DNA evidence found in truck leads to suspect in Arkansas girl's 1995 abduction

Almost three decades after a 6-year-old girl was abducted in western Arkansas, modern forensic tests helped identify the suspect in her disappearance, authorities said this week.

Morgan Nick was kidnapped from the parking lot of a Little League baseball field in the city of Alma, near the Oklahoma border, on the night of June 9, 1995, according to the Alma Police Department. At the time, detectives received a description of the suspect that alleged he drove a red truck with a white camper shell, which witnesses reported seeing in the area when Morgan vanished. Despite a massive investigation into her abduction that has continued into the present day, Morgan was never found.

Law enforcement officers with local, state and federal agencies have since spent thousands of hours pursuing more than 10,000 leads in hopes of solving Morgan's case, the Alma Police Department said Tuesday. Announcing a "major development" in the ongoing probe, police said the results of DNA testing on evidence gathered from that red truck finally confirmed the suspect's identity. 

Billy Jack Lincks, of Buren, Arkansas, was named a person of interest in Morgan's kidnapping early on in the investigation. He was arrested several months after her disappearance for sexual solicitation of a child, but denied knowing anything about the abduction during questioning and "appeared to be truthful," police said.  Although investigators back then turned their focus away from Lincks, Alma Police detectives returned to his name while conducting a review of the probe's preliminary stages during the summer of 2019.

Lincks drove a red truck when Morgan vanished, police said, and they were able to find it with a new owner in the midst of that review. The owner allowed law enforcement to scour the vehicle for evidence.

Samples ultimately taken from the truck included strands of hair. The FBI last year submitted the evidence to Othram Laboratory, a Texas-based organization that specializes in forensic genealogy. 

Almost 10 months later, Alma Police said the FBI received a report from Othram Lab, "stating, in essence, that they determined that hair contained in the evidence submitted for analysis was that of Colleen Nick, one of her siblings, or one of her children." Colleen Nick is Morgan Nick's mother. She submitted a reference DNA sample to Othram as testing got underway, which allowed scientists to establish a first-degree familial relationship between her DNA and the DNA taken Lincks' red truck, the laboratory said in a statement.

Members of Morgan's family told police in follow-up interviews that they did not know Lincks, nor had any of them ever been inside of his car. Because of that, authorities believe it was Morgan who left behind the DNA.

Lincks died in 2000 while incarcerated for an unrelated crime, and Morgan remains missing.

"An army of supporters, advocates and heroes have rallied to uncover the truth about her disappearance," said Colleen Nick in a statement shared by Alma Police. "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."

Authorities are continuing to investigate the circumstances around Morgan's abduction. They have asked anyone with information to report what they know to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

In:
• DNA
• Missing Child
• Arkansas
• Kidnapping