ALMA, Ark. — Alma police officially named a suspect in the 1995 disappearance of 6-year-old Morgan Nick on Oct. 1. Following the announcement, Morgan's mother, Colleen Nick, provided a heartfelt message about how Morgan's legacy lives on despite what could have happened to her.
"What I have to say about Billy Jack Lincks is that he stole Morgan from me," Colleen said. "But, he didn't see that he could never win because our love for Morgan, her memory, and her voice outlasted his life. And that love continues to shine. Morgan's heart shines on."
Colleen has spent the last decades working to help other families who have gone through similar tragedies through the Morgan Nick Foundation.
"I just think it's important that everyone knows that the Morgan Nick Foundation was never established to find Morgan," Morgan Nick Foundation's Board President Paula Higgins said. "A lot of people kind of assumed that, but it was not. That's always been left to law enforcement."
After Morgan's kidnapping, it became apparent to Colleen that there was a need for an organization that could provide immediate assistance to the families of missing children.
"Colleen just became suddenly and painfully aware that there was a need for resources when a tragedy like this happened," Higgins said. "[They] didn't know what to do, how to reach out to law enforcement, how to get the resources they needed, and she felt strongly that she didn't want any other families to go through that in Arkansas, so she established the foundation and they work closely with law enforcement. They work closely with the families."
Another purpose of the foundation is to help families get the word out about missing children and educate kids about safety and prevention.
"If I can help to just keep that one kid safe, that's one more kid that you know we don't have to worry about bringing home," the foundation's Assistant Director Genevie Strickland said. "We don't have to worry about their parents calling us saying, I need help. But more importantly, that child can grow up without having that added trauma of something they experienced as a child."
Remembering their motive to continue the work isn’t always easy, but it has created positive change.
"This beautiful child and the horrific thing that happened to her has really brought this community together," Rep. Charlene Fite, who also serves on the Morgan Nick Foundation board, said.
Although the overall mission of the Morgan Nick Foundation is to help families across the state, the organization has provided a network for Colleen and has acted as an avenue to continue Morgan's legacy.
"There have been an army of supporters and advocates and heroes who have rallied to uncover the truth about Morgan's disappearance, and you see those people here in this room today," Colleen said at the Oct. 1 news conference.
Higgins and Strickland said they attended the press conference to support Colleen.
"It's very painful to watch, but we just wanted to be here to support [Colleen], to be able to look out in here and see some faces of people that love her," Higgins said.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.