In 60 seconds, a six-year-old girl vanished from a baseball field.
29 years of searching, 10,000 leads, one strand of hair that finally named her captor.
Her name was Morgan Nick.
She disappeared on June 9th, 1995 from Alma, Arkansas.
The case wouldn’t be solved until September 27th, 2024.
29 years later when cuttingedge DNA technology finally identified her abductor.
This is her story.
The disappearance.
June 9th, 1995.
10:45 at night.
A small town baseball field in Alma, Arkansas sits under perfect summer skies.
Six-year-old Morgan Nick bends down near her mother’s car, emptying sand from her white tennis shoes.
Her friends are just feet away.
When they look up barely a minute later, Morgan is gone.
Morgan Chantal Neck was born on September 12th, 1988.
She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and what her mother, Colleen, would describe as a cheeky grin that lit up every room.
That evening, she wore a green Girl Scouts t-shirt, blue denim shorts, and white tennis shoes.
Around 10:30, Morgan and several friends asked if they could catch fireflies near the parking lot.
Colleen was initially reluctant, but other parents reassured her.
It was a small town, a safe community.
She agreed.
It was a decision that would haunt her forever.
The children who were with Morgan became crucial witnesses.
They reported seeing a creepy man talking to Morgan.
Adult male, approximately 6 feet tall, 180 lb, aged 23 to 38, dark hair, mustache, beard growth, no shirt, cut off jean shorts, no shoes.
They also observed a red pickup truck with a white camper shell that left around the same time Morgan vanished.
When Colleen asked where Morgan was, the children told her Morgan had been emptying sand from her shoes.
Colleen could see her vehicle clearly.
Her daughter was nowhere in sight.
Law enforcement arrived within 6 minutes.
An estimated 300 volunteers joined the search.
The FBI entered the case by June 10th, classifying it as a suspected child abduction.
Before we continue, if you’re captivated by cold cases and the science behind criminal investigations, make sure to subscribe and turn on notifications.
Leave a comment below telling me what you think about this case.
The the investigation and false leads.
Within the first week, law enforcement distributed flyers and prioritized locating the red pickup truck, checking more than 100 similar vehicles.
But investigators soon discovered a disturbing pattern.
Same day, Morgan disappeared, a 4year-old girl was pulled toward a red truck outside a laundromat in Alma.
Her mother heard screams and retrieved her.
The individual and truck matched descriptions from Morgan’s case.
June 10th, the day after Morgan’s disappearance, a man tried to force a 9-year-old girl into a restroom at a Fort Smith convenience store.
This suspect also resembled the man described by Morgan’s playmates.
Three attempts in two days, one successful, two failed.
Someone was hunting children in Crawford County, Arkansas.
Billy Jack Lynx.
Billy Jack Lynx was born on October 22nd, 1924 in Crawford County, Arkansas.
At the time of Morgan’s disappearance, he was 70 years old and lived in Vanurren, approximately 8 miles from Alma.
His criminal history revealed a disturbing pattern.
From 1992 to 93, Lynx was charged with inappropriate contact with a minor.
The incidents occurred repeatedly over 9 months.
In January 1993, he pleaded no contest and received no jail time, just counseling and a $500 fine.
At the time of Morgan’s disappearance, Lynx was on probation for this offense.
But the most damning evidence came 2 months after Morgan disappeared.
August 29th, 1995, Lynx attempted to lure an 11-year-old girl near a Sonic restaurant in Van Beern.
He pulled up in a red pickup truck and began talking inappropriately.
The girl ran screaming.
Lynx sped away and struck a telephone pole, leaving red paint scraped on it.
A witness obtained his license plate.
August 30th, 1995, Lynx was arrested.
August 31st, police questioned him about Morgan Nick’s abduction.
He denied knowledge.
A polygraph test was administered.
He appeared truthful and investigators moved on to other leads.
This decision would haunt the investigation for decades.
March 1996, Lynx was convicted and sentenced to six years in prison.
