In a major breakthrough today, Alma Police Chief Jeff Pointer announced a suspect in the nearly 30-year-old case of 6-year-old Morgan Nick, who disappeared on June 9, 1995, during a Little League Baseball game.
DNA analysis of blonde hair found in a red truck owned by Billy Jack Lincks “strongly indicates” that Morgan had been inside the vehicle, which matches the description of a truck seen at the Arkansas ballfield the day she went missing.
“Today, Billy Jack Lincks is officially a suspect in Morgan’s disappearance,” Pointer said during a crowded press conference. He emphasized that the investigation is ongoing, with many questions still unanswered. “Where is Morgan Nick?” he asked.
Lincks, who attempted to abduct another child two months after Morgan’s disappearance, passed away in prison at the age of 72. His name had come up in the investigation before, but he was not confirmed as a suspect until Othram Labs, a forensic genetic genealogy lab, conducted a DNA analysis on a degraded hair sample. Morgan would be 33 years old today.
Morgan’s mother, Colleen Nick, a longtime advocate for the National Center for Missing, Exploited Children (NCMEC), became emotional as she addressed Lincks’ connection to the case.
“He stole Morgan from me,” Colleen said, her voice filled with both anger and grief. “He stole her from her dad, and he stole her from Logan and Taryn.” She expressed some comfort, though, in knowing that “Our love for Morgan, her memories, her voice, outlasted his life.”
Chief Pointer noted that Lincks’ family has been cooperative with the investigation and urged anyone with additional information to contact NCMEC’s hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678). On the night Morgan disappeared, she had been at the game with her mother, catching fireflies with friends before she vanished.