On Tuesday, Oct. 1, the Alma Police Department announced a major update to the 1995 cold case of Morgan Nick. Morgan Nick, a 5-year-old girl at the time, went missing while catching fireflies during a game at Wofford Baseball Field in Alma, Arkansas. While there have been multiple suspects in the case, there has been a lack of significant evidence to convict anyone until now. 

     During a press conference on Tuesday, Alma Police Chief Jeff Pointer announced new DNA evidence connected to a suspect in the murder. The suspect, Billy Jack Lincks, has remained an original suspect in Morgan Nick’s disappearance, and police interviewed him about her disappearance in 1995. Lincks is unable to be convicted of the crime, as he died in prison in 2000, serving time for a different child abduction and rape case. Pointer revealed that a hair found in Linck’s truck in 2020 matched the DNA of Colleen Nick, Morgan’s mother, or a member of the Nick family. 

     Retired Alma Police Chief Russell White, who worked on Morgan Nick’s original case, stated, “Alma is better prepared if this ever happens again.”

     The red truck has been at the center of Morgan Nick’s disappearance since the original investigation. Multiple witnesses spotted Linck’s red truck at the baseball fields at the time of Morgan’s disappearance. Later that night, a group of teenagers spotted his truck at the river. Additionally, his truck connected Lincks to another crime in which he attempted to solicit sex from a minor. This offense landed him jail time, where he spent the remainder of his life.

     Coleen Nick closed the conference by stating, “He stole Morgan from me, her dad, Logan and Taryn. He didn’t see that he could never win. Because our love for Morgan – her memory, her voice – outlasted his life, and that love continues to shine. Morgan’s heart shines on.”