Caitlin Brandy Potts -- Missing From Okanagan Area Since February 2016

Details from CBC:

The Cree mother from Alberta was in B.C., sorting out a troubled relationship with her ex-boyfriend when she went missing, leaving a series of clues behind as to what happened.

Missing Person: Caitlin Brandy Potts

Last-contact date: February 22nd, 2016
The area where the MP was last seen: Enderby/Kelowna area, British Columbia
Link to government source: CBC article, RCMP page

VITAL DETAILS

Ethnicity: Aboriginal, Cree
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 27 years old
Birthdate: between February 23rd, 1988 and February 22nd, 1989

• I'm not sure of the exact birthdate for Caitlin Brandy Potts but it can be calculated using her age at the time of the disappearance.

Hair: Black
Eyes: Black/dark brown
Scar: Not sure
Height/weight: 5'3" and 150 pounds
Tattoos: Caitlin Brandy Potts did not have any tattoos associated with her profiles. If you know this to be a mistake, then please contact this site.

Caitlin Brandy Potts was last heard from on February 22nd, 2016, when she was 27 years of age. This individual has now been missing for 5 years as of the original publication date of this blog post.

The exact location of her disappearance isn't clear. What's known for sure is that she entered Orchard Park Mall in Kelowna, British Columbia on February 21st, 2016. There is video footage of her doing so. She entered the mall alone in the footage and a lot of the reports on her mention this as the last time she was seen.

But there is an alleged sighting in the small town of Enderby, British Columbia. This is northeast of Kelowna and on the highway that one would take if one was traveling from Kelowna to Calgary. That Caitlin was thought to be heading in that direction perhaps adds some credibility to this sighting. A CBC profile for Caitlin states the following:

Caitlin Potts, 27, has been missing since Feb. 22, 2016. The Samson Cree First Nation mother was last seen by a witness in Enderby, B.C. A missing person's report was filed with the RCMP on March 1. In May 2017, RCMP said they suspected foul play in her disappearance and released a surveillance video of Caitlin entering Orchard Place mall in Kelowna on Feb. 21, 2016. It's the last time she was seen.

What stands out with this case, is that she was using ridesharing. That's not exactly hitchhiking but it still creates a situation where someone is riding with someone that he or she does not know. We can imagine that unsafe situations might result from this. Using Kijiji is a little different than using ridesharing apps because the latter usually involves a review system or uploaded identification for drivers. According to her sister, Codi Potts: "She left me a message the morning she went missing saying she had found a ride on Kijiji to Calgary."

Furthermore, in many news articles, a rocky relationship with a boyfriend was mentioned. No suspect has been named in her disappearance.

Foul play is suspected in this case. Please, take a moment to share this on social media using hashtags relevant to the missing person's area. In this case, that would be for #Kelowna, #Okanagan, #Vernon, #Enderby, and #Calgary. Also, please include the website hashtag #MPCSL.

Author: S.K. Lambert (Blogger Hobbyist and Freelance Writer)

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

S.K. Lambert (Blogger Hobbyist and Freelance Writer) is not a Private Investigator, however, he is currently studying to be one as of March 2021.

Website hashtag: #MPCSL

Disclaimer: Whenever possible, government sources are preferred for getting the details of a missing person's case. However, any source that the article writer deems reputable may be used.

Mekayla Bali -- Teenager Missing from Yorkton, Saskatchewan Since 2016

Mekayla Bali Missing Person Case: Overview

Missing person: Mekayla Bali

Last-contact date: April 12th, 2016 (Tuesday) at 1:45pm
Disappeared from: Yorkton, Saskatchewan at the STC Bus Depot

Link to Government Source: Canada's Missing 2016018567

Official Description of Mekayla Bali’s Disappearance

Canada's Missing Description: Mekayla was last seen at the STC Bus Depot in Yorkton at 1:45 p.m. on April 12th, 2016. She went to school in the morning but left shortly after arriving. She went to several businesses in Yorkton throughout the morning, then returned to school around noon. She bought lunch at the restaurant in the bus depot but did not get on a bus that day. Mekayla left the bus depot in the early afternoon and hasn't been seen since.

