The Disappearance Files - Immaculate "Mackie" Mary Basil

Mackie was no stranger to drama in her small town, the remoteness of which would help her abductor get away. A series of coincidences would point towards a former flame as the likely killer, but testimony would put him too far away to be the suspect. A delay in the judicial process and the difficulty of conducting an investigation would lead to her case continuing to be unsolved.

Circumstances

Raised near Grand Rapids on the Kuz Che reserve, Immaculate, known to her friends as "Mackie," had a somewhat rough life. In and out of the foster system along with her siblings, an experience that caused an extremely tight bond between the siblings. This bond was most evidenced by their daily 10am calls.

After getting out of the system, Mackie and her siblings settled on the reservation, finding work in retail and part-time jobs. Mackie worked as a secretary and part time teacher at the time of her disappearance. She was known for being a devoted housewife and rarely wanting to leave the home.

At the time of her disappearance she had recently separated from her husband, something that surprised her family. In his absence, she was extremely devoted to her son who was almost 7 months old at the time of her disappearance. She was particularly fond of preparing food from scratch and preserving traditional foods for her family.

At the time of her disappearance she was supposedly out partying and drinking by herself, something that her family felt was very out of character. A number of different witnesses verified her actions however,

On June 14th 2013, the day of her disappearance, she attended a funeral, went to a party, and was seen buying Vodka, at which point she mentioned herself to be with her friends Victor and Keith. After this point in time she wasn't seen again.

Shortly after this sighting the vehicle carrying the three was in an accident, prompting Victor to walk along the streets in wet clothing seeking help. No record of Keith's actions during this time has been released.

At 10am the next morning Mackie's siblings became worried when she missed out on their daily call. At first they assumed she was in a location without a phone, but by the next day they were actively seeking her whereabouts. It wouldn't be until nearly 4 days later that police would be informed of her disappearance. It would take another day for anyone to come take a statement and for the search for her to begin.

Many issues were caused by her residence in one reserve and going missing on another. While both lay within the Tl'azt'en nation, the are different jurisdictions and coordinating information can be difficult.

Theories

The timeline starts to get fuzzy when Victor's story begins to be examined. While he claimed that he was walking in wet clothes to get help, he was seen an hour away from the crash site within mere minutes of it supposedly happening. No record of the crash was ever filed, although a broken tree and bits of scrap were offered up as evidence of it occurring.

Victor and Keith both insist Mackie separated from them at the time of the crash, choosing to make her own way home. If either of them are to blame, this would have given them 6 or more hours in which to commit a crime.

Victor was an outsider from the tribe and reserve, making his presence more of note. He had a previous record for sexual assault and other violent crimes. No-one else beside Victor and Keith can verify the errand they were supposedly running, making her kidnapping and death at their hands the most likely option.

A second theory holds that Mackie actually did leave the group and fell prey to a wild animal. Being unused to drinking and having been parting for quite a while, it has been argued that she would have been intoxicated enough to fall prey to animals that are normally easy to avoid.

This theory is contradicted by the lack of evidence found, the wide area searched, and a complete lack of blood. Despite the remoteness of the area, the reservation hasn't found itself having issues with wild animals, making the possibility of an attack even more remote.

The third and final theory ties her cases with other similar disappearances along the Highway of Tears. If the testimony of Victor and Keith is actually accurate, Mackie was abducted walking down the road while they were trying to free the truck from the mud. This seems to be the least likely of the theories.

Today

Several different reservations have had sightings of Basil that were later determined to be fake or unlikely. RCMP believe that she met with foul play within the boundaries of the Tl'azt'en nation the night that she went missing.

Despite upping the reward several times no-one has come forward with evidence that the police believe is credible. They ask that anyone with any possible leads contact them and help solve this crime.