Morgan Chauntel Nick- Missing 18 Years

ON June 9, 1995, six year-old Morgan Chauntel Nick attended a Little League Baseball game at a downtown park in Alma, Arkansas with her mother, Colleen Nick.(Morgan and her family lived in Ozark, AK at the time). She was last seen emptying sand out of her shoes in the parking lot by her mother's Nissan Stanza at 10:45 PM after chasing lightning bugs with her friends. She has not been seen since.

Morgan was 4'0" in height and weighed 55 pounds at the time of her disappearance, and she has blond hair and blue eyes. Morgan had five visible silver caps on her molars in 1995, which were scheduled to be removed in 2000. Her teeth were crowded, which would require her to have braces in adolescence. Morgan also has a protruding purple vein on the lower left side of her rib cage, and her birthday is September 12, 1988. She was last seen wearing a green Girl Scouts T-Shirt, leather sneakers and blue denim shorts.

One lead authorities do have in the Morgan Nick investigation are from witness reports about an unknown Caucasian man who was watching Morgan play on the field earlier that night. He reportedly approached a group of children that Morgan was playing with and asked them questions.
He had a moustache and a one inch beard. He was of solid or medium build. It is not for sure, but the man may have had black or salt and pepper colored hair that may have been curly which he had combed towards the back. He appeared to be 23-38 years old, may have weighed 180 pounds and was 6'0". (These stats were from witness accounts in 1995. They may differ as of 2013). Witnesses described him as having a hairy chest, a "redneck" accent, wearing only blue cut-off shorts and no shoes or shirt.
Witnesses also got a detailed account of the person of interest's vehicle, and described it as a red 1968-1974 Ford pick up truck, with a white camper that was four to five inches shorter than the truck itself. It was noted that he camper had curtains covering the windows, and may have been damaged towards the rear. The paint job was very dull for its age, and the truck had a short wheel base. The man and his truck left at the same time Morgan vanished.


Sketch of Morgan Nick's possible abductor. Even if this man is innocent, identifying will help investigators move forward in Morgan's case. Do you know who his name?

Despite a massive search and thousands of leads and sightings of Morgan throughout the country, there has been nothing solid to point to Morgan's whereabouts, or even to who her abductor was. The unidentified man at the park spotted talking to Morgan and her friends is thought to be the main person of interest for many reasons. The obvious is that he was a suspicious man, alone at a park watching young children play for hours. I think the fact he was alone at a park at a Little League baseball game, with no children he knew there or participating, made people wonder, "Why is this man even here?" His description and attire would also prove alarming to many, as it makes him sound like he was living out of his truck. (I wonder if he was a local, or a drifter?) If I saw a man at a park dressed like that, talking to kids he did not know during late hours of the evening, I would have taken good notes of his description as well! The fact his truck was gone when Morgan vanished also does not help his case one bit, but perhaps what gives police more reason to believe he was involved come from two possible attempted abductions of little girls in the same area on June 9 and 10. In Alma, a man resembling the sketch of Morgan's possible abductor tried to entice a four year old into his red truck. The mother spotted what was happening, and the abductor left. The next day, fifteen miles from Alma in a town called Fort Smith, a man tried to lure a nine year old girl into a men's restroom at a convenience store. The man left after the girl resisted him. Authorities believe both attempts were made by the same guy who was at the park with Morgan, because he resembles the sketch and had a red truck in all of the incidents. Now, what is confusing about this case is that although Doe Network and Charley Project have noted there were two attempted abductions around the time Morgan vanished, Websleuths (a crime forum) had a member who contacted Morgan's mother and the foundation leader who said there were no known attempted child abductions in the area around the time Morgan vanished. If this is true, it changes things, but we may never know for sure.

This photo of Morgan is well-known from countless flyers passed out, and a new billboard put up in spring of 2013 to remind people Morgan is still missing.

