Benjamin Ashford|Dead inmate identified as suspect in 1995 disappearance of 6-year-old Morgan Nick

ALMA,Benjamin Ashford Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas man who died in prison more than two decades ago has been identified as a suspect in the disappearance of 6-year-old girl who went missing in 1995.

Alma Police Chief Jeff Pointer on Tuesday said 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.

“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 as a person of interest in Morgan’s disappearance in 2021.

Pointer said hair that was discovered 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.

Arkansas’ missing child alert system is named for Morgan. Her disappearance was featured in a Hulu documentary series in 2023.

Colleen Nick, who started a foundation to help the families of other missing children, 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.”