Billy Jack Lynx passed away on August 5th, 2000 at Tucker Unit Prison.
He was 75 years old, having served approximately four years.
He passed without ever being publicly named in connection with Morgan’s disappearance.
But Lynx left something behind.
Evidence in his truck.
The evidence.
When Lynx was arrested in August 1995, his vehicle was searched.
He drove a 1986 Chevrolet Scottdale pickup truck red in color.
Critically, when arrested, the truck no longer had a camper shell.
But a neighbor told police they believed Lynx had a camper shell two months prior, precisely when Morgan disappeared.
During searches on September 1st and 5th, 1995, crime lab technicians found blood samples, hair samples, and blue green cotton fibers.
The Arkansas Crime Lab retained this evidence, but 1995 DNA technology was insufficient for conclusive identification.
The hairs lacked roots, and the technology didn’t exist yet to extract DNA from rootless hair.
The evidence sat waiting for science to catch up.
Investigators also discovered that Lynx poured a concrete slab on his property 3 days after Morgan disappeared.
But after he passed the polygraph, this lead wasn’t aggressively pursued.
If you’re finding this case compelling, please like this video and share it.
Subscribe to Code Case Crime Lab for more investigations like this one.
Your engagement keeps pressure on unsolved cases.
Two decades of searching and so began two decades of searching.
Two decades of age progression photos.
Two decades of a mother who refused to give up.
1996, Colleen Nick founded the Morgan Nick Foundation to help families of missing children.
Arkansas adopted the Morgan Nick Amber Alert System, one of the first states to model a statewide notification protocol.
Over the years, the case was featured on Unsolved Mysteries, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Multiple searches were conducted across Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Each time, hope rose and fell.
For 22 years, the cycle continued.
Hope, search, nothing.
But everything was about to change.
The breakthrough.
In July 2019, retired Captain Brett Hartley of the Alma Police Department conducted a comprehensive case review.
Going back to the beginning, he kept coming back to links.
The timeline fit, the vehicle fit, the criminal history fit, everything fit except that polygraph test from 1995.
Investigators tracked the ownership of Link’s truck through multiple sales.
They located the current owner who voluntarily gave permission for examination.
On July 28th, 2020, the FBI evidence response team processed the truck extensively, disassembling it piece by piece.
Evidence recovered included hair fragments, blood, and blue green cotton fibers found everywhere in the mat, under seats, in metal pieces.
FBI technicians matched these fibers on a microscopic level to a Girl Scout shirt of the type Morgan wore.
The lab determined it was highly unlikely the fibers came from a different material.
In November 2021, the FBI publicly named Billy Jack Lynx as the first ever person of interest in the Morgan Nick case.
But to move from person of interest to suspect, they needed DNA.
The science.
In July 2023, Detective Shaun Taylor learned about Aram Laboratory in the Woodlands, Texas.
Founded in 2018, Oram specialized in advanced DNA analysis from degraded samples, including rootless hair.
On December 1st, 2023, Taylor submitted the evidence to Oram for analysis.
technology could extract and sequence DNA from samples too degraded for traditional testing.
They could pull DNA from the hair shaft itself, not just the root.
The analysis took approximately 10 months and cost $7,500 funded by Arkansas State Police.
On September 27th, 2024, Aram sent their final report.
29 years, 3 months, and 18 days after Morgan Nick vanished, science finally had an answer.
The answer.
The DNA analysis determined that hair from Link’s truck belonged to either Colleen Nick or one of her siblings or children, including Morgan.
Police confirmed no member of the Nick family knew Lynx or had ever been in his truck.
The logical conclusion was inescapable.
The hair belonged to Morgan.
On October 1st, 2024, at a press conference, Alma Police Chief Jeff Pointer made the historic announcement.
As of today, Billy Jack Lynx is a suspect in Morgan’s disappearance, not a person of interest, a suspect, the only suspect.
Colleen Nick spoke with measured emotion.
He stole Morgan from me.
