The Disappearance of Mekayla Bali
Every person interested in true crime has that one case that sticks with them. The one case that keeps them awake at three in the morning, the one case that boggles the mind. For me, that case is the disappearance of Canadian teen Mekayla Bali. Why? Well, there’s so much coverage of her last movements before her disappearance, and yet no one knows where she is- or if she’s still alive.
So, who is Mekayla Bali?
Mekayla Margaret Kim Bali (formerly Niebergall) is a Canadian teenager from Yorkton, Saskatchewan. She lived with her mother, Paula, her two siblings, Joshua and Eliyora, and aunt, Rhonda. She had interests such as The Hunger Games and video games like League of Legends. She enjoyed playing the violin and accordion, and nature photography. She wanted to go into a career working with children or animals. She was just a normal teenage girl… However, there may have been something darker going on behind the scenes.
Bali had multiple Facebook and Instagram accounts, including an Instagram page dedicated to glorifying self-harming. It’s known that Bali struggled with suicidal thoughts, self-harm, depression, possible disordered eating, and low self-esteem. Before her disappearance, her friends said that she was acting like her normal self. Though, Bali would frequently bring up how she wanted to leave the province, eventually saying that she was going on a vacation to Regina.
Bali was known to frequent online chatting apps, such as Snapchat and Kik, where she met many online friends. She used aliases when talking to these online friends, such as Nancy Nieb, Marie Nieb, Miki Nieb, Miki Golf, and many more. Bali told her friend Shelby about at least four online conversations, but added that they were mostly short-lived. However, it is believed by investigators and internet sleuths alike that Bali was in contact with one of these online friends on the day of her disappearance.
The Disappearance
The Yorkton Royal Canadian Mounted Police, along with the Canadian Broadcast Channel and the Missing Children Society of Canada have compiled a timeline of Bali’s “erratic” last movements, using CCTV footage and eyewitness sightings. The timeline goes as follows:
April 11th, 2016 - The Day Before
• At lunchtime, Bali and two of her best friends Shelby Hnatuk and Oksana Yakiwchuk left Sacred Heart High School to eat at a fast food restaurant. Over lunch, they talked about classes, gossiped over their parents, and spoke about leaving the city. Bali spoke heavily about wanting to go on a vacation to Moose Jaw or Prince Albert. This was normal talk for the girls, as Yorkton was considered much smaller and had less attractions than the surrounding cities, so they did not find how passionately Bali spoke on the subject weird or out-of-character.
• Later in a Christian ethics class, Bali’s teacher noticed that she looked “upset” about something.
• After school at approximately 4:30 PM, Bali asked Oksana if she could take her to the bank, stating that it was “important.” Oksana declined.
• Later, Bali called TD Bank’s customer service three times. She checked her balance and transferred $25. (It is not clear whether she transferred this money to someone else or if it was transferred between her checking and savings account.)
• In the evening, she contacted her ex-boyfriend that she was on amicable terms with, Shelby, and her other friend Amy Liang. On the calls with her ex-boyfriend and Shelby, Bali stated that she was feeling unhappy and was thinking about taking a trip to Regina for a few days. Later, on the call with Amy, Bali mentioned a man named Christopher and said that he would be meeting up with her in Saskatchewan. This, however, did not happen.
April 12th, 2016 - The Day Of
• Before 6:41 AM - Bali wakes up for school.
• 6:41 AM - Bali texts her friend Oksana, again asking if she could take her to the bank. She apparently claimed that she had $5k in savings, though it was proven that she had nowhere near that amount. Oksana is woken up by the text and replies, declining again since the bank didn’t open until after school started.
• Between 6:41 AM and 8:10 AM - Bali gets ready for school, getting dressed and doing her makeup. Bali says goodbye to her siblings and aunt before leaving the house for school. Neither her mom or aunt noticed any difference in Bali’s mood, appearance, or actions. Her grandmother, Margaret, arrives soon after to pick her and her mother up for school and work, respectively.
