Six-year-old Morgan Nick vanished from a Little League ballpark in Alma, Arkansas on June 9, 1995. Now, more than 29 years later, police have found DNA evidence linking Billy Jack Lincks to the disappearance.
New evidence has identified Billy Jack Lincks as a prime suspect in Morgan Nick’s 1995 disappearance in Arkansas after DNA evidence from his vehicle was linked to the missing girl.
On June 9, 1995, Morgan Nick disappeared at a ballpark in Alma, Arkansas. She had been playing with friends near the parking lot when she vanished. Witnesses, including other children playing with Morgan, reported seeing a suspicious man with a red pickup truck near the scene.
Police interviewed Billy Jack Lincks, who owned a vehicle matching the description, but no significant evidence linked him to the crime until 2019. Authorities then searched Lincks’ truck and discovered bloodstains, hair, and fibers that were consistent with the clothing Morgan had been wearing. Lincks, who had been arrested for attempting to abduct another young girl shortly after Morgan’s disappearance, became the primary suspect.
In 2024, advanced DNA testing on the hair found in Billy Jack Lincks’ truck confirmed that it belonged to someone in the Nick family, likely Morgan. Although Lincks passed away in prison in 2000, the discovery provides some closure for Morgan’s family, who have spent nearly three decades seeking justice.
The investigation is still ongoing, and the FBI continues to call for information about Billy Jack Lincks in order to piece together more details about the fate of Morgan Nick.
How Morgan Nick Disappeared During A Little League Game In Arkansas
On June 9, 1995, the Nick family drove to Alma, Arkansas to attend a Little League baseball game with family friends. The game began at 9:00 pm, and an hour into the game, Morgan Nick disappeared.
A group of kids approached Morgan towards the end of the game and asked if she could play with them. Nick’s mother, Colleen, hesitantly agreed.
“I originally told her no, but she really wanted to go,” Colleen told NBC News. “The other parents told me that it was a really safe area and the kids play in the parking lot all the time. I had been told I was always too overprotective, and that was one of the things that played in my decision-making that night.”
Despite checking on her daughter multiple times, Colleen realized that Morgan was nowhere to be found by the end of the game. The kids she was playing with said that Morgan went to the parking lot to remove sand from her shoe, but when the family went to look for her, she was gone.
When the police arrived at the scene, they interviewed several people, including the group of kids that Morgan was playing with. Shockingly, the kids relayed some disturbing information:
“The other two kids that were playing with Morgan separately told the police about seeing a creepy man with a red pick-up truck and a white camper shell on the back,” Colleen told NBC News. The man driving the truck was described as a roughly 6-foot tall white male with facial hair in his 20s or 30s.
In the following weeks, police collected several statements and items at the ballgame to test for DNA. Despite the diligent police work, the Nick family did not get closer to bringing their loved one home, and for the next 29 years, Morgan Nick’s case would remain one of the most mysterious disappearances in modern American history.
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DNA Evidence Links Billy Jack Lincks To Morgan Nick’s Disappearance
Not long after the disappearance, a World War II veteran from Crawford County, Arkansas named Billy Jack Lincks was interviewed by police. He owned a red 1986 Chevrolet Scottsdale pickup truck with a white camper shell, but he denied any involvement in the disappearance.
In July 2019, the police looked at the case with fresh eyes and came across Lincks’ information, deciding that it was a promising lead to follow. Luckily, the police were able to track down the truck that Lincks owned at the time and conduct a thorough search.
“In doing so, they produced several vacuum canisters containing various forms of matter, including hair, from the vehicle,” Police Chief Pointer told NBC News. Additionally, the search team discovered spots of blood on one of the truck seats and blue-green fibers matching the description of the Girl Scouts shirt that Morgan Nick was wearing when she disappeared.
In November 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officially named Billy Jack Lincks as a suspect in Morgan Nick’s disappearance. While the authorities had not tested the blood, hair, and other items in the truck yet, they did have convincing evidence that Lincks was a violent predator.
According to the FBI, Lincks was arrested two months after Morgan’s disappearance for attempting to kidnap a young girl in Van Buren, Arkansas. The 11-year-old said she was walking with her brothers when a red truck pulled up beside them. The man inside began making sexual comments to the girl, offered her money, and asked her to get in his truck.
Thankfully, the young girl ran away and called police. A witness at the scene provided police with the truck’s license plate number, linking it to Billy Jack Lincks.
After sending the physical evidence to Othram labs in 2023, the police received a notification on September 27, 2024 that the hair in Billy Jack Lincks’ car belonged to someone from the Nick family. An interview with the family revealed that no one knew Lincks, strengthening the likelihood that the hair belonged to Morgan Nick.
The Future Of The Case After The Revelations About Billy Jack Lincks
While Billy Jack Lincks died in prison in 2000, police are still considering this an active investigation, and they are calling on the public to submit any information they may have about Lincks.
While the Nick family will likely not have their day in court, they are happy that the case is progressing and they are learning more about what happened to their loved one.
“He stole Morgan from me, he stole her from her dad, and he stole her from Logan and Taryn. But he didn’t see that he could never win. Because our love for Morgan — her memory and her voice — outlasted his life. That love continues to shine,” Colleen told NBC News. “Her heart — Morgan’s heart shines on.”
After reading about Billy Jack Lincks and the disappearance of Morgan Nick, dive into the seven baffling cold cases that are still unsolved today. Then, read the true story of Jacob Wetterling and how his murder was finally solved 27 years later.