He stole her from her dad, from Logan and Taran.
Morgan’s siblings.
But he didn’t see that he could never win because our love for Morgan, her memory, and her voice outlasted his life.
For 29 years, Colleen had hoped Morgan was alive somewhere.
But now she knew Morgan had been in a convicted predator’s truck.
A man who poured concrete 3 days after Morgan disappeared.
A man who passed away without ever telling where he put her.
A mother’s mission.
In 1996, one year after Morgan vanished, Colleen founded the Morgan Nick Foundation.
She turned her pain into purpose.
The foundation focuses on three core areas: intervention, education, and legislation.
They provide on-site support to families of missing children, coordinate searches, and serve as liaison with law enforcement.
They reached 27,000 children in 2024 through safety education programs.
The foundation was instrumental in supporting federal mandates regarding missing children, Megan’s Law, and the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.
Morgan’s name is written into the Legal Code of the United States of America.
Colleen transformed from a shy mother into a nationally recognized advocate, serving on the board of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and co-founding Team Hope with Patty Wetling to provide peer support for families of missing children.
Colleen’s philosophy is powerful.
Fear-based safety doesn’t work for kids.
When you empower kids and give them the tools they need to stay safe, we see kids reacting in ways where they are safer.
On hope itself, no one has ever proved to me that Morgan is not out there and that she can’t come home.
So, I’m fighting for the day when she can come home.
Creating these documentaries matters because Morgan Nick matters because somewhere out there someone might know something, might remember something, might finally have the courage to speak up.
If that mission resonates with you, subscribe and hit that notification bell.
Leave a comment telling me what you thought of this case.
Share this video with someone who cares about unsolved mysteries.
If you have any information about the Morgan Nick case, please contact the Alma Police Department at 479632 3333 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-8008435678.
Thank you for spending this time with Morgan’s story.
And remember, some stories end, but cold cases are just waiting for the right moment to break wide open.
This is Codecase Crime Lab signing In 60 seconds, a six-year-old girl vanished from a baseball field.
29 years of searching, 10,000 leads, one strand of hair that finally named her captor.
Her name was Morgan Nick.
She disappeared on June 9th, 1995 from Alma, Arkansas.
The case wouldn’t be solved until September 27th, 2024.
29 years later when cuttingedge DNA technology finally identified her abductor.
This is her story.
The disappearance.
June 9th, 1995.
10:45 at night.
A small town baseball field in Alma, Arkansas sits under perfect summer skies.
Six-year-old Morgan Nick bends down near her mother’s car, emptying sand from her white tennis shoes.
Her friends are just feet away.
When they look up barely a minute later, Morgan is gone.
Morgan Chantal Neck was born on September 12th, 1988.
She had blonde hair, blue eyes, and what her mother, Colleen, would describe as a cheeky grin that lit up every room.
That evening, she wore a green Girl Scouts t-shirt, blue denim shorts, and white tennis shoes.
Around 10:30, Morgan and several friends asked if they could catch fireflies near the parking lot.
Colleen was initially reluctant, but other parents reassured her.
It was a small town, a safe community.
She agreed.
It was a decision that would haunt her forever.
The children who were with Morgan became crucial witnesses.
They reported seeing a creepy man talking to Morgan.
Adult male, approximately 6 feet tall, 180 lb, aged 23 to 38, dark hair, mustache, beard growth, no shirt, cut off jean shorts, no shoes.
They also observed a red pickup truck with a white camper shell that left around the same time Morgan vanished.
When Colleen asked where Morgan was, the children told her Morgan had been emptying sand from her shoes.
Colleen could see her vehicle clearly.
Her daughter was nowhere in sight.
Law enforcement arrived within 6 minutes.
An estimated 300 volunteers joined the search.
The FBI entered the case by June 10th, classifying it as a suspected child abduction.
Before we continue, if you’re captivated by cold cases and the science behind criminal investigations, make sure to subscribe and turn on notifications.
