Update 10:15 a.m.
A family friend of Nicole Bell says the Shuswap woman's remains were found in "close proximity" to the Sagmoen farm.
Nichole Fleming spoke to Efteen on behalf of Bell's family, who are asking for privacy at this time.
Friday morning, RCMP spokesperson Corp. James Grandy said Bell's remains were found in "rural Salmon Arm." Fleming said the discovery was in the area of the Sagmoen farm in Silver Creek, where Curtis Sagmoen resided before his death in April.
Sagmoen was the primary suspect in Bell's death, according to her mother, Jane Aubertin.
The Sagmoen farm is where the remains of Traci Genereaux were found by the RCMP in October 2017. No charges have been laid in relation to her death.
Original:
The remains of a Shuswap woman, whose disappearance is believed to have been a result of foul play, were recently located in the Salmon Arm area.
On May 5, Salmon Arm RCMP received a report of human remains having been found in "rural Salmon Arm," said RCMP spokesperson Corp. James Grandy in a June 18 news release.
The BC Coroners Service identified the remains to be of Nicole Crystal Bell, a mother of three who was reported missing from Sicamous on Sept. 7, 2017.
Grandy said the investigation into Bell’s disappearance was assumed by the Southeast District Major Crime Unit on Sept. 26, 2017, and 'investigators quickly learned that Bell’s disappearance was the result of foul play."
Grandy noted Bell's was one of five women who went missing in the North Okanagan-Shuswap within a short period of time, including Traci Genereaux whose remains were found by police in October 2017, on a Silver Creek property owned by the Sagmoen family. To date, no charges have been laid in the death.
“Although it has been established that the disappearance of all five women were not associated to a single serial actor, investigators believe that the primary suspect responsible for Bell’s death is the same as that of Traci Genereaux," said Supt. Sanjaya Wijayakoon, Operations Officer for the BC RCMP Major Crimes program.
Grandy said police do not believe there is "an ongoing threat to public safety at this time, as the primary suspect is now deceased."
According to Bell's mother, Jane Aubertin, that suspect was Curtis Sagmoen, who was found unresponsive in a Vernon motel on Thursday, April 10, 2025. The 44-year-old man had a history of violence against women in the sex trade.
Grandy said additional parties to the offence have not yet been ruled out, "and as such, the Southeast District MCU continues to investigate Bell’s and Genereaux’s deaths." Police ask that anyone with information about their disappearances or murders contact the Southeast District Major Crimes Unit information line at 1-877-987-8477.