Physical Description and Clothing Details

Ethnicity/Race: White
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 16 years old
Hair: Blonde, shoulder lengthed
Eye color: Blue
Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 5'2" and 126 pounds
Clothing: Black/grey leggings, infinity scarf, turquoise blouse, maroon boots, and maroon coat

Timeline of Mekayla Bali’s Last Known Movements

Mekayla Bali was a high school student when she went missing from a small city in Saskatchewan known as Yorkton. This is an individual who had a well-documented timeline on the date of her disappearance. That's partly due to messages she sent before disappearing but it's also due to the surveillance footage that was available at the various venues that she visited the last day that she was seen.

Websleuths or amateur investigators who are thinking of doing some research on this case might benefit from watching the following Youtube video. It contained some useful information and video pertaining to her timeline. If you want to watch her timeline, then go to the 7:05 mark of the video.

Key Observations: Behavior at Tim Horton's

The part of the case that intrigued me the most was her behavior in the Tim Horton's restaurant. At one point, she leaves the restaurant, re-enters, and then exits out the opposite door. To me, this looked like the actions of someone who was having trouble coordinating a pick-up, maybe for a shared ride and possibly with a stranger or someone she knew. The way she exits the Tim Hortons, re-enters, and then chooses the other exit might seem strange but the action is consistent with someone who isn't sure which door her ride is going to pick her up at. Perhaps, she never did actually find that ride.

I wondered if she was using ridesharing apps or shared-ride classifieds like what you find at Kijiji, Craigslist, or on social media. It would be interesting if any ridesharing apps that were operating at the time had a record of drivers who were planning to pass through Yorkton on the day that Mekayla disappeared. Perhaps her driver wasn't reliable and that's what caused her to explore bus travel instead.

Did Mekayla Bali Consider Hitchhiking?

It's also interesting that she went to the bus depot but did not purchase a ticket. This is clearly someone who was dabbling with the idea of intercity travel on the day of her disappearance. That dabbling does invoke one phrase that's common to both intercity transportation and missing people: hitchhiking.

It's not quite fair to say that she was last seen hitchhiking but if the Tim Horton's scene was a failed pick-up location for a shared ride and if she didn't like the prices of the bus tickets then she might have turned to the cheapest form of travel there is: thumbing a ride.

Reliance on hitchhiking is a well-known risk factor when it comes to missing people. This possibility cannot be discounted, especially as she has now been missing for almost nine years as of early 2025. It would be very difficult for someone her age not to register on social media or touch base with someone who could help her for such a lengthy period.

Comparing Mekayla Bali to Beverly Sharpman

Similar Case: Beverly Sharpman

Mekayla Bali's case did remind me of the case of Beverly Sharpman in some ways. Sharpman went missing at the age of 17 in Philadelphia in the late 1940s. She attended high school the day she disappeared before leaving at a train/bus station. There certainly are many differences between the cases but the age, attending high school, and demographics are similar. Similar cases are always good food for thought.

With Sharpman, it's thought that she may have been pregnant and may not have wanted to reveal this to her mother or family. There were also themes of an inappropriate marriage or inappropriate relationship surrounding her case. However, Sharpman was using train services for traveling and she sent a message that hinted at some of her plans. That has created some conjecture that she survived her disappearance event while Bali's case seems a bit more futile in that regard and more mysterious. Nonetheless, I think some of the themes between the two cases could be compared.