Leave a comment below telling me what you think about this case.
The the investigation and false leads.
Within the first week, law enforcement distributed flyers and prioritized locating the red pickup truck, checking more than 100 similar vehicles.
But investigators soon discovered a disturbing pattern.
Same day, Morgan disappeared, a 4year-old girl was pulled toward a red truck outside a laundromat in Alma.
Her mother heard screams and retrieved her.
The individual and truck matched descriptions from Morgan’s case.
June 10th, the day after Morgan’s disappearance, a man tried to force a 9-year-old girl into a restroom at a Fort Smith convenience store.
This suspect also resembled the man described by Morgan’s playmates.
Three attempts in two days, one successful, two failed.
Someone was hunting children in Crawford County, Arkansas.
Billy Jack Lynx.
Billy Jack Lynx was born on October 22nd, 1924 in Crawford County, Arkansas.
At the time of Morgan’s disappearance, he was 70 years old and lived in Vanurren, approximately 8 miles from Alma.
His criminal history revealed a disturbing pattern.
From 1992 to 93, Lynx was charged with inappropriate contact with a minor.
The incidents occurred repeatedly over 9 months.
In January 1993, he pleaded no contest and received no jail time, just counseling and a $500 fine.
At the time of Morgan’s disappearance, Lynx was on probation for this offense.
But the most damning evidence came 2 months after Morgan disappeared.
August 29th, 1995, Lynx attempted to lure an 11-year-old girl near a Sonic restaurant in Van Beern.
He pulled up in a red pickup truck and began talking inappropriately.
The girl ran screaming.
Lynx sped away and struck a telephone pole, leaving red paint scraped on it.
A witness obtained his license plate.
August 30th, 1995, Lynx was arrested.
August 31st, police questioned him about Morgan Nick’s abduction.
He denied knowledge.
A polygraph test was administered.
He appeared truthful and investigators moved on to other leads.
This decision would haunt the investigation for decades.
March 1996, Lynx was convicted and sentenced to six years in prison.
Billy Jack Lynx passed away on August 5th, 2000 at Tucker Unit Prison.
He was 75 years old, having served approximately four years.
He passed without ever being publicly named in connection with Morgan’s disappearance.
But Lynx left something behind.
Evidence in his truck.
The evidence.
When Lynx was arrested in August 1995, his vehicle was searched.
He drove a 1986 Chevrolet Scottdale pickup truck red in color.
Critically, when arrested, the truck no longer had a camper shell.
But a neighbor told police they believed Lynx had a camper shell two months prior, precisely when Morgan disappeared.
During searches on September 1st and 5th, 1995, crime lab technicians found blood samples, hair samples, and blue green cotton fibers.
The Arkansas Crime Lab retained this evidence, but 1995 DNA technology was insufficient for conclusive identification.
The hairs lacked roots, and the technology didn’t exist yet to extract DNA from rootless hair.
The evidence sat waiting for science to catch up.
Investigators also discovered that Lynx poured a concrete slab on his property 3 days after Morgan disappeared.
But after he passed the polygraph, this lead wasn’t aggressively pursued.
If you’re finding this case compelling, please like this video and share it.
Subscribe to Code Case Crime Lab for more investigations like this one.
Your engagement keeps pressure on unsolved cases.
Two decades of searching and so began two decades of searching.
Two decades of age progression photos.
Two decades of a mother who refused to give up.
1996, Colleen Nick founded the Morgan Nick Foundation to help families of missing children.
Arkansas adopted the Morgan Nick Amber Alert System, one of the first states to model a statewide notification protocol.
Over the years, the case was featured on Unsolved Mysteries, Extreme Makeover Home Edition, and The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Multiple searches were conducted across Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Each time, hope rose and fell.
For 22 years, the cycle continued.
Hope, search, nothing.
But everything was about to change.
The breakthrough.
In July 2019, retired Captain Brett Hartley of the Alma Police Department conducted a comprehensive case review.
Going back to the beginning, he kept coming back to links.
