logo
episode-header-image
Feb 2025
1h 2m

Tamala "Nikki" Wells

Wondery
About this episode

In early August 2012, 33-year-old Tamala “Nikki” Wells vanished from her Detroit, Michigan, home under mysterious circumstances, leaving her friends in a state of confusion and despair. The last person to see Tamala, her boyfriend, claims she drove off from their home on the evening of August 6th in a white 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix, but after that, she disappeared without a trace.

The following morning, Tamala’s mother, Donna, received a chilling call from her young granddaughter. She revealed that Tamala had not come home, sparking immediate concern. Donna, who lived in Florida, rushed to Detroit to help search for her daughter. What followed was a series of unsettling discoveries. Tamala’s car, reportedly driven by her on the night she disappeared, was found abandoned in a different part of town, but Tamala herself was nowhere to be found.

As days turned into weeks, the case began to go cold. However, Tamala’s family believes that the investigation was mishandled from the start and that there is still hope of finding her. They are convinced that with a fresh look and renewed effort, this case could be solved.

If you have any information about the disappearance of Tamala "Nikki" Wells, please contact the Detroit Police Department at (313) 596-2200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-Speak-Up.

If you have a missing loved one that you would like to have featured on the show, please fill out our case submission form.

Follow The Vanished on social media at:

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Patreon

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Up next
Oct 6
Samantha Tolbert
In late February of 2024, 46-year-old Samantha Tolbert vanished from Carroll County, Georgia, a rural area in western Georgia, along the Alabama state line. At first, Samantha’s absence didn’t raise an alarm. She kept in touch with her daughter, but it wasn’t unusual for some tim ... Show More
1h 5m
Sep 29
Joel Judd
In the northern Alberta town of Slave Lake, the nights in late December are long and unforgiving. On December 28, 2019, 27-year-old Joel Judd was staying with a relative in town. By the end of that evening, he had set out for a night out. By the next morning, he was gone, and no ... Show More
1 h
Sep 22
Conrad Jason Ducharme
In northern Alberta, long roads cut through forest and farmland, connecting small, close-knit communities. It was along these highways in the summer of 2016 that 43-year-old Conrad Jason Ducharme, known to family and friends simply as Jason, was last seen.Jason was believed to be ... Show More
1h 8m
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2024
63: MISSING: Nikki Cheng Saelee-McCain
On the evening of May 17th, 2024, 39-year-old Nikki Cheng Saelee-McCain, a beloved mother, daughter and sister, texted her sister saying she was visiting her brother-in-law in a Redding, California, hospital. Just after midnight, she mentioned returning her mother-in-law's car to ... Show More
53m 7s
Jan 2025
The Disappearance of Doreen Vincent (Connecticut)
When a 12-year-old girl disappeared from her home on a summer night in 1988, police took her father’s word that she’d run away just as she had more than once before. But more than 30 years later, there’s still no sign of the missing girl and her father’s story just isn’t adding u ... Show More
35m 23s
Jan 2019
4 DISTURBING Missing Persons MYSTERIES
Missing persons cases can be difficult for all those involved because often, those searching simply can’t find answers. Sometimes people deliberately want to disappear, while other times individuals can vanish under much more bizarre and unusual circumstance. These are 4 Disturbi ... Show More
15m 43s
Jul 28
98: MURDER: Trish Haynes
In January 2018, 25-year-old Trish Haynes returned to New Hampshire for a court date. She planned to stay just a few months and then head back to Florida, where her grandparents were waiting for her. But that return trip never happened. After moving in with an old classmate and h ... Show More
42m 2s
Jul 2024
Nikki Saelee-McCain // 423
In May of 2024, a 39-year-old California woman vanished without a trace, and no one, including her husband, seemed to be able to account for her whereabouts – even after her truck was founded abandoned in a deserted location. But the public quickly turned on her husband when they ... Show More
43m 22s
Sep 25
The Disappearance of Stefanie Damron (Maine)
Stefanie Damron’s parents say that their 13-year-old daughter walked out the door and into the woods one September afternoon in 2024, and she hasn’t been seen or heard from since. They have their own suspicions about what happened to her, but so far, a multi-agency effort hasn’t ... Show More
22m 43s
Sep 18
105: MISSING: Timmothy Pitzen
On the morning of May 13, 2011, 6-year-old Timmothy Pitzen was seen checking out of the Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells with his mother, Amy. But he was never seen with her again. The next day, Amy was found dead in a motel in Rockford, Illinois. She left behind notes saying T ... Show More
47m 16s
Apr 2025
85: MURDER: Brittany Phillips
On September 27, 2004, 18-year-old Brittany Phillips had what appeared to be a typical day in the life of a college student. She spent time with friends and called her mom later that night to catch up. But after that phone call, no one saw or heard from Brittany again. She didn’t ... Show More
51m 30s
Apr 2025
The Disappearance of Brittany Tee (Massachusetts)
For more than two years, the family of Brittany Tee along with the Brookfield, Massachusetts, community and multiple law enforcement agencies have been searching for answers to her unexplained disappearance. It’s as if she simply vanished that January night, leaving no semblance ... Show More
32m 40s
Aug 21
The Disappearance of Michael Madore (Maine)
When Michael Madore vanished almost 30 years ago, the first theories of his disappearance were pulled from letters found at his house: he was supposedly leaving behind his home and belongings and dogs to start a new life in Alaska. That’s the story police in Milo, Maine, first he ... Show More
38m 44s