Skeletal remains found by duck hunters off Interstate 80 near the Saltair concert venue on October 8, 2000, were long unidentified and became known as Saltair Sally. In August 2012 DNA testing identified the remains as 20-year-old Nikole Niki Bakoles, a Washington state native who had moved to Utah in 1998 with her boyfriend, Joel Chaudoin. Nikole and Chaudoin had a daughter; friends and family described her as creative and free-spirited, with interests in poetry and painting.

The last confirmed sighting of Nikole was in March 2000. Her family reported her missing in 2003 after years without regular contact, during which she lived a transient lifestyle and faced loss of custody and legal troubles. Her death has been classified as a homicide, though the precise cause has not been released. Investigators questioned Chaudoin, who said the two argued in March 2000 and he left, but he has not been publicly named as a suspect. An anonymous caller in 2012 claimed responsibility but gave no verifiable details. No arrests have been announced; anyone with information about Nikole’s life in early 2000 or her disappearance is asked to come forward.