When Your Child Goes Missing

by Paula Lookabill

Can you imagine someone you love disappearing? I can’t. Yet every year thousands of people go missing. Just gone. The people that love them have no idea what happened, or if they are still alive. Which brings another devastating string of thoughts. What if they are alive? Where are they? Are they safe? Are they scared? Are they hungry? Are they too hot or too cold? Now, imagine that loved one is a missing child. Your child.

Most of us can’t imagine that happening, nor do we want to. Yet that is exactly what happened to a mother in Alma, Arkansas, on June 9, 1995. Six-year old Morgan Chauntel Nick was playing with friends at a ballpark in Alma when she went missing. Her mom, Colleen Nick, was watching a Little League baseball game and hesitantly agreed to let Morgan go catch lightning bugs (fireflies) with friends. It was approximately 10:45 p.m. when Morgan and her friends headed back to their parents. When the children reached the parking lot, they all stopped to empty sand from their shoes. Morgan stopped by her mom’s vehicle, just a few dozen feet away her friends. When her friends finished, they realized the game was over and started back to the field where they met up with their parents. Realizing that Morgan wasn’t with the others, Colleen asked the children where her daughter was. They told her that Morgan was out by their car emptying her shoes, but when Colleen reached the parking lot, Morgan was nowhere to be found. Her friends reported they had seen Morgan talking to a “creepy” man while she was putting her shoes back on. That was the last time she was seen or heard from. 

A huge search ensued at the ballpark that night and has since spanned the country over the last 23 years. There have been many tips over the years about what happened that night, as well as persons who may have been involved. Unfortunately, none of those leads have ever brought any news of what happened that fateful night. Morgan’s case was made more difficult because of the lack of physical evidence. In addition, no one saw the actual abduction.

There have been many suspect’s throughout the years. The most prominent is a man who stands about 6’ tall, weighs approximately 180 pounds and has a scruffy beard and salt-and-pepper hair. He was driving an older model red truck with a white camper shell. Morgan has blonde hair and blue eyes. At the time of the abduction, Morgan was 4’ tall and weighed approximately 55 pounds. She was wearing a green Girl Scout t-shirt, blue jean shorts and white tennis shoes.

This post would not be complete without mentioning the work of Morgan’s mom, Colleen Nick.  Since her daughter’s disappearance she has worked tirelessly to bring Morgan home. At one point, shortly following Morgan’s disappearance, Colleen made the Alma volunteer Fire Department, which was next door to the Police Department, her home and search headquarters.  

In 1996, Colleen started the Morgan Nick Foundation, which provides a support network to parents and families of all missing children. The foundation helps provide intervention, education, and legislation. You can take a look at their website at morgannickfoundation.com.

Unfortunately Morgan is still missing. If you have any information regarding her case, please contact the Alma Police Department at 1-479-632-3333. Or, you can call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).