by Tina Alvey Dale (tdale@talkbusiness.net)

Almost 30 years after the abduction of Morgan Nick in Alma, a suspect has been named. Alma Police Chief Jeff Pointer said Tuesday (Oct. 1) that DNA testing shows Nick was in a truck once owned by Billy Jack Lincks of Van Buren and he is now an official suspect in the kidnapping.

Lincks died in prison in 2000 at the age of 72. Lincks, who was arrested in 1995 for solicitation of a minor for sex, was questioned in 1995 about Nick. He denied any knowledge of the abduction.

“The most important thing here is Morgan is still missing, but we have reached a point where we can concentrate on one suspect to determine the circumstances surrounding Morgan’s abduction,” Pointer said.

Morgan Nick DNA found in truck driven by suspect Billy Jack Lincks (Updated)

KUAR | By George Jared/ Talk Business & Politics

A deadly E. coli outbreak at several Jack in the Box fast food restaurants in the western United States in 1993 may provide the means to solve one of the most controversial criminal cases in Arkansas history. Dr. Bruce Bradley, a scientist, was so bothered by the outbreak that killed four children and sickened hundreds of others that he created a system called the M-Vac to analyze food to detect pathogens.

There was only one problem – it worked too well, his son and M-Vac President Jared Bradley told Talk Business & Politics. The system may not have been a fit for the food industry, but according to the FBI, it’s been a revelation when it comes to solving unsolved crimes.

M-Vac is now primarily used to collect DNA in criminal cases. A man who pleaded to an Alford Plea in the murders of three eight-year-old boys in West Memphis, Damien Echols, has petitioned the state of Arkansas to use M-Vac testing on the ligatures collected in the case.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2022-06-21/head-of-dna-firm-says-allowing-testing-of-wm3-evidence-could-provide-new-clues