Shraman Mitra
The generally peaceful area of western Arkansas witnessed a tragic incident when 6-year-old Morgan Chauntel Nick went missing while attending a Little League Baseball game in June 1995. Her mother, Colleen, had turned away for a few minutes after allowing the toddler to go catch fireflies with her friends, unaware she’d disappear without a trace left behind. Hulu’s ‘Still Missing Morgan’ thus chronicles the theories surrounding this tragedy and even follows the ongoing investigation that is trying its best to track the missing child down.
Morgan Nick Vanished From Outside a Little League Baseball Game
Described as a bright and lively, 6-year-old Morgan lived in Arkansas with her mother. Incidentally, Colleen and her ex-husband, Morris John Nick, had split up mere months before the fateful day, yet reports indicate their divorce was amicable. Hence, the youngster spent most of her time with her mother and was considered a great student. She was even involved in Girls Scout, but, like other kids, she loved playing with her friends more than anything else. Unfortunately, people had no idea that a tragedy would forever change the family’s life.
On June 9, 1995, Ozark resident Colleen received an invitation from a friend, asking her to come down to Alma and watch a Little League baseball game. Believing that Morgan might enjoy it too, she asked her daughter to accompany her to the venue about 30 minutes from their home. By the time they reached the field, the stands were already filled with people, yet they still managed to squeeze into a seat together. However, the 6-year-old reportedly soon got bored of the game and began playing with her shoes.
Around that time, two of Morgan’s friends, Jessica as well as Tye, approached Colleen and asked if she would allow her to go catch fireflies with them nearby. Since the kids promised not to venture beyond the parking lot, the latter hesitantly agreed, much to her daughter’s delight. When interviewed later, Colleen indicated she had remained attentive by turning around to look at the children several times. However, she got distracted once the baseball game ended, and the teams walked into the stands to greet their families.
The next time Colleen turned to look at the kids, she saw Jessica and Tye walking toward her, with Morgan nowhere to be seen. Alarmed, she immediately questioned her daughter’s friends, who claimed the 6-year-old disappeared while emptying sand out of her shoes near their car. A subsequent investigation discovered that while the duo did the same thing a few dozen feet away, she had chosen to be beside their identified car. Furthermore, the kids insisted they had noticed a creepy man talking to Morgan, driving her mother to raise the alarm. But alas, despite the locals’ best efforts, the girl was nowhere to be found and the matter made its way to the police.
Morgan Nick is Sadly Still Missing, Yet Investigations Continue
When the police were informed of the vanishing, they immediately jumped into the fray and thoroughly searched the area. Officers and local volunteers organized numerous search parties, whereas detectives went door to door collecting evidence and searching for witnesses. But we are sorry to report Morgan Nick is missing to this day — neither she nor her body (if she has passed) has ever been recovered. However, law enforcement officials still consider it an active investigation, and her loved ones are hopeful about attaining some answers.
Since Jessica and Tye claimed they had seen a man talking to Morgan before her disappearance, the police put out a description of the suspect, who was allegedly a 6-foot-tall male with a solid build and a weight of around 180 lbs. He was further depicted as being between 23 and 38 years old, with salt and pepper hair, a mustache, as well as a beard. In addition, when going through home videos shot at the baseball field, investigators discovered that the suspect drove a red pickup truck, although the footage was too grainy to get a clear picture of his face.
Interestingly, authorities initially focused on Morgan’s father, Morris, as a possible suspect in the disappearance. While the show mentioned he had a criminal record, including charges of third-degree battery and second-degree criminal mischief, further investigation cleared him as a person of interest. Nevertheless, while looking into Morris, they had come across his supposed drug dealer, Clifford Joe Pullan, who was charged with first-degree violation of a minor in 1995. Yet, detectives soon realized that even he had nothing to do with the matter at hand.
Several People Have Been Looked Into Over the Years But To No Avail
Although the police received numerous leads around that time, it was a piece of information from Stuttgart resident Albert Harvey that seemed most promising. He claimed he saw a man fitting the suspect’s description, along with a blonde 6-year-old girl, trying to break into his truck. He even went so far as to identify the suspect from the sketch, and the police used every resource to scour the area. But alas, hours passed with no leads, making investigators suspicious of his claims. They then made him take two polygraph tests, which he failed before admitting he had indeed lied.
The next bit of potentially promising information came in January 2002, when a tip compelled officials to search a property in Booneville, Arkansas. Despite the fact detectives used sniffer dogs in the search and left no stone unturned, they essentially came up empty-handed. Likewise, their search of another property in Spiro, Oklahoma, on November 15, 2010, proved fruitless, even though they had a good lead and the house actually belonged to a person who was in prison for violating a minor, as per the aforementioned series. Nonetheless, the police never released much information about their search in Spiro, despite returning to the same property in December 2017 for an unrelated investigation.
In August 2012, the police arrested two convicted felons, Tonya Smith and James Monhart, who were reportedly trying to buy some of Morgan’s personal documents, including her social security number and birth certificate. Although such an act made the pair look guilty, investigations determined they were not involved in the 6-year-old’s disappearance – they were merely trying to steal her identity. Since then, the case did not see much progress, that is, until the FBI officially announced Billy Jack Lincks as a person of interest in November 2021.
According to reports, Billy had attempted to kidnap a child from Arkansas two months after Morgan’s disappearance. Though the child managed to get away, he was convicted of sexual indecency and passed away while still behind bars in 2000. The announcement of his possible involvement was the last update to the case, but it’s imperative to note he did drive a red pickup truck at the time of the incident and that officials still consider Morgan’s case active. In other words, neither they nor her loved ones having given up hope about finding her someday.
