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Missing Girl: Morgan Chauntel Nick - AR - 06/09/1995

57 posts in this topic

Originally posted on 03/19/04
by Kelly

NCMC805103e1.jpg

Age-progressed to 26 years.

NCMC805103c1.jpg

Morgan Chauntel Nick

DOB:  Sep 12, 1988
Missing:  Jun 9, 1995
Age Now:  19
Sex:  Female
Race:  White
Hair:  Blonde
Eyes:  Blue
Height:  4'0" (122 cm)
Weight:  55 lbs (25 kg)
Missing From:
Alma,Arkansas
United States  

NCMC805103a1.jpg

No Name-Abductor
 
Sex:  Male
Race:  White
Hair:  Unknown
Eyes:  Unknown
Height:  6'0" (183 cm)
Weight:  180 lbs (82 kg)


Morgan's photo is shown age-progressed to 17 years. She was abducted by an unknown white male while she was playing at a ballpark in Alma. The composite sketch portrays someone who may have come in contact with Morgan at the ballpark. His height and weight are approximations, and he is believed to have been between the ages of 23 and 38 at the time of the abduction. Morgan has 5 visible silver caps on her molars. She was last seen wearing a green Girl Scout shirt, blue denim shorts and white tennis shoes.

Contact Information:
Alma Police Department (Arkansas)
1-479-632-3930
Arkansas State Police
1-479-783-5195

Print a Poster

Print a Poster: http://www.projectjason.org/aan/AAN_MorganNick.pdf

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If you have seen any of our missing persons, please call the law enforcement agency listed on the post. All missing persons are loved by someone, and their families deserve to find the answers they seek in regards to the disappearance.

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Originally posted on 03/24/04

Where Is Morgan Nick?

'I Will Look My Daughter In The Eye And Say, "I Never Gave Up"'

POSTED: 4:26 p.m. CDT July 19, 2002

UPDATED: 5:09 p.m. CDT July 19, 2002

MADISON, Wis. -- As California authorities moved in on the suspected killer of little Samantha Runnion, many of their counterparts in the Midwest were learning important lessons in Madison on how to handle child abduction cases.

This was the end of a week-long training put on by the U.S. Justice Department and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Officers from several states attended to learn how to improve upon gameplans and protocol to be implemented in abduction cases -- and to put faces on the statistics.

Colleen Nick's daughter Morgan was taken by a stranger from an Arkansas softball field in 1995 when Morgan was just 6 years old. Her mom says everyone in law enforcement needs to arm themselves with as much knowledge as possible.

Nick is a mom on a crusade. In an emotional speech, she told detectives, deputies and officers how it began -- not when her daughter was abducted, but when she was born.

"Sept. 12, 1988, at 4:44 a.m. -- when I held her in my arms," Nick said. "That's the day I knew I would fight for her forever, and that I would give my life for her."

Morgan was last seen at age 6. She was with her mom at a Little League game near their Arkansas home in 1995. She was playing with friends, just 50 yards from her mother's eye, when a stranger grabbed her and took off.

Police know statistically there is only a 2 percent chance Morgan is still alive, but it is to that slim margin of hope her mother clings.

"Someday I believe I will be able to look my daughter in the eye and say to her, 'I never gave up. I fought for you every day. I've always believed that you would come home," she said.

She wants police to know how crucial they are to families like hers, and how critical it is for them to have a well-developed, well-practiced game plan.

"Because we want you to be the hero, and we want you to bring those children home, and we want you to reunite families, and that's why I'm here," she said. "I care passionately about what you do."

She hopes they understand that no matter how remote the odds, she and other families are counting on them to never let up, to never give up.

"Morgan's not a case file," Nick said. "She's not an age progression, or a news story. She's a little girl with a cat named Emily, and with a brother and a sister, and she deserves a chance to come home."

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Originally posted on 07/15/04

http://www.thedailycitizen.com/artic...ews/news01.txt

Mother of stolen child keeps the faith while helping others: Her six-year-old was abducted in 1995 from Alma ballfield

By Philip Holsinger

The Daily Citizen

Colleen Nick's six-year-old daughter Morgan was swiped nine years ago from a Little League baseball game in Alma, Ark. by an unidentified man and never found.

It was an event that might have destroyed most parents, but for Nick it became a catalyst leading her to activism on behalf of children.

