Immaculate Basil was born on December 8, 1985, and was part of the Tl'azt'en Nation in Tachie, south of the Kuz Che Reserve in British Columbia. She was named by her father in honor of the Virgin Mary and was also known to friends and family as "Mackie." She grew up in a large family and was one of eight siblings. Mackie did not have the easiest childhood as she grew up in foster care and she and her sister experienced abuse from their foster parents. Despite living apart, she and her sisters Ida and Crystal would call each other daily.
Immaculate Basil (RSCMP Missing Persons)
When Mackie graduated high school, she got out of foster care and moved to the reservation. She lived with her partner and soon gave birth to a son. Mackie was a devoted mother who loved kids and even fostered some of the kids on the reservation. She worked several jobs as a part-time secretary, teacher's assistant, and house cleaner. Mackie eventually split with her long-time partner. The reason for their separation was not known to her family and she moved in with her brother and sister.
She took a lot in because of her past and held that in and didn’t show it, so she was always happy and did stuff for other people. She was just a very loving and caring and bubbly person even though she went through a lot of hard times.Ida Basil, sister of Immaculate Basil (Longreads)
On Thursday, June 13, 2013, Mackie and her brother and sister went to a nearby community to buy groceries and run errands. At the store, she asked her brother Peter to buy her 2 bottles of vodka because she had lost her ID. She wanted the bottles for a party she planned to attend later that night. After they returned home and just before dusk, Mackie grabbed one bottle of vodka and her iPod and headed out to where locals were having a party. Her sister Vivian was watching her son for the night. Mackie returned home a few hours later and grabbed the second bottle of vodka and headed up a trail called Leo Creek Forest Service Road to a cabin right outside of town to continue the party.
It was shortly after midnight when Mackie headed to the second party and the events of the night after that are not entirely clear. She was said to have been with two men that night: her younger cousin Keith and a 48-year-old man named Victor. A forestry worker reported seeing a woman that resembled Mackie the next morning at approximately 9:30 am. She saw a woman walking alone along a bridge away from a truck that had gotten in an accident. She saw two men with the truck. Some people suspect that Mackie tried to hitchhike home after the truck had gotten stuck.
When Mackie did not show up to pick up her son the next day, or the days after, her family reported her missing to the police. They began to call family and friends to see if anyone had seen her. It was not a common occurrence for her to spend the night away from her son, and she had no overnight supplies or a cell phone with her. The area the cabin was located in was also known to have no cell phone coverage. Despite several days of searching by police and community members, nothing was ever found.
The two men Mackie was seen with that night told her sister Vivian that she had caught a ride with someone else. Police confiscated the truck she was in but no evidence was found to suspect foul play. Her previous partner was also questioned and even though he left town shortly after her disappearance, they cleared him as a suspect as he had an alibi. Victor, one of the men who Mackie had hung out with at the party, was spotted the same morning she went missing walking into town around 10 am with his clothes wet up to his chest. Witnesses found his appearance odd, in addition to the fact that he arrived in town so shortly after the accident occurred.
Despite this odd occurrence, and his record of multiple violent crimes, including one for sexual assault, Victor was interviewed by police and passed a polygraph test, so police ruled him out as a suspect. Keith, her younger cousin who she also spent the night with, was also interviewed by police and passed a polygraph test. Neither man has ever talked to Mackie's family about the exact events of that night. Although police have looked into several people, it has been difficult to name anyone as a suspect because there is no crime scene. Mackie was 27 years old when she went missing, and her son was five years old. This case remains unsolved and her family is still searching for answers.