• 8:15 AM - Bali’s grandmother drops her off at Sacred Heart High School. Her phone connects automatically to the school’s WiFi, and she goes to her locker to drop off a binder. Bali brought her backpack to school, which was not normal for her. Instead, she normally brings a purse. This indicates that Bali left her house with the intention to leave the city that day.
• 8:25 AM - Bali departs from the school using a back entrance, coined the “Smoke Pit” doors.
• 8:30 AM - Bali is seen outside of the Super C Convenience Store walking along the railroad tracks eastbound on Smith Street, west from the intersection of Smith Street West and Gladstone Avenue. Around this time, Bali receives a text from her ex boyfriend asking her why she wasn’t in class. She responded that she was on the other side of town.
• 8:50 AM - Bali is seen waiting outside the TD Bank, which opens at 9 AM. CCTV footage shows Bali talking on the phone with an unknown person as she waits for the bank to open.
• 8:55 AM - Bali hangs up the call, enters the TD Bank, and withdraws $55. She leaves shortly after and heads south.
• Between 8:55 AM and 9:15 AM - Bali enters Terry’s Pawn & Bargain and attempts to pawn a silver ring. However, the value of the ring was insufficient. Bali did not seem to be bothered by this, and left the pawn shop.
(Something to be noted here is that investigators are unsure whether Bali went to the bank or pawn shop first, however the general belief is that she went to the pawn shop after the bank.)
• 9:15 AM - Bali enters a Tim Horton’s/Wendy’s, orders a coffee drink, and takes a seat at a booth. As she’s sitting, Bali frequently checks her phone, and looks around the restaurant and at the entrances as if she was searching for someone. Bali’s backpack was rested next to her, and it looked filled to the brim. She is seen taking apart her phone and putting it back together again. (Many believe that she had done this to remove cash/paper that she stored in her phone, to exchange SIM cards so she could call/text from a different number, and/or to remove the battery due to her phone overheating.)
• 9:23 AM - Bali exits the restaurant through the entrance she came in, only to quickly come back inside and use the other exit on the opposite side of the building for no apparent reason.
• Between 9:23 AM and 9:30 AM - CCTV footage catches Bali walking around the exterior of the Tim Horton’s/Wendy’s counterclockwise and in front of a hardware store next door.
• Between 9:30 and 9:49 AM - Bali is seen walking down Broadway St East westbound, momentarily walking on 6th Avenue before turning around for seemingly no reason and going back to Broadway St East. She is then seen walking eastbound in the parking lot of the Giant Tiger Superstore. She does not enter the store.
• 9:49 AM - Bali returns to the Tim Horton’s/Wendy’s and takes a seat at a different booth, facing the opposite direction from before. She is seen talking on her phone, possibly with the same unknown person as before. After sitting down, she hangs up the call and sent messages, frequently checking through the window.
• 10:12 AM - Bali texts Shelby, saying that she needs help. Shortly after, she texts Shelby again, saying that she “figured it out.” Shelby does not see these texts until later, as she had left her phone at home that day.
• 10:25 AM - Bali exits the restaurant once again, only to return one minute later and sit at the same booth. She is seen talking on the phone again, so it’s possible that she returned to the restaurant to take the call. Throughout the call, she is seen frequently looking around the restaurant and out the window.
• 10:43 AM - Bali hangs up the call. She approaches an older woman siting at the table across from her and asks her if she can help her rent a hotel room. The woman did not know where or why Bali wanted the hotel room, or why she asked her for help with it. Whether it was needing money for the hotel room or simply needing an adult to make the transaction, the woman declined to help.
• 10:45 AM - Bali quickly returns to the booth, makes another call, and leaves the restaurant while talking on the phone heading westbound.
• Between 10:45 and 11:45 AM - Bali’s movements are extremely erratic. She heads down Broadway Street past the Yorkton Kia dealership, and turns onto 7th Avenue. She then abruptly turns around for seemingly no reason and heads back to Broadway Street in the original direction she was headed. She passes the Ramada Inn and Robin’s Donuts. After that, Bali’s further movements are unknown until 11:59 AM.
