A woman disappears after moving to Utah with her boyfriend In the autumn of 2000, the story of a young Caucasian woman named Nikole Bakoles began to unfold in the stark landscape near the Great Salt Lake in Utah. On October 8th, two duck hunters stumbled upon skeletal remains in a field off Interstate 80, not far from the Saltair concert venue. For twelve long years, the identity of the woman, who came to be known as "Saltair Sally," remained a mystery, her case growing cold as investigators struggled to put a name to the remains.
Finally, in August 2012, through advancements in DNA technology, "Saltair Sally" was identified as 20-year-old Nikole Bakoles.
Nikole, a native of Washington state, had moved to Utah in 1998 with her boyfriend, Joel Chaudoin. The couple had a daughter together, but their life was not without its struggles. Friends and family described Nikole as a creative and free-spirited young woman who loved poetry and painting. However, in the months leading up to her disappearance, she faced significant challenges, including losing custody of her daughter and dealing with legal issues. The last confirmed sighting of Nikole was in March 2000. Her family, who had infrequent contact with her due to her transient lifestyle, reported her missing in 2003 after years of silence.
The identification of Nikole's remains shifted the focus of the investigation to finding her killer. Her death was classified as a homicide, though the exact cause of death has not been publicly released. Law enforcement officials questioned her boyfriend at the time of her disappearance, Joel Chaudoin, who was incarcerated for unrelated crimes. Chaudoin told investigators that he and Nikole had an argument in March 2000, and that he left and never saw her again. While he was questioned, he has not been named as a suspect in her death.
The case took a strange turn in 2012 when an anonymous caller contacted a member of the Utah Cold Case Coalition, claiming responsibility for Nikole's death. However, the caller provided no verifiable details and their identity remains unknown. To this day, no arrests have been made in the death of Nikole Bakoles. Her case remains an open and unsolved homicide, leaving her family with lingering questions and a grief compounded by the lack of justice. Investigators continue to appeal to the public for any information regarding Nikole's life in early 2000 and the circumstances that led to her tragic end.