Nick spoke to the Searcy Chamber of Commerce Coffee Club Tuesday morning at Ann's Bridal & Et Cetera on Beebe-Capps Expressway, sharing with them the details of the night her daughter went missing and outlining for the audience ways in which the public can help in preventing child tragedies.

In the wake of Nick's tragedy, one year following her daughter's abduction, she founded the Morgan Nick Foundation for the recovery of missing children and turned herself into "an ambassador of hope" for parents suffering the same ordeal as her's.

As she told her story, sometimes pausing to wipe away tears, members of the audience reached for napkins to wipe away their own tears.

"Some call me impractical and irrational for maintaining hope that Morgan will someday come home," she said. "The Bible tells us love hopes. If I can hope then I can help other parents to hope, too."

Nick had taken Morgan to a Little League baseball game on the evening of July 9, 1995, she said, and after much beckoning by her daughter's friends, had let her "go to catch fireflies with some of the other children."

"You had to drive past the police station to get into the park and drive past it to get out," Nick said. "My friend told me not to worry so much, that the kids played there all the time and that it was safe. I never knew that when she hugged my neck as she left the bleachers that I was saying good-bye."

After the game let out, Morgan was nowhere to be found.

Her friends said they saw her at her car "emptying sand from her shoes."

She was nowhere.

She was gone.

The Nicks' tragedy became an event that mobilized the state's law enforcement community like few had done before, she said. And even though the Alma police did all they could, even calling in outside resources like the F.B.I., it was not enough to find Morgan in those first critical days.

"One of the problems was so many law enforcement agencies were not trained to deal with this," she said. "The Alma police department consisted of six officers. They did their best, but to know how best to handle the abduction they pulled out a large red ring binder from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and started going through the pages."

Today, with the help of Nick and other childrens' safety advocates, law enforcement agencies are receiving special training and have implemented many procedures.

"There are procedures taken now at the Searcy Police Department that we didn't have back then," Chief of Police J.R. Thomas said. "Nick has been instrumental in helping get these procedures implemented. Now we have a procedure, for example, that if a child is reported missing we follow a specific checklist to see if it should be put out on the Amber Alert system. Used to we had to wait 24 hours before we could report this. Now it can be immediate."

The best thing is prevention, Nick said.

Know where your children are and teach them about the danger of strangers, she said.

"We are way past the day when we would tell our children, 'don't take candy from strangers,'" she said. "Strangers are not strange people with orange eyes. We need to teach our children to know how to talk and not to talk to people. Most abductions are done by people the children know or who the children are familiar.

"There are 58,000 children abducted by non-family members each year in the United States," Nick said. "80% of the time the abductor knows the child."

Another way is to recognize possible threats, such as registered sex offenders.

"There are 12 registered sex offenders living right here in Searcy right now," she said, holding up a print out from the official state web site listing all level three and level four offenders residing in the state of Arkansas. "This list is published on the Internet and is for you to see. It is there for a reason, and that is so you can check it and know who your neighbors are. It was created after Morgan's abduction and if you don't use it you won't know. It is up to you to know. You have to inform yourself."

Yet another way the public can get involved is to look closely at all missing children posters. One out of six children recovered are by photograph recognition, she said.

Nick spent two hours with the Searcy Police Department, catching them up on new developments in the field of missing and exploited children.

"Having her address the department was beneficial," Thomas said. "Her sharing is a big help."

There has never been a child abduction in Searcy like Morgan's, Thomas said.

Nor one in White County, as far as Cpt. Jimmy Ervin of the White County Sheriff's Department knows.

Helpful information on the web on protecting your child from predators: www.morgannick.com, www.missingkids.org, www.acic.org/Registration/index.htm, www.codeamber.org, www.keystosafety.org.

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Originally posted on 05/11/05

http://www.katv.com

Families, Officials Gather for Arkansas Missing Children's Day

Wednesday May 11, 2005 7:32pm Reporter: Christina Muñoz

Little Rock - Wednesday was the annual Arkansas Missing Children's Day and with more than 300 children missing across the state of Arkansas, parents, community leaders, and state officials gathered Wednesday morning to honor missing children and promote child safety.

Parents of missing children were given a flower in their child's name. Each flower was placed on the photo of their missing child.

The keynote speaker was a Minnesota mother, whose son Jacob was abducted at gunpoint in 1989. Jacob is still missing.

(Patty Wetterling, mother of missing child) "When you have a missing child, one of the common questions is how do you do it, and I ask each of you to think about the children in your life. The way they smile, giggle, ask questions, smell, hug, and feel and you have your answers. Every child is special and that's the world we're striving for."

A safety awareness fair was also held in hopes of educating children about how to better protect themselves.

(Colleen Nick) "From the very first day that Morgan was kidnapped from the ball field when she was 6 years old, we vowed to fight back for her. And for ten years, we have fought for her, and I never dreamed 10 years later, I would still be standing here, still missing (cries) still missing Morgan."

Awards were given to officers and everyday people who have somehow kept a child from being abducted and for those who continue to search.

(Laurell Hall, mother of missing child) "To come and see this group and know there's someone out there still searching, it gives us renewed faith."

Attorney General Mike Beebe declared the month of May as Child Safety Awareness Month.

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Originally posted on 06/03/05

http://www.nwanews.com

Alma: Events to spotlight missing kids’ plight

BY SHARON CRAWFORD

Posted on Thursday, June 2, 2005

ALMA  The Morgan Nick Foundation is sponsoring a series of events this month to spotlight the plight of missing children.

The events are in conjunction with the 10 th anniversary of the disappearance of Morgan Nick. Morgan disappeared from an Alma baseball f ield on June 9, 1995, as her mother watched a championship youth baseball game.

She was 6 years old. "Morgan is 16 years old right now and she should be here preparing for her senior year in high school and planning her senior prom," Morgan’s mother, Colleen Nick, said at a news conference Wednesday. "It’s an absolute hope of mine that she will come home and be reunited with us."

The events, dubbed "Still Missing Morgan  10 Years Too Long," range from a safety fair in Springdale to a walk to honor missing children in Little Rock. All of the events are free and open to the public.

At the safety fair, Alma police officers will collect children’s fingerprints and make photographic identifications for children.

There also will be various groups talking about child-safety issues. "The foundation was set up to protect families," Alma Police Chief Russell White said. "That was something Colleen didn’t have when Morgan went missing."

Police say more than 250 people were at the ballfield during the last minutes of the game on the night Morgan disappeared. Colleen Nick had given her oldest child permission to play with two other young people in a nearby sandbox.

Morgan was last seen sitting on the ground getting sand out of her shoes.

Witnesses said they saw a suspicious man standing around the ballfield and an unidentified, older model red truck was seen in the area. "Our information hasn’t changed very much from that night," White said. "We don’t know who was driving that truck or if that person was involved."

Colleen Nick told family, friends and a handful of media representatives gathered at Alma City Hall on Wednesday that she still believes her daughter is alive.

She said keeping Morgan’s case in the limelight is the key to finding her. "My hope is that by getting it out there locally and nationally, maybe she’ll see herself and know we’re looking for her," Colleen Nick said.

Taryn Nick, Morgan’s 11-yearold sister, read a poem that she wrote for the anniversary of her sister’s disappearance.

She talked about the sadness of not having her sister around and how other children tease her about Morgan’s disappearance. "I don’t understand why someone would take you," Taryn said. "It makes me sad and really mad."

For more information on the events, call the Morgan Nick Foundation at (877) 543-4673.

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Originally posted on 06/05/05

http://www.nwanews.com

Predators are sly, expert cautions

BY MICHELLE BRADFORD

Posted on Sunday, June 5, 2005

Morgan Nick’s abductor worked like a classic child predator, seizing access and opportunity when snatching the 6-yearold from an Alma ballpark in 1995. But police believe he was a stranger to Morgan, and that’s not so common.

Safety experts say it’s not the nameless, faceless stranger who’s most likely to abduct children. They’re in more danger of being harmed by a relative or someone who knows of them.

An FBI profile indicates that Morgan’s abductor was likely a child molester. But police don’t know if he knew her, stalked her or lured her. "What parents need to know is that child predators look for access and opportunity," said Nancy McBride, safety director at the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children. "Morgan’s case clearly demonstrates that."

The circumstances of Morgan’s abduction, blocks from a police station, are enough to strike terror in any parent’s heart.

At a Rookie League game, a conscientious mother watched her daughter play in the sand yards away.

A batter tied the game, drawing Colleen Nick’s attention. The crowd rose in the bleachers. Cheers roared.

When Nick turned back to the sand pile, Morgan was gone, taken by a shadowy bad man, the kind Nick and millions of other parents had warned their children against.

When Morgan vanished, there weren’t Amber Alerts, age-progression photos or thirsty attention from 24-hour news networks.

To d ay, parents can outfit children with GPS locators  the same devices some states use to track convicted pedophiles, or freeze DNA in case a sample is needed later.

Precaution and technology aside, missing-children cases like Morgan’s persist, McBride said.

The number of long-term cases has hovered at 115 annually for the past 20 years, she said.

Child predators often ingratiate themselves into the lives  or simply the paths  of their victims, McBride said.

Take the March 9 abduction of Jessica Lunsford, 9, of Florida. A sex offender living surreptitiously in the neighborhood confessed to snatching and killing Jessica, police said. "From what we know, Jessica had probably seen her abductor before," McBride said. "What’s more likely is he’d seen her."

The National Crime Information Center includes 349 active missing-children cases in Arkansas as of February, according to the Arkansas Missing Children Services Program. Arkansas has listed 13 cases with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children since Morgan disappeared. Hers is the only Arkansas case listed as a "nonfamily" abduction.

SOUND THE ALARM Of the 58,000 children who vanish every year, about 300 cases are "true" stranger abductions, according to the center. Of those cases, only 2 percent of the children make it home alive. "Offenders who harm and murder children tend to do it in the first three hours," McBride said. "That’s a terrifying statistic. It means police and the community must move quickly." Amber Alert systems spread information fast over the radio, television and via highway message boards. Internet and cell phone subscribers receive Amber Alerts, too.

In a two-week period in May, the National Center signed up 40,000 wireless customers to receive Amber Alerts, said Bob Hoever, deputy director of special operations at the center. "When people call in with sightings, they almost always call on a cell phone," Hoever said. "Practically everyone has one."

Every state has at least one Amber Alert plan, and there are 114 across the country. Texas was first in 1997, with a regional plan dedicated to Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped while riding her bike in Arlington and murdered.

Arkansas’ program started in 2001. The Morgan Nick Amber Alert program was the second statewide program in the nation, after Oklahoma.

Arkansas’ program includes two levels of alerts. The most serious, Level 1, has been issued nine times, said Arkansas State Police Cpl. Donnie Belew.

Level 1 alerts are issued when a child is abducted by a nonrelative and is in imminent danger.

In the nine cases, seven children were found alive. Four others died, including: Luke Peyton, 5, who was killed by his father, Louis Dee Peyton, in a January 2002 murder-suicide in Perry County. Kacie Woody, 13, of Faulkner County, who was killed in 2002 by an abductor she met on the Internet. Patricia Ann Miles, 7, of Gilmore, who police say was suffocated by a baby sitter in August.

Those found include Haley Zega of Fayetteville. In 2001, the 6-yearold was lost for 53 hours near the Buffalo National River. Although Haley wasn’t abducted, police issued the Level 1 alert because of danger posed by rough wilderness and high cliffs, Belew said.

In April, a Level 1 alert was called off after police learned a Jacksonville teen hadn’t been kidnapped, but ran away with her boyfriend to Mexico.

Between 200 and 250 Amber Alerts are issued each year nationally, Hoever said. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children urges officials to be discriminate. "Public eyes and ears are a valuable tool," he said. "We don’t want to desensitize them. It could turn into the car-alarm syndrome. People wouldn’t pay attention anymore."

The center’s statistics show 205 children have been found because someone responded to an Amber Alert. Accompanying the successes is a recent trend of abductors releasing children after seeing Amber Alerts, he said. Along those lines is the case of a South Carolina abductor who saw a highway alert and called police, demanding they remove it. Police tracked the man through his cell phone and arrested him. Arkansas utilizes highway road signs in and around Pulaski County, on intestates 530, 30 and 40 for Amber Alerts, Belew said.

INTERNET A SOURCE FOR

PARENTS, PREDATORS McBride said one in six missing children featured in a photograph is located as a direct result of the photograph. "Ten years ago, when a child went missing, we’d stand over a printing press saying faster, faster, faster," she said. "Now if we have a photo, we can move it across the country in a matter of minutes."

McBride encourages parents to be aware of pedophiles who live in the community. Arkansas and other states have Web sites with the names, photos and addresses of registered sex offenders. Arkansas’ site is www. acic. org. While the Internet can be a safety tool, it’s also a pathway for predators. In 2002, Kacie Woody was abducted by a man she met online and thought was a teenager. David Fuller, 47, killed Kacie and himself, police said. McBride said a study shows that 57 percent of child homicides are committed by predators who sought out access and opportunity. Amber Alerts and safety devices work, McBride said, but they can’t replace parental supervision. "It all comes back to the parent and the child," she said. "Parents have to know what their children are doing, who they’re with and who they know." More important than trying to be on the lookout for abductors, parents should teach children how to avoid potentially dangerous situations.

Often, offenders try to desensitize their "stranger status" with potential victims, she said. And children have a different perception of who is a stranger. "Someone who’s friendly or who’ve they’ve seen around can seem benign," McBride said. "As adults, we don’t know what predators look like. How can we expect children to?"

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Originally posted on 06/10/05

http://www.thehometownchannel.com

Nick Family To Receive Extreme Home Makeover

ABC Crew Surprises Nick Family On Anniversary Of Daughter's Disappearance

POSTED: 11:47 am CDT June 9, 2005

UPDATED: 7:06 pm CDT June 9, 2005

ALMA, Ark. -- An Alma family will soon get a new home thanks to ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Nick Family To Receive Extreme Home Makeover

Ty Pennington and his crew surprised Colleen Nick and her family Thursday morning at their home in Alma. The show's team of designers and builders will completely demolish her existing house and build a new one.

The surprise came on a somber anniversary for the Nick family. Ten years ago Thursday, Colleen's daughter, Morgan Nick, was abducted from the parking lot of an Alma ballpark.

Since the abduction, Colleen has been on a crusade to find her missing daughter and help other families in similar situations. The Nick family, which have given much of its time to the cause through The Morgan Nick Foundation, will now receive a gift of its own -- a brand-new home.

But for Colleen and the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" team, the project is about more than just a house. They said the show is also about Morgan and spreading her story to millions across the nation.

Colleen said she has already had a one-on-one meeting with Pennington.

"Ty was making fun of my decorating in the bedroom, which is slightly outdated," she joked.

After spending time with friends and family, Colleen will turn over her house keys, leave town and come back to a whole new house.

She said the morning was "a little surreal." But she added that June 9 is always a little surreal for her and her family.

"This is the worst day of my life ... the worst day of my life," she said.

Usually, June 9 is a day of quiet reflection for the Nick family. Although Thursday was anything but quiet, Colleen said that was fine with her.

"Having the opportunity today, of all days, to tell Morgan's story ... to have someone who can tell it to 24 million people is breathtaking," she said. "I just can't help but think that maybe Morgan will see herself, and maybe Morgan will find her way home."

The Nick family has lived in the house for eight years. The Nicks moved from their previous home in Ozark two years after Morgan disappeared to be closer to the center of the investigation.

'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition' Filming Open To Public

Those who want to see the homebuilding unfold can watch from a designated area near the Nicks' home.

Shuttle buses are currently running to the Nicks' home from Meadors Inn in Alma every 15 minutes. Meadors Inn is just off Highway 71 North and Interstate 40.

Although area residents are more than welcome to watch, homebuilding volunteers are not needed for the project.

Contractors, landscape designers, caterers or other businesses interested in helping out can e-mail: iwanttohelp@emhe.tv.

Viewers can see the final product on 40/29. The Nicks' "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" episode is slated to air July 10.

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Originally posted on 06/14/05

http://www.thehometownchannel.com

'Extreme Makeover' Continues At Nick Family Home

POSTED: 10:25 am CDT June 14, 2005

UPDATED: 10:32 am CDT June 14, 2005

ALMA, Ark. -- The "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" team was back at work Tuesday morning, as work crews continued their speedy building project.

Heat Doesn't Slow Down 'Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'

On Monday night and through Tuesday morning, a new driveway was installed. A skateboard ramp for the back yard also arrived, and the installation of new siding began Tuesday morning -- along with more interior finishing touches.

The "Extreme Makeover" team said they chose Colleen Nick because she's spent the past 10 years searching for her missing daughter, Morgan Nick, and many other missing children.

The two-hour "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" special will air July 10 on 40/29.

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Originally posted on 06/18/05

http://www.thehometownchannel.com

Nick Home Makeover Revealed

'Extreme Team' Presents Alma Family With New Home

POSTED: 4:32 pm CDT June 16, 2005

UPDATED: 6:22 pm CDT June 16, 2005

ALMA, Ark. -- After a week of hard work, the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" team revealed a new home Thursday for Alma resident Colleen Nick and her family.

Hundreds of volunteers have been working on the home, and the familiar tour bus for the popular ABC show has been parked in front of the work site all week. Thousands more spectators gathered Thursday afternoon to hear host Ty Pennington and his "Extreme Team" utter their familiar refrain: "Move that bus!"

Colleen Nick's daughter, Morgan Nick, was kidnapped 10 years ago. Since then, Colleen has been a community and national leader in the search for all missing children.

The crew from "EMHE," as some fans call it, sent the Nicks on vacation for about a week after surprising her with their makeover plans on June 9 -- the 10th anniversary of Morgan's disappearance. The family pulled up to the curb in a limousine at about 2 p.m. Thursday to witness a new home measuring nearly 4,000 square feet.

As the crowd began chanting "Move that bus," the home was revealed. As 40/29's Beth Burnett reported, Colleen and even some of the crew members were taken by surprise.

The show's producers said Colleen was scheduled to tour her new home while camera crews filmed her reaction. They said the tour was expected to last at least five hours.

Spectators Flock To Alma

While the Nicks were away, thousands of people from across the area came out to see the makeover in progress -- but thousands showed up all at once on Thursday to catch a glimpse of the finished product.

Conditions were crowded, and weather conditions were often unpleasant during the makeover. On Thursday, extreme heat caused several people in the crowd -- which was separated from the house by cattle fencing -- to overheat and pass out.

But as 40/29's Lana Labrousse reported, most fans made it through the day without any problems. Many staked out the house all day and night just to see Colleen's reaction when she saw her new home.

Carol Hill, a fan of the show, said there's one more thing that would make the experience complete for the Nick family.

"I think the house is great, but I think it would be more wonderful if it brings Morgan home," Hill said. "That's what this is about."

Although the revealing of the home had ended by midafternoon Thursday, many told 40/29 that they were still excited to have seen Colleen receive something after her efforts on behalf of many missing children.

Meanwhile, Alma officials said shuttle service to the site has stopped. According to city leaders, streets surrounding the Nick home will be closed until Saturday.

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Originally posted on 07/12/05

http://www.realitytvmagazine.com

July 10, 2005

John Walsh Teams Up with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

"Nick Family, Parts 1 & 2"-- A single mother who lived through a parent's worst nightmare when her oldest daughter was abducted is the latest recipient to be astonished by the door knock of the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" design team and contractors, in two back-to-back episodes airing SUNDAY, JULY 10 (7:00-8:00 and 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

(My Note: The air date has been postponed until August.)

What started out one night as a beautiful, picture perfect summer evening for Colleen Nick and her children quickly spiraled into a horrible tragedy that would haunt the family and their community forever. Colleen and the kids had traveled to Alma, Arkansas, to watch their friend's son play in a little league game at a brand new ballpark. Several innings into the game, six-year-old Morgan was bored and asked her mom if she could join her friends in catching fireflies. Colleen remembered thinking how happy Morgan looked to be set free. That's the last memory she has of her eldest daughter; Morgan suddenly vanished. A massive manhunt got underway quickly, as this parent's worst nightmare came true.

At the time, the Nick family was living 30 minutes away from Alma. When law enforcement officials advised Colleen to stay near the abduction site, she ended up first living out of a fire station and then, later, bought the only house in Alma that she could afford - going to all lengths to be near the last tangible trace of Morgan. Unfortunately, it's now ten years later and Morgan has yet to be found, though the investigation is still open. Despite all of Colleen's best efforts, the police still don't know what happened to Morgan Nick that summer evening at the little league field in Alma.

Colleen hasn't let the search for her oldest daughter destroy her. Instead it has inspired her to prevent this terrible tragedy from befalling other parents and their innocent children. She started the Morgan Nick Foundation (MNF), which works tirelessly with law enforcement officials and parents to provide education designed to prevent abduction. Colleen is committed to making sure that other families don't have to wait ten years (or more) for answers, and was instrumental in the Arkansas State Legislature's passage of the Morgan Nick Amber Alert Program.

While the Nicks' spirit and hopes of finding Morgan have not been dashed, any improvements to their dilapidated house have been. Their three-bedroom, 1512-square-foot ranch style home was recently flooded due to the explosion of their old water heater, resulting in all of the floors having to be ripped out. It's been tough; Colleen devotes all of her time and energy to her remaining children, Logan (13) and Taryn (11), and to helping several thousand others nationwide.

While the "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" design team, contractors and hundreds of workers and volunteers are transforming the Nicks' house into a dream home that will hopefully ease their burden and comfort them in their difficult journey, the family will go on vacation to Walt Disney World.

Also, for the first time ever, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" and John Walsh, founder of the Center for Missing and Exploited Children and host of "America's Most Wanted" -- whose son, Adam, was also abducted and killed -- will work together to try and locate Morgan and other missing children across the country, as the team remodels the house of this very deserving family. June 9, the day of the "door knock" when Colleen received the news of the makeover, also marked the 10th anniversary of Morgan's abduction.

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Originally posted on 07/12/05

http://www.post-gazette.com/

Reality road trip takes them to Arkansas

Employees of Butler commercial furnishings company volunteer at 'Extreme Makeover' house

Sunday, July 10, 2005

By Amanda Michaels, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pile seven coworkers -- six of them related -- into an RV for 17 hours, place them at a construction site in rural Arkansas, give them odd jobs and what do you get?

A reality TV show, of course. Or at least the makings of one.

Employees of Keystone Ridge Designs had little idea of what they were getting into when they sent a copy of their company's catalog to the ABC series, "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition." Headquartered in Butler, the family-owned business sells furnishings, from trash receptacles to food court seating, to commercial vendors. The employees took a chance, however, that their products might be of use to the television program, which builds a home for an underprivileged or strife-stricken family in seven days, using only donated time and materials.

The Keystone Ridge workers didn't realize just how quickly their offer of support would be accepted.

Days after the catalog was mailed, one of the show's producers called the company in mid-May, interested in one particular item: the Torque bench. Constructed from diamond tread patterned steel set atop I-beams, the bench's "industrial feel" fit in with the skate-park theme planned for the back yard of the house being built, said Angela Cetti, business development specialist for Keystone Ridge.

The company workers immediately agreed to donate four benches -- a total value of $3,310 -- and, after hearing the story of the family chosen to benefit from the "extreme makeover," offered to donate their time as well.

The family is Colleen Nick and her children, who live in Alma, Ark. Ten years ago in the parking lot of a ballfield in Alma, 6-year-old Morgan Nick was abducted just feet from where her friends were hunting fireflies. Thousands of leads and reward dollars later, Morgan's mother is still seeking her missing daughter. She established the Morgan Nick Foundation to help find lost children and prevent other families from experiencing similar tragedies.

Nick runs the nonprofit from her house in Alma, where she lives with her two other children, Logan and Taryn. The "Extreme Makeover" team planned to surprise her with their plans for a new home on June 9, exactly one decade after Morgan's disappearance. They also hoped that the national exposure would uncover more information about the case and possibly lead Morgan home.

"As a parent, I was affected by the Nick family's story because it brought home how easy it is for a child to get lost or taken," said Nancy Slear, chief financial officer of Keystone Ridge Designs and matriarch of the Slear family, six of whom run the company and volunteered for the building project. "It's just been so rough on the Nicks, and I saw this as an opportunity to help someone who's lost a child."

Cetti, the only member of the group not related to the Slear family, said the producers were happy to have the employees volunteer. So, last month, seven of them packed into a rented RV and drove to Arkansas to get their hands dirty.

They stayed in Alma June 14 through 16, after the demolition and heavy construction had been completed. Slear said the hundreds of volunteers who showed up were asked to wait in a holding area until one of the crew members asked for help on a basic project, such as washing siding or unloading furniture.

"It reminded me of ants at a picnic," Slear said of the constant stream of activity surrounding the house.

The volunteers were given full access to the set, an "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" T-shirt and a brief introduction to the show's leading cast members, including carpenter and program host Ty Pennington.

Rubbing elbows with the stars wasn't, however, the highlