Over the years, I’ve had dozens of people ask me why they think the Morgan Nick case is so difficult to solve.
My answer is simple. I don’t think this case is difficult to solve.
However, there are some harsh realities to face. First, there is a serious lack of physical evidence in the Morgan Nick abduction. And second, according to documented media interviews over the years with Chief Russell White of the Alma Police Department, no one actually witnessed Morgan’s abduction.
That’s right. No one actually saw anything happen that night.
According to a 2010 interview with Chief White, he says “what makes this a hard case to crack is that it’s a real simple crime. It’s not a conspiracy and does not involve a lot of people. This is probably a person by nature who is a loner, had very few friends, and committed a crime he has not told anyone about.”
I agree with Chief White’s assessment that this is a simple crime. However, I disagree with his statement that this case doesn’t involve a conspiracy or a lot of people… but I will share my thoughts on that in more detail in a later installment of this series.
As a reminder for those of you who didn’t read the first installment, the 2011 composite sketch of Morgan Nick’s possible abductor depicts a man with a scruffy beard with salt and pepper hair. It is believed he was 6’ tall and weighed approximately 180 pounds.
On the night of June 9, 1995, he had a brief interaction with Morgan Nick and the two children she was catching lightening bugs with at the ballpark. According to authorities, this man asked a question or two and made a comment.
However, the details of this interaction have never been disclosed. Authorities believe they need this information in order to screen out potential false confessions.
In the 24 years since Morgan’s abduction, police have a filled an entire room with filing cabinets and computers that hold thousands and thousands of leads. In these files, authorities have details on hundreds of potential persons of interest.
These “persons of interest” cannot be ruled out because their alibis have not yet been fully established. That task alone, as you can imagine, is daunting.
Meanwhile, tips continue to pour in to the Alma Police Department… but after 24 years, despite their best efforts, they are no closer to identifying Morgan Nick’s abductor or her whereabouts.
Who abducted Morgan Nick?
Someone knows.
Is it you? Maybe you have information that you do not even realize is important in the abduction of Morgan Nick.
Let’s review five important facts we know about the abduction of Morgan Nick. Maybe this information will help someone out there remember something:
-The suspicious red pickup truck is believed to be a Ford and it is believed to have been manufactured between 1968 and 1974.
-The red truck had Arkansas plates. This fact alone means he most likely was not from out of state.
- According to an FBI profile, Morgan’s abductor was likely a child molester. However, police don’t know if he knew Morgan, stalked or lured her.
- Remember, there were no other attempted abductions around the time of Morgan Nick’s abduction. The other “attempted” abduction that was reported during that timeframe was at a nearby laundromat. However, this lead was fully vetted and it was discovered to be a custody dispute between an estranged couple.
Witnesses described the man talking to Morgan Nick and her friends that fateful night as having a hairy chest, a hillbilly accent, and wearing only jeans shorts.
He had no shoes or shirt.
What do these five facts tell us exactly about the abduction of Morgan Nick? I believe that this information is rich with clues.
First, the red pickup truck had Arkansas plates.
The man driving the red truck was wearing jean shorts only -- no shoes or shirt. This tells me the man wasn’t passing through from another state.
This man lived close by.
I also believe this man was a pedophile who had most likely daydreamed about kidnapping a young girl. I believe this abduction was spontaneous (think about the way he was dressed) because he just happened to be at the right place at the right time with a young girl.
Alma, located in Crawford County, is a relatively small town that borders a major Interstate. This region is mountainous and thick with trees and rough terrain. If I recall correctly, the ballpark in Alma at the time had one entrance and two exits.
This tells me that Morgan’s abductor was calm, cool and collected as he exited the ballpark that evening with Morgan. He knew he had to be because his exit options that evening were limited.
In my opinion, it is most likely he remained calm as he simply drove home -- something he had most likely done dozens of other times after leaving the ballpark.
It is also my opinion that because Morgan’s abductor was “at home” in his surroundings, his confidence was boosted and this enabled him to lure this beautiful, blue-eyed, blonde away from her family and friends without so much as a scream or a cry.
We must ask ourselves this: If Morgan’s abductor was indeed a native to the River Valley, why has he been so difficult to find?
Could it be because he's been hiding in plain sight all these years?