Mekayla Bali Case Update: Nine-Year Vigil Sparks Renewed Hope

Mekayla Bali Case Update: Seven-Year Vigil Sparks Renewed Hope

• Vigil Date: Held on April 12, 2023, in Yorkton, SK, marking seven years since Mekayla Bali vanished on April 12, 2016.
• Last Sighting: Mekayla, 16, was last seen at the Yorkton bus depot, 1:00-1:45 p.m., on security footage.
• Family’s View: Paula Bali, her mother, finds the lack of leads “baffling” despite extensive efforts.
• RCMP Action: Released an age-progressed image in 2023 to show Mekayla at 23, seeking new tips.

Source: Regina Leader Post, April 11th, 2023/Larissa Kurz

All articles are subject to editing after the original posting.

I am not a Private Investigator, however, I am currently studying to be one as of February 2021.

Website hashtag: #MPCSL 

Kierra Coles -- Pregnant Postal Worker Missing Since October 2018

Author: Shane Lambert (link opens to my Facebook profile)
Twitter: @UncoolNegated (link to X formerlyTwitter)
Original Time of Writing: January 31st, 2021

Missing person: Kierra Coles
Last-contact date: October 2nd, 2018 (Tuesday)
Disappeared from: Chicago, Illinois; the city's south side around 81st street and Vernon Avenue

Link to Government Source: #MP56098

Ethnicity/Race: Black
Sex: Female
Age at time of disappearance: 26 years old
Hair: Black
Eye color: Brown
Height and weight at the time of disappearance: 5'4" and 125 pounds

Tattoos: Tattoo of a heart on her right hand/wrist; "Lucky Libra" tattooed to her back

Pregnant: 3 months into pregnancy at the time of her disappearance
Clothing: Postal worker uniform

Vehicle: found in front of her apartment with her purse, cell phone, and a packed lunch still inside

Social Media: Facebook Group

Hashtag: #WhereIsKierraColes

The case of Kierra Coles is one that is popular in the media and it has received a lot of coverage.

One factor in that is that Coles was a postal worker. I'm assuming that since her clothing at the time of her disappearance was a "Postal worker uniform" that she went missing while on duty or while on her commute. That is a significant part of this case, in my opinion. 

Below, is a news video that covers some details of her disappearance. The posting date of the video is September 2020. It includes a segment of a surveillance video that may be of Coles. However, the father expresses his disbelief in this.

That Kierra was in her work uniform indicates that she was in her daily routine. I don't know of any cases of missing people where the MP was a postal employee on duty at the time of her disappearance. 

However, there are plenty of cases of missing women who went missing during their work shifts or commutes. An attractive woman who goes missing while she is in her daily work-related routine may have been abducted by someone who had daily visual access to the area where she was last seen.

Whenever a woman goes missing, the boyfriend or husband might draw some attention. That may be all the more the case when pregnancy is involved. However, it's also important not to develop tunnel vision. 

If Kierra went missing while walking a route that she used day after day, then questions of who knew her route and who was attracted to her should come into play. If her pregnancy wasn't yet showing, then she might have still been attractive in the eyes of an abductor that was somehow familiar with her routine.

The uniform, the tattoos, and the fetus may all produce leads in this case, having to do with a Jane Doe ahead of DNA testing. Additionally, it would be wise to note any broken bones that she may have suffered at any point in her life in her NamUs profile.

Kierra Coles Case Update: Family Marks Birthday on September 24, 2023, Amid Ongoing Search for Missing Pregnant Postal Worker

There was an update with this case in late 2023. Nearly five years after she originally disappeared, on September 24th, 2023, her family gathered to celebrate what would have been her 31st birthday, as reported by NBC Chicago.

The event highlighted their ongoing resolve to find her, with her mother, Karen Phillips, expressing the emotional toll of her absence and frustration with the lack of progress from the Chicago Police Department. Coles, three months pregnant at the time of her disappearance, left behind her car with her purse, phone, and packed lunch inside, deepening the mystery. The family continues to push for answers in this unresolved case.

NBC Chicago - Family Celebrated Birthday of Missing USPS Worker Kierra Coles

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