Hair found in truck helps police identify suspect in 1995 disappearance of Morgan Nick, 6

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.

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.”

Andrew Demillo, The Associated Press