• 11:35 AM - Bali texts Shelby that she’ll see her at lunch and presumably begins to head towards Sacred Heart High School. Again, Shelby does not receive the text until she returns home after school.
• 11:59 AM - Bali returns to Sacred Heart High School and goes to the cafeteria. She meets up with two friends/classmates, Ali Clarkson and Juannic Buckle, telling them that she was going on a vacation to Regina via bus. One of the two students notice that Bali has two cellphones with her.
• 12:03 PM - Bali leaves Sacred Heart High School once again. This is the last confirmed sighting of Mekayla Bali.
• 12:15 PM - Bali arrives at the SCT Bus Depot. She asked an employee when the next bus to Regina would be departing. After being told 5 PM, Bali decided not to purchase a bus ticket.
• 12:20 PM - Bali was spotted at a restaurant in the SCT Bus Depot called Trail Stop, where she purchased a meal of poutine and a drink.
• 1:00 PM - Bali departs from the SCT Bus Depot. This is the last known sighting of Mekayla Bali before she disappeared.
• 3:40 PM - Bali’s grandmother Margaret attempts to pick Bali up from school to take her to her violin lesson. After waiting for some time, she entered the school and was told by Bali’s teachers, friends, and classmates that she hadn’t shown up for classes that day.
• Between 3:40 PM and 4:00 PM - Margaret drives to Paula’s workplace and informs her that she is missing. Paula attempts to text her daughter but received no response. Paula leaves work early to go find her daughter.
• 4:00 PM - Bali misses her violin lesson. Margaret and Paula drive to the location of Bali’s violin lesson to see if she is there, but she is not. Around this time, Shelby goes home and sees the messages Bali sent her throughout the day, and that the school had called to ask if she had seen her friend.
• Approximately 8:00 PM - Bali is officially reported missing.
April 13th, 2016 - The Day After
• 6:00 AM - Cpt. Kim Stewart and the RCMP begin their investigation into Bali’s disappearance. Prior to this, night shift officers began to contact banks and phone companies.
• 6:51 AM - Bali’s cell phone is shut off.
At the time of her disappearance, Bali was sixteen years-old, had blue eyes, 5’2, and 114 lbs. She had natural brown hair, but frequently dyed it ash blonde, strawberry blonde, and other colors. She has a scar on her left hand, two scars on her forehead, a birthmark on the right side of her jaw, and a mole on the right side of her chin. Bali was last seen wearing black-framed glasses, a teal or mint infinity scarf, a plum or burgundy coat, skinny jeans with a sparkle or design on one of the back pockets, and light brown boots. She had a dark blue plaid backpack and may have had teal-framed glasses with her. Her blonde, wavy hair was worn down. A number of her former classmates stated that Bali had gotten a septum piercing a few weeks before her disappearance, however this has not been officially confirmed.
This case has been compared to other true crime cases, such as the disappearance and subsequent murder of Annie McCann, the disappearance of Emma Fillipoff, the disappearance of Andrew Gosden, and the disappearance of Ruth Wilson. In all four of these cases, the person wandered away with intention to leave, some being caught on CCTV cameras before disappearing completely.
The Investigation
The RCMP’s youth division initially handled the case, but it was soon officially handed over to the General Investigations Sector and is being treated as a major offense. Investigators have determined that Bali has had at least three Instagram accounts, at least two Facebook accounts, at least one Kik account, and at least one Snapchat account. A Reddit account was also found by internet sleuths. The police believed that she was talking with anonymous people across all of these accounts.
Strangely, none of the calls or texts Bali sent on this day were registered by Telus (Bali’s phone service company) and are not accessible for police, because Bali either used two SIM cards and/or she was using other means of texting like Kik and Whatsapp. It is also believed by police that she may have been carrying two phones, the second phone acquired sometime after 10:45 AM by unknown means.
There has been no activity on Bali’s phone(s) or social media since her disappearance, with the exception of the opening of one Snapchat video from Shelby a few months after her disappearance. However, police were unable to determine if this Snapchat message was opened by Bali, someone else like an investigator, or the Snapchat system itself. It was later discovered that one of Bali’s Instagram accounts had followed an account that was created in July 2016, approximately three months after her disappearance. Again, we do not know if this activity was Bali or someone else.
There have been no suspects in the case, however there have been a number of persons of interest.
• Christopher - Bali mentioned meeting up with a man named Christopher on the phone with her friend Amy. Police later discovered that Christopher was one of Bali’s online friends who had claimed to be visiting his mother in Saskatoon, according to Bali’s ex boyfriend. However, there was no evidence that this Christopher was in Canada at the time Bali went missing. Christopher stated that he helped Bali when she was struggling with self-harm, and “encouraged her to look towards God.”
• Josh - Bali’s friends reported another boy she had been in contact with named Josh. Police later found that this Josh had met Bali at a few social gatherings in Churchbridge, and that they hadn’t spoken to each other for a few years. Police stated that there was no evidence that Josh was involved in Bali’s disappearance, however they believe that a different Josh may have been involved.
• Rick Briett - Police investigated a man named Rick Briett, who claimed to be Bali’s father. Police searched Briett’s house and took DNA samples, and were able to conclude that he had nothing to do with Bali’s disappearance. Despite Bali’s mother stating that Briett is not her daughter’s father, he continues to post about his daughter going missing on social media.
• Man at the Bus Depot - An employee at the police depot named Cheryl called the police about a customer who had information on Bali’s disappearance. She stated that the customer had seen Bali walking out of the Depot with a bigger man who was carrying white bags. A police sketch was made of the man’s tattoo, a cross engulfed in flames on his left arm. The man came forward and said that he was simply holding the door for Bali. However, another witness stated that she heard the man saying something along the lines of “hurry up, we have to go” to Bali as they exited the Depot. Police decided that they didn’t have enough information and evidence on the man to say whether he was involved in Bali’s disappearance or not, and was subsequently ruled out.
Investigators found that it’s possible that Bali may have had an issue with drugs. She frequented the “smoke pit doors” at Sacred Heart High School, the entrance where the smokers and stoners would hang out. One day at school, Bali showed her friends a bottle of pills, claiming that they were opiod oxycodone. However, it was found that the pills were actually accutane, a prescription medication used to treat acne. It is unknown why Bali did this, whether as a joke or an attempt to flex on her friends.
It should be noted that Paula Bali’s actions have been seen by many as strange. Before her daughter went missing, she would downplay her mental illness and self-harm. After she went missing, she told her friends not to talk to police or media before clearing it with her first, as well as privated/deleted her daughter’s Facebook page in refusal to let police investigate her friends list. A source who knew Bali and had information potentially relating to her disappearance attempted to contact Paula, but she yelled at them and said that she didn’t need their “help and lies.” She has also called police on her daughter’s suspected father Rick Briett for “stalking” her daughter, posting missing flyers on social media and wanting to be involved in the case. Paula has reportedly made fake social media accounts to harass him.
In an interview podcast, she proceeded to lie repeatedly about the investigation. For one, she stated that the school threw out her daughter’s belongings that had been in her locker. The school later stated that they had told Paula that they had turned over the belongings to the police. She also stated that the school declined her request to have an empty seat at her graduation in her daughter’s honor, however a staff member has claimed that the request was never made.
Paula has claimed that her daughter had no intention of running away, due to certain things around their house still being there that Bali would’ve likely taken with her, like her acne medication, makeup, phone charger, and an emergency cash fund. Bali also had a violin recital coming up that she “wouldn’t want to miss.” Many internet sleuths, along with former classmates of Bali have stated that Paula is a “religious zealot” who, despite her children all having different fathers, wouldn’t allow Bali’s father to meet her because he “wouldn’t go to church.” Paula’s actions suggest that her daughter may not have had as good of a home life as the media is made to believe.
Her friends are also believed to have not been very kind to Bali. The same source who stated Paula Bali yelled at them also reported hearing her friends Oksana and Amy taking about Bali behind her back. They reportedly said that she was self-harming for attention, that they expected her to simply kill herself one day, and that they honestly didn’t care about what happened to her. They also reportedly said that she was a “desperate drug addict” who just wanted to ditch town. However, majority of these conversations, if true, have been kept away from the public by police and thus have not been confirmed, meaning they are simply hearsay and are to be taken with a grain of salt. Her friends had very little interest in assisting in the search for Bali, also proving their feelings towards her were indifferent or negative.
Since 2020, there have been no major leads in the case.
Small Update: In approximately September of 2021, Bali’s email, password, and IP address appeared on a data leak. This would mean that Bali- or somebody else- had logged into her email around that time. The area that the IP addresses were located are Regina and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan- the places Bali was interested in going to. However, the RCMP has yet to confirm if this update is real and/or helpful in the case.
The Theories
The main theories as to Bali’s disappearance are…
• Bali was trafficked, groomed, and/or murdered. We know that she was potentially sending text messages with two different SIM cards and/or through the app Kik on the day of her disappearance. Kik is a notorious chatting app that has been involved in other young women’s disappearances, therefore it wouldn’t be easy to rule this theory out. This is the most widely believed theory.
• Bali committed suicide. We know by her social media posts that she had suicidal thoughts and self-harmed, as well as struggled with mental health issues. It’s possible that she committed suicide- whether in Saskatchewan or somewhere else in Canada.
• Bali successfully travelled away, and is quietly living or traveling in Canada or the United States. We know that Bali wanted to run away to a bigger city, which was likely her motive for whatever inspired her to leave that day. There have been some reported sightings of her, including one sighting where she introduced herself as “Mekayla.”
There are plenty of other theories as to Bali’s disappearance, such as a dissociative fugue, a pregnancy/abortion situation, or an accidental death/succumbed to nature, but these are the officially recognized theories.
A few years ago, I saw a theory on a true crime forum that I found interesting- and possible. The theory stated that Bali could’ve had some sort of break in her mental health that day, like a psychotic or manic episode. It’s possible that the calls on her phone weren’t calls at all, she just believed that she was calling and talking to someone, explaining why the calls didn’t register. This would also explain her erratic behavior. However, it is unknown if Bali suffered from schizophrenia, psychosis or a mania disorder like bipolar.
The Sightings
There have been multiple reported sightings of Bali throughout Canada, and even some from places like Scotland and Columbia. Police said that they have received over 600 tips (as of February 2019) and claimed that they have followed up with and investigated every single one (however many who have reported tips have said that this is not true). Here is the timeline of the potential major Bali sightings.
• On October 9th, 2016, it was anonymously reported that Bali had been sighted in Vancouver. Bali’s mother travelled to Vancouver to put up posters and search for her daughter, to no avail.
• Later that month, three more alleged sightings were reported in Burnaby, Seattle, and Portland. Nothing ever came of these sightings.
• In January of 2017, the Tsuut’ina Nation police believed that Bali was sighted during a college event at the Grey Eagle Entertainment Centre in Calgary, Alberta. Nothing ever came of this sighting.
• In August 2017, the woods near Sacred Heart High School were searched after a woman claimed to have seen Bali there. The search ended after three days with no evidence turning up. The woman later admitted to being a medium and that she heard Bali tell her that her body was in the woods near water.
• In January of 2019, Bali was reported sighted on a cruise ship. Her name was not seen on the cruise’s passenger records, however that doesn’t mean she didn’t use an alias or sneak onto the ship illegally, if she was truly there.
• On August 8th, 2019, a man reported seeing Bali outside on a balcony of the High Run pool bar and casino in Edmonton, Alberta in March. He said that she introduced herself as “Mekayla” and they proceeded to make small chat. The man noted that she seemed “out-of-place” at the location due to her sweet, shy, and naive personality. He only realized months later that he had talked to Bali from a missing poster, and called the tip in. This is the most reliable sighting we’ve had of Bali so far and is the only one considered by police to be plausible.
• Many other people have reported seeing Bali in Edmonton, Alberta of various dates (as recent as 2020), typically sighted around train stations, hotels, and a corner store.
• The most recent reported sighting of Bali was in January 2020 in Penticton. However, police were able to confirm that the person sighted was not Bali.
There has not been a publicly announced reported sighting of Bali since January 2020.
My Thoughts and Theories
I have a gut feeling that Mekayla Bali is alive. I don’t know why, I just do. And I always trust my gut.
My First Theory: On the day of her disappearance, Mekayla was talking with someone, possibly online, whether she knew them in person or not. This person was messing with Mekayla, and falsely told her that they would come pick her up and take her to Regina or wherever she wanted to go. However, they had no intention to come find her. Instead, they sent her on a wild goose chase to places they looked up on Google so this person could have a laugh. When Mekayla finally figured out this person wasn’t coming, she realized that she didn’t have enough money for the bus ticket and decided to leave town on foot or hitchhike. Whether she got anywhere, met with foul play, or succumbed to natural elements, I’m not sure but I’m hopeful that she made it.
My Second Theory: Mekayla planned to go to Regina without the help of anyone online, but she was talking with someone about it. This person encouraged her to go on this vacation whether for innocent or nefarious purposes, but on the day of her trip she got nervous that she would make her family mad or that she would get lost and regret it. This person continued to encourage Mekayla, hence why her movements were so erratic, her indecision on whether to leave or not. This theory ends the same as the first theory.
With the acne medication, makeup, and phone charger, I think she simply forgot those due to her wanting to get out of town so quickly. As for the emergency fund, it’s possible it didn’t cross her mind or she didn’t want to inconvenience her mother by taking it. I believe she got the second phone either from a friend or it was an old spare she happened to have on her, as $55 wouldn’t cover the cost of a phone.
All of the sightings in Edmonton in 2019 and 2020 couldn’t have been a coincidence. Seeing as the police say that the August 2019 sighting is most likely reliable, I think she (or someone who looked very much like her) was there in 2019 and/or 2020. Whether she’s still there or not, I don’t know. I also think that the RCMP hasn’t told us everything. Based on two of her social media accounts having activity approximately three months after her disappearance and her IP addresses coming up in Regina and Saskatoon, it makes me think she’s alive.
Conclusion
As of June 2022, Bali has not been found. It has been over two years since the last publicly announced reported sighting of her, and yet the Bali family will not give up. The family constantly posts missing posters on social media. Many YouTube documentaries and podcasts have covered her disappearance. In April of 2022, an anonymous donor added $60k to the reward fund, making the total $100k for any information on Bali or for her safe return. In May of 2022, it was announced that 18-wheeler trucks would be displaying Bali’s image and information to garner more public awareness. Investigators believe that if Bali is alive, she is likely in Alberta or the upper United States. However, since it’s been so long since the last sighting, most people have given up hope.
I am always hoping that Bali is safe and alive, traveling throughout Canada as much as she wished to. Though, I know this may not be the case. Bali was a young, lonely, and depressed girl who could’ve been easily taken advantage of, or found the way to leave the world how she wanted. Either which way, I hope her family finds closure, and I still have hope that she will return home when she’s ready.
If you have any information on the disappearance of Mekayla Bali, or believe you have sighted her, please call the Yorkton Muncipal RMCP at 1-844-880-6518. If you would like to remain anonymous, please call 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
If you are interested in reading more true crime write ups by me, you can visit my true crime-dedicated Tumblr blog.
Sources
Mekayla Bali: I Need Help - CBC
Missing: Mekayla Bali - Missing Persons Center
Mekayla Bali’s Social Medias (Instagram, Reddit)
Bali Family Social Medias (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)
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