The timeline fit, the vehicle fit, the criminal history fit, everything fit except that polygraph test from 1995.
Investigators tracked the ownership of Link’s truck through multiple sales.
They located the current owner who voluntarily gave permission for examination.
On July 28th, 2020, the FBI evidence response team processed the truck extensively, disassembling it piece by piece.
Evidence recovered included hair fragments, blood, and blue green cotton fibers found everywhere in the mat, under seats, in metal pieces.
FBI technicians matched these fibers on a microscopic level to a Girl Scout shirt of the type Morgan wore.
The lab determined it was highly unlikely the fibers came from a different material.
In November 2021, the FBI publicly named Billy Jack Lynx as the first ever person of interest in the Morgan Nick case.
But to move from person of interest to suspect, they needed DNA.
The science.
In July 2023, Detective Shaun Taylor learned about Aram Laboratory in the Woodlands, Texas.
Founded in 2018, Oram specialized in advanced DNA analysis from degraded samples, including rootless hair.
On December 1st, 2023, Taylor submitted the evidence to Oram for analysis.
technology could extract and sequence DNA from samples too degraded for traditional testing.
They could pull DNA from the hair shaft itself, not just the root.
The analysis took approximately 10 months and cost $7,500 funded by Arkansas State Police.
On September 27th, 2024, Aram sent their final report.
29 years, 3 months, and 18 days after Morgan Nick vanished, science finally had an answer.
The answer.
The DNA analysis determined that hair from Link’s truck belonged to either Colleen Nick or one of her siblings or children, including Morgan.
Police confirmed no member of the Nick family knew Lynx or had ever been in his truck.
The logical conclusion was inescapable.
The hair belonged to Morgan.
On October 1st, 2024, at a press conference, Alma Police Chief Jeff Pointer made the historic announcement.
As of today, Billy Jack Lynx is a suspect in Morgan’s disappearance, not a person of interest, a suspect, the only suspect.
Colleen Nick spoke with measured emotion.
He stole Morgan from me.
He stole her from her dad, from Logan and Taran.
Morgan’s siblings.
But he didn’t see that he could never win because our love for Morgan, her memory, and her voice outlasted his life.
For 29 years, Colleen had hoped Morgan was alive somewhere.
But now she knew Morgan had been in a convicted predator’s truck.
A man who poured concrete 3 days after Morgan disappeared.
A man who passed away without ever telling where he put her.
A mother’s mission.
In 1996, one year after Morgan vanished, Colleen founded the Morgan Nick Foundation.
She turned her pain into purpose.
The foundation focuses on three core areas: intervention, education, and legislation.
They provide on-site support to families of missing children, coordinate searches, and serve as liaison with law enforcement.
They reached 27,000 children in 2024 through safety education programs.
The foundation was instrumental in supporting federal mandates regarding missing children, Megan’s Law, and the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.
Morgan’s name is written into the Legal Code of the United States of America.
Colleen transformed from a shy mother into a nationally recognized advocate, serving on the board of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and co-founding Team Hope with Patty Wetling to provide peer support for families of missing children.
Colleen’s philosophy is powerful.
Fear-based safety doesn’t work for kids.
When you empower kids and give them the tools they need to stay safe, we see kids reacting in ways where they are safer.
On hope itself, no one has ever proved to me that Morgan is not out there and that she can’t come home.
So, I’m fighting for the day when she can come home.
Creating these documentaries matters because Morgan Nick matters because somewhere out there someone might know something, might remember something, might finally have the courage to speak up.
If that mission resonates with you, subscribe and hit that notification bell.
Leave a comment telling me what you thought of this case.
Share this video with someone who cares about unsolved mysteries.
If you have any information about the Morgan Nick case, please contact the Alma Police Department at 479632 3333 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-8008435678.
Thank you for spending this time with Morgan’s story.
And remember, some stories end, but cold cases are just waiting for the right moment to break wide open.
This is Codecase Crime Lab signing
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