I do believe the man at the park is a very good suspect in Morgan's disappearance. I am surprised he has not been identified yet, because it sounds like he is not afraid to try to lure kids away in public places, even with parents and other people there. I think it is very possible there might have been other incidents that were not reported or not linked to this unknown man. Or, he may have been caught and even punished for these crimes, but not linked to Morgan Nick's abduction. I'd think someone like this would stick out like a sore thumb in many areas. He may be a loner, and socially awkward. If he is local to somewhere, he may travel to other areas to commit his crimes to keep them from being linked to him. Wherever he is local to, I am shocked he has not been identified. This could be for reasons, like he changed his attire, looks, or people may have not linked him to the sketch.
For the reason he has not been identified yet, I think he may be a drifter, going town to town. It would be interesting to see other similar attempted abductions to see if they match up, starting with those closest to Alma, Oklahoma, and working outwards from there. If this man successfully took Morgan, and attempted another abduction the day after, I do believe he definitely took more girls, or tried to at least. But let's say the incident in Fort Smith is unrelated, or inexsistent. He may have taken Morgan, been satisfied with a successful abduction and held her captive, but over the years may have aimed his sights on more girls. This would be similar to Ariel Castro, who abducted Michele Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina Dejesus from the streets of Cleveland, Ohio, holding them captive for a decade until they were found.
Whether or not this man is involved, identifying him is crucial to the investigation-I do not think a man like this could fly under the radar for too long with his reported actions. Even if he tried to "live off the grid," it may be possible he has been investigated before for other concerns, but just because police follow up on an individual does not mean he is "in the clear" for Morgan's abductions. Law enforcement went to the residence of Ariel Castro, and still did not know he was holding three women captive in his home. And look at Jaycee Dugard-authorities investigated Philip Garrido's residence and missed her even being there many times. It does happen-how many people go into a residence thinking someone is being held captive inside? And it's not just inside residences-Jaycee went to Wal-Mart and out in public numerous times. (I also wonder if there were video cameras at all in the Fort Smith convenience store?)

Upon my research about Alma, Arkansas itself, I have found it is a very small, rural town. It is along Interstate 40, and I-540 also runs through it. Alma is also in Crawford County, and is only 13 miles from the border of Oklahoma. The region is filled with mountains and woods as well. I looked at a satellite view of Alma's Baseball complex, and it is a large area with one main parking lot, and a second one along the the baseball field and the entrance that connects to Main Street. There are five baseball fields and one area that looks like a football field. There's two roads that could be used to exit the park. One connects to Main Street and the other to Spring Street or London Street. A LOT of woods and rural area surrounds the baseball complex. Could it be possible this man had a lot of knowledge of the outdoors and mountainous regions? Could he have taken Morgan in the Mountains? Could the truck not have been a factor, meaning the man may have taken Morgan away on foot, maybe even had a camp area set up in the woods?  I have heard the mountain region in this area is very easy to get lost in, making it sounds very difficult to even be found in. It is also possible her abductor (following my theory that he is a drifter) left Alma right away because Alma was right next to I-40 and I-540, along with two US routes. All four routes are an easy outlet to get away to a new location. It is also possible this person headed to Oklahoma since it is close to Alma. There is also a National Forest within the area. I believe Morgan still being local is a possibility because Alma and it's surrounding areas are filled with places you could easily hide anyone in for years.

There has been many unconfirmed sightings of Morgan Nick throughout the years.

 We also must face the fact that this man might not be involved. It could have just as easily been someone there who people did not think of as suspicious. As a result, they may not have noticed the person or even taken note of them even being there. Maybe it was someone local people knew and trusted, so they did not suspect them. Maybe it was a woman, who wanted a child of her own. Statistics say it is most likely a man, but it could have been a woman as well. In that case, it could be a very good chance Morgan is still somewhere in the area, even after all this time. I think the unknown man from the park is a very good suspect, and whether he is involved or not, identifying him (or even finding his truck) will help this case move forward. If he is innocent, cancelling him out will allow investigators to explore other avenues. However, being too sure he is the abductor can be dangerous because it turns on our tunnel-vision to other possible suspects, such as neighbors, locals or even other sex offenders within the area. Keeping an open mind, keeping Morgan's face out in he public and being aware are three things that can greatly contribute to closure in the Morgan Nick abduction. I do believe this is a solvable case, and I know her family is pushing hard to keep her case alive ad active. Just recently, a billboard with Morgan's information and pictures was posted up in Arkansas to remind people that Morgan Chauntel Nick is still missing.

Following the possibility Morgan may not have been this assailant's first or last abduction, I researched Arkansas and surrounding states to see if any cases would stick out to me as similar at all to Morgan's abduction. If there was any truth to the attempted abduction in Fort Smith, Arkansas, it may have very well been related to the unsolved abduction and murder of 19 year-old Melissa Witt from a local bowling Alley in Fort Smith, Arkansas. It was December 1, 1994 when Melissa decided to surprise her mother, Mary Ann Witt, for dinner at the bowling alley. She arrived at the bowling alley around 6:30PM-7:00PM, but never made it inside. Her gold earring, car keys and crushed hair clip was found in the parking lot, pointing to an abduction.
On January 13, 1995, two trappers discovered Melissa's body at Turner's Bend in Ozark National Park. She was lying face down in front of a headstone-like rock. Her long sleeve V-neck shirt, Mickey Mouse watch, blue jeans, undergarments, purse, wallet and remaining gold hoop earring were all missing. Police want to talk to anyone who may know the whereabouts of these items. Her murder remains unsolved.

