,000 reward remains in place for information leading to Nikki’s location. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Shasta County Sheriff’s Major Crimes Unit at (530) 245-6135 or by emailing MCU@shastacounty.gov
