It’s official.
Today is my last day as an investigative reporter for Today in Fort Smith. I am on to a new adventure near the Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky!
But before I head to the Bluegrass State, and hand over the reins to another investigative reporter on staff, I wanted to write one last segment for this series.
Love it or hate it, this series brought a renewed interest to the Morgan Nick case. Over 300 hours of research went into these efforts.
I’ve also interviewed dozens of residents of the River Valley, along with various experts, including interviews with both current and retired law enforcement officials.
Thousands of readers tuned in for each segment and of those readers, well over 250 people reached out to me via Facebook to thank me for my efforts; however, there is no need to thank me.
I didn’t write this series for me. I wrote it for Morgan Nick.
In turn, I’ve also been criticized heavily. Everything from my writing style to the questions I have asked throughout the series has been scrutinized. But that’s ok. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I will accept and respect even the opinion of my critics.
However, that acceptance does not change the theme of this series: We, as a community, failed Morgan Nick. This series was simply my attempt to right that wrong by presenting these truths:
The wrong composite sketch of Morgan Nick’s abductor was circulated for five years.
The FBI profilers that were dispatched to review the case after Morgan went missing did not agree that the man in the composite sketch fit the profile of a child abductor. However, the FBI findings were never made public.
There are many, many avenues that have not been properly investigated and many retired law enforcement officials - one who is now deceased - have shared their frustrations over the investigative efforts in this case.
A good portion of the information that has been released to the public has been inaccurate and misleading. As a community, we should be outraged. A little girl was abducted -- the TRUTH matters!
It is my hope that someday the Morgan Nick disappearance will be solved. She deserves to be found and her abductor deserves to be brought to justice. How do we, as a community, expect that to happen if we are too busy rejecting and criticizing the light shining on the truth in this case?
It’s my job to step on toes to report the truth. I have done just that for Morgan Nick. If you are reading this right now, please know, I would do the same for your family if your child was missing.
Why? Because the TRUTH matters.
Lastly, for those of you who want closure on the segment regarding the possible sighting of Morgan Nick and her abductor in South Carolina, I’ve included the composite sketch that was made by South Carolina authorities in this article.
If you recognize this man, or if you have any information about the disappearance of Morgan Chauntel Nick, I urge you to call your local FBI office or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at: 1-800-THE-LOST.
If you have information, please come forward. It doesn’t matter if the information you have “steps on toes” or exposes someone you know and love -- Morgan deserves justice. And frankly, the truth matters.
Please. If you have information, do the right thing and make that call.