Police believe the unsolved murder of Melissa "Missy" Witt could be connected to the abduction of Morgan Nick. Eerily enough, Missy also resembles the age progression made of Morgan Nick.-AMW.com

I think Melissa's abduction is similar to Morgan's in the way that it happened in a public place, with people present inside. Morgan was also abducted in a public place with people not too far. They both happened at night, and both Morgan and Melissa are blond-haired, blue-eyed white females. Fort Smith is not too far from Alma, and both abductions happened within a one year time frame. What differs is the choice of victim. Morgan's abductor sounds like he was "interested" in children, and Melissa was a 19 year-old college student. However, if she was short, tiny (and the fact she had a Mickey Mouse watch on), she may have appeared younger than she was, especially to a stranger. The fact he got violent with Melissa and hit her on the head with a blunt object is very different from the abductor who patiently tried to lure Morgan away. This could be because Melissa resisted, but a child is more likely to go willingly with no problems because they do not understand the danger. All in all, I hope they find Melissa's killer, because he or she is a great candidate for the abduction of Morgan Nick. Once someone gets away with something as great as that, they don't stop until they are caught, sick or dead. Looking at Morgan's age progressions, I think she bears an eery resemblance to Melissa at 19 years-old. Both are beautiful girls.
Being that police think Melissa's killer could be Morgan Nick's abductor as well, I researched not only girls, but teens and young women as well who have been abducted under circumstances similar to Morgan Nick's. States I looked through are West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia, Missouri, Arkansas, Alabama, Oklahoma, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. (I looked through all the states someone with a "Redneck" accent would most likely come from. Out of all these states, there were many cases of children vanishing on their way to school or to public places. However, there is one case that sticks out to me as very similar to Morgan Nick's.

Jackie Hay was 5 years old when she was abducted in 1981.

On September 12, 1981, 5 year-old Jackie Dene Hay was last seen with her family on an outing in a park in Topeka, Kansas. Jackie was last seen walking away from the park at 4:00 PM. (Other news articles claim Jackie actually was last seen in the front yard of her house, then walked to the park where she was abducted.) As she was walking around, it was noticed by a witness that a man was following her. She has never been seen since. Police did not search for Jackie for hours after she went missing. They picked up a local man for questioning, but they released with no charges. Police believe her family is not responsible for her disappearance, and that she was abducted.
Jackie's case is one that makes me very sad. Not only was there a late start investigating her disappearance, but there has been a lack of media coverage. There was not even an age progression of Jackie, and in the last 30 years, there's been few tips come in about her. Even though her disappearance is 14 years apart from Morgan's, there are lots of similarities. Jackie and Morgan had blond hair and blue eyes. Morgan was 6 and Jackie was 5 at the time of the disappearances. Topeka is a straight shot to Alma by the Interstate, and is about 5 hours away. Alma is also close to a National Park, and Topeka is close to Perry State Park. In both instances, an unknown man was seen around both girls before the vanished. These cases may or may not be connected, but any suspect found in one case would be a good suspect for the other. Could Jackie have been an earlier victim of the person who took Morgan?

The search for more Morgan is stronger than ever. Her mother, Colleen Nick, created the Morgan Nick Foundation to assist families in the battle of having a child go missing. The recent finding of the Cleveland Trio give Morgan's family, and many others like her, tremendous hope in finding their children. I'd love nothing more than to see that gift happen.



Age progression of what Morgan may look like as a young woman.



Please, if you know anything about the disappearance of Morgan Nick, or know the identity of the man in the sketch who was seen at the Alma Baseball Complex, please call:

Alma Police Department

501-632-3930

OR

1-800-THELOST

If you know anything about the disappearance of Jackie Dene Hay, please call:

 Topeka Police Department

785-368-9551

If you know anything about the unsolved murder of Melissa "Missy" Witt, please call:

Fort Smith Police Department

479-782-9131

Sources:
Charley Project
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/n/nick_morgan.html
Jackie Hay
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/hay_jackie.html
Morgan Nick Foundation
www.morgannickfoundation.com/
Thv11 May 2013 Morgan Nick Article
http://www.thv11.com/news/article/263980/2/Ohio-missing-teens-case-reminiscent-of-Morgan-Nick
Morgan Nick Billboard
http://5newsonline.com/2013/06/06/new-billboards-aim-to-bring-morgan-nick-home/
Who Killed Melissa Witt?
http://www.amw.com/fugitives/case.cfm?id=59549
Melissa Witt
http://csafd.proboards.com/thread/2536
www.swtimes.com/articles/2010/01/13/news/news011310_01.txt
**All photos of Melissa Witt from amw.com, all other photos from charleyproject.org