Hair found in truck helps police identify suspect in 1995 disappearance
of Morgan Nick, 6
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 [October 02, 2024]
By ANDREW DEMILLO
ALMA, Ark. (AP) — Hair found in a truck once owned by an Arkansas man
who died in prison more than two decades ago was the clue investigators
needed to connect the dead inmate to the disappearance of a 6-year-old
girl who went missing in 1995.
Alma Police Chief Jeff Pointer on Tuesday announced that police have
identified Billy Jack Lincks as a suspect in the abduction of Morgan
Nick, who was last seen chasing fireflies with friends at a Little
League ballpark in Alma, about 120 miles (193 km) northwest of Little
Rock.
“As of today, for the first time I’m aware of, I’m calling Billy Jack
Lincks a suspect in her abduction,” Pointer said at a news conference
with Morgan's family.
Lincks died in prison in 2000 and had been arrested for attempting to
abduct a girl months after Morgan went missing. He was identified by the
FBI in 2021 as a person of interest in Morgan's disappearance.
Pointer said lab testing determined that hair found in a truck owned by
Lincks was that of Colleen Nick, Morgan’s mother, one of Colleen Nick’s
siblings, or one of her children.
Follow-up interviews of members of the Nick family revealed that none of
them knew Billy Jack Lincks and that none of them had ever been in his
truck, Pointer said.
Pointer said police are still investigating Morgan's disappearance and
have questions they're trying to answer, including how she was taken
from the ballfield, what happened next and whether Lincks had any help
abducting Morgan or concealing her kidnapping.
“And where is Morgan now? I can tell you today that this investigation
is not over,” Pointer said. “It is ongoing and active.”
Arkansas’ missing child alert system is named for Morgan and her
disappearance was featured in a Hulu documentary series in 2023. Colleen
Nick, Morgan's mother, created a foundation to help the families of
other missing children.
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Colleen Nick speaks during a press conference at the headquarters of
the Alma Police Department on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Alma, Ark.,
about the 1995 kidnapping of her daughter Morgan Nick. (Colin
Murphey/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP)
Police for years have linked a red truck with a white camper to
Morgan's disappearance.
Lincks was identified initially as a possible person of interest in
the months following Morgan's disappearance, but he denied any
knowledge of her abduction and investigators moved on. At the time
of Morgan's disappearance, he drove a red truck.
Investigators took another look at Lincks in 2019 as they reviewed
the early stages of the investigation into Morgan’s disappearance
and located the truck he owned at the time.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday said she was
grateful to Alma police, State Police and other law enforcement
agencies “that brought light to this case through 29 years of
unyielding effort.”
“My deepest gratitude is for Colleen Nick, who mobilized her grief
to create the Morgan Nick Foundation and help prevent other families
from going through the same unimaginable tragedy,” Sanders said in a
statement.
Colleen Nick on Tuesday said Lincks “stole” Morgan from her and the
rest of the Nick family.
“But he didn't see he could never win because our love for Morgan,
her memory and her voice, outlasted his life,” Nick said, standing
near a photo of her daughter. “And that love continues to shine. Her
heart, Morgan's heart, shines on.”
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