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Immaculate ("Mackie") Mary Basil
Born	(1985-12-08)December 8, 1985
Disappeared	June 14, 2013 (aged 27) Kuzche Reserve, BC
Status	Missing for 10 years, 11 months and 10 days
Occupation(s)	Casual Worker, Part Time Secretary, Substitute Teacher's Assistant, Home Maker
Height	5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Parents	Samuel Basil (father) Patricia Joseph (mother)

Immaculate ("Mackie") Mary Basil was a 27 year old woman who went missing on the early morning hours of Friday June 14, 2013 around the Kuzche native reserve, about an hour north of Fort St James. It was reported that she was last with her cousin and another man before she went missing. Her disappearance is considered contrary to her personality.

Background

Mackie Basil is the daughter of Samuel Basil and Patricia Joseph. Mackie Basil is the mother of a boy, Jamison, who was five years old when she disappeared. Mackie Basil had three sisters and three brothers: Crystal, Ida, Samantha (deceased, overdose), Nick, Peter and Travis (deceased, homicide). Along with her two younger sisters, Ida and Crystal, Mackie grew up from a young age in the foster care system. Ida says that their experience in foster care bonded them, and that it drew them together. Ida said that they always called each other and talked with each other. They called each other daily at 10 am. Mackie was part of the Tl'azt'en Nation, based out of Tachie, which is just south of the Kuzche reserve. Mackie lived in Fort St James at the time of her disappearance. Mackie worked part time as a secretary, or a teacher's assistant at the school. Mackie had recently split up with a long time partner who is the father of her son.

Personality

Mackie was an introvert who rarely partied and was not known to drink or do drugs. It was a surprise to family when they learned that not only did she recently break up with her common law husband, but that she was going to a party alone and drinking. Mackie was very selective as to who she spent time with and preferred to spend time at home cleaning, decorating, completing tasks, spending time online, talking with her sisters or spending time with her son. Mackie would often make porridge for her son and put frozen huckleberries in the bowl. Mackie's son was very important to her. Ida said of her sister Mackie that she was a "caring, beautiful person" and that "she'd help out in any way she can if you asked her for help"

Relationship status

Mackie was single at the time of her disappearance. She recently split up with her common law husband just before the time of her disappearance. News of the break up was a surprise to the family. It was not known why she broke up. It is not public knowledge how long she was with her husband, but he was the father of her son who was 5 years old at the time of her disappearance.

Disappearance

The events leading up to Mackie's disappearance are not entirely clear, but she was seen at the house party on Tachie reserve before she left with Victor and Keith shortly after midnight. It is not substantiated, but it was reported that she was attempting to hitchhike alone after the truck that she was in got into an accident.

Mackie's timeline

Large portions of Mackie's timeline the night that she went missing are not public knowledge. This is because she was alone for much of the night and after midnight, she left with Keith and Victor, who haven't made public what happened that night.

Approximate Timeline Following Mackie's Movement When She Went Missing to When She Was Reported Missing

Note	Start	End
Mackie attended her aunt's funeral.	17:00 13 June 2013	13 June 2013
Mackie is at house party on Tachie reserve. The party started on a Thursday night.	13 June 2013	00:00 14 June, 2013
Mackie is seen by her brother Peter while she is picking up a 26 oz bottle of vodka. Mackie mentions to Peter that she was with Victor and Keith	00:00 14 June, 2013	00:00 14 June, 2013
Allegedly Mackie left with Victor and Keith to get some red tin from a hunter's cabin near Kuzche. They travelled in a white and blue truck. Mackie's location unknown after she left the party. The white truck got into an accident on Leo Creek Forest Service Road.	00:00 14 June 2013	10:00 14 June 2013
Victor is seen walking down street in Tachie, clothes wet up to his chest.	10:00 14 June 2013	10:00 14 June 2013
Mackie misses daily phone call with sisters Crystal and Ida. Suspects that Mackie may be at her brother Nick's house where there wasn't a phone. Crystal can't go over and check because she lives three hours away by car in Burns Lake.	10:00 14 June, 2013	10:00 14 June, 2013
Crystal starts to call around asking about Mackie, when she misses two calls in a row.	10:00 15 June, 2013	10:00 15 June, 2013
Crystal starts to raise alarm that Mackie is missing and asks people to look around. Learns that Mackie wasn't at Nick's.	16 June, 2013	16 June, 2013
Crystal calls RCMP in the morning to file missing person's report.	17 June, 2013	17 June, 2013
RCMP meet Crystal in person for the first time regarding the missing person's report. RCMP start interviewing people from party.	18 June, 2013	18 June, 2013

House party

Mackie attended a house party on Thursday 13 June, 2013, in Tachie. It is not public knowledge exactly who was at the party that night, or how many people were there, but Vanessa Joseph believes that it was mostly Mackie's cousins and a few others. Mackie's cousin Keith, and a man named Victor, who was known to Vanessa, were also at the party. The party was located at a house about 20 minutes by foot from Mackie's house.

Vehicle Accident

According to RCMP report to the family, Victor and Keith reported that they were riding in a white truck with Mackie the night of the disappearance. Sometime in the early morning hours of 14 June 2013, the white truck that Mackie, Keith and Victor were travelling in got into an accident. The accident happened on Leo Creek Forest Service Road between Tachie and Kuzche near a place called "16 kilometer." The accident happened while the truck was travelling away from the cabin. Vanessa said the accident was apparent because that there was parts of the white truck near a tree that was broken in half. Vanessa said that she learned that an attempt was made to get a black truck at the hunter's cabin in Kuzche to pull the white truck. Victor and Keith both told the RCMP that Mackie separated from them after the accident. RCMP press releases indicated that Mackie separated from the two other men shortly after their truck got stuck in the mud.

Victor's Walk

At about 10 am Friday 14 June, 2013, Victor was seen walking down the street in Tachie, clothes wet up to his chest. Both Vanessa Joseph and her cousin Ron saw this in front of Ron's house, but not knowing that Mackie was missing, they thought it was strange but didn't investigate further. After learning about the report that the white truck that Victor was driving was in an accident near Kuzche, Vanessa considered it odd that Victor would be back in Tachie so soon, on foot. The black truck from the hunting cabin was not driven back to Tachie but was left on Leo Creek Forest Service Road an hour away by vehicle from where Victor was seen walking.

Vehicle and personal items at time of disappearance

Mackie was not driving a vehicle at the time of her disappearance. Mackie always brought her makeup bag and plenty of extra clothes if she knew that she was leaving for more than a day. Mackie didn't bring her makeup bag or an extra set of clothes. Mackie didn't own a cell phone. Mackie was reported to have been wearing grey yoga (capri) pants, white shoes and a black hoodie with a maple leaf on the front. Also, a dark blue iPod Shuffle with white earphones is missing with Mackie. None of the items that went missing with Mackie were ever found.

Investigation

Both Victor and Keith were given polygraph tests and RCMP reported to the family that they were both co-operative. They were also interviewed by a forensic psychologist and the psychologist reported to the family that they found nothing suspicious. Vanessa believes that the police interviewed everyone involved.

No one revealed to the family that Mackie left the party with Keith and Victor until after police interviews on 18 June, 2013 when RCMP disclosed this fact to the family.

According to numerous people related to Mackie, the family hasn't heard very much from the RCMP since the year she went missing. Though the RCMP issued a press release to the public on the third anniversary of Mackie's disappearance.

Search effort

RCMP were part of the search effort for about a week after 18 June, 2013. They used dogs in the search effort. There was a hailstorm and unfavorable rainy weather for searching the weekend of 22nd June, 2013. Friends and family of Mackie joined in the search effort. Extensive ground and air efforts were made to search for Mackie in the days after her disappearance. These initial searches were carried out by numerous Search and Rescue organizations, RCMP air services and locals. In the time since search efforts have been made only by search and rescue and the Tl'azt'en band. An approximate 20 km radius area was searched in the area around Tachie/Kuzche.

Tachie/Kuzche Geography

Tl'azt'en nation, which includes the communities of Tachie, Kuzche, Binche and Dzitl’ainli, is located on the north-eastern shore of Stewart Lake, BC. Tachie is about 45 minutes north of Fort St James and Kuzche is located about 45 minutes north of Tachie. The area consists of numerous rivers, ponds, lakes, rolling hills and lakes. Most of the land is covered in forest. The area has one main highway to Fort St James, numerous logging roads and a railway that runs through the area and through both Tachie and Kuzche. Both Tachie and Kuzche are accessible by road as well. Industry in the area consists mainly of mining and logging. The railroad is no longer in use and the local sawmill, owned by Tanizul Timber, has been shut down since before Mackie's disappearance. Geology consists of numerous types of igneous and metamorphic rocks and their related soils. Various animals are known to the area, including moose, mule and white-tailed deer, elk, cougar, sheep, mountain goat, black and grizzly bear, coyote, wolf and woodland caribou.

Awareness effort

Billboard located near Tachie.

Numerous posters, billboards and news articles have gone up in an effort to raise awareness about Mackie's disappearance. The RCMP released numerous press releases, including one on the month of the three year anniversary of Mackie's disappearance. In 2016, shortly after the third year anniversary RCMP press release, the Tl'azt'en nation has also offered a $20,000 reward for information leading to Mackie's discovery at the behest of Peter Basil, Mackie's brother.

Theories

Due to family connections and a young child whom Mackie was known to be affectionate to, in addition to no history of running away, it is considered unlikely that Mackie ran away. Although they are skeptical that Mackie ran away, RCMP are hesitant to attribute her disappearance to foul play. This leaves animal attack or accident as possible explanations for Mackie's disappearance.

Animal Attack, Accident or Misadventure

Although it is true that there are numerous dangerous wild animals that are known to live in the area around Tachie/Kuzche, the theory of an animal attack is brought into question due to the lack of evidence of an attack found by the searchers who did a thorough ground and air search of about a 20 km radius. There was no confirmed discovery of any of the items that Mackie had when she went missing, nor was there any discovery of blood or other remains confirmed to be Mackie's. If Mackie went missing due to an accident or misadventure, then it is reasonable to presume that she would have walked to where she met her demise. This would have been well within the range of the search party who were looking for her reamains. No remains were ever found.

Rumors

A number of unsubstantiated rumors and inconsistent reports happened after Mackie went missing. The RCMP followed up on many of these and reported to Mackie's family their findings.

Known Debunked Sightings

Mackie was reported to have been seen on the morning of 14 June 2013 by either forestry workers, tree planters or a truck driver. This rumor says that she was seen attempting to hitchhike. The RCMP followed up with these rumors and determined that they were false.

Another debunked sighting was near Saik'uz reserve, south of Vanderhoof.

Trip with Victor and Keith to Kuzche

Allegedly Mackie was riding with two men, Keith and Victor, in a white pickup truck at the time of her disappearance. Alledgedly, they were heading to a hunter's cabin near Kuzche reserve to pick up some unused roofing tin to deliver to an elder. This story was only substantiated by Keith and Victor with no other witnesses.

Foul play

Though they haven't confirmed it, the RCMP haven't ruled out the possibility of foul play playing a role in the disappearance of Mackie Basil. Mackie disappeared in an area that is part of the Highway of Tears corridor.

Friends or associates

Neither Keith nor Victor has talked with the family about exactly what happened the night of the disappearance. Keith is younger than Mackie. Victor was reported to have been mean to his ex-wife. Victor was not from Tachie. Victor was about 48 years old at the time of the disappearance and has a history of convictions for violent crime and at least one charge of sexual assault. Most of these crimes had resulting court appearances in the Telegraph Creek court.

Stranger

Considering the remoteness of the area and the timing in which Mackie disappeared, it is unlikely that she disappeared due to a stranger abduction. However, it should be noted that according to the FBI, stranger abductions involving women mostly are motivated by sexual assault and are also the most likely to involve the use of a firearm.

Other Similar Disappearances

Mackie's cousin Bonnie Marie Joseph went missing along the Highway of Tears corridor as well. Bonnie was last seen hitchhiking east towards Prince George from Vanderhoof on Saturday 8 September, 2007. She was last seen by her cousin Joanne.

See also

• List of people who disappeared
• Highway of Tears

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basil, Mackie}} [[Category:2010s missing person cases]] [[Category:Missing person cases in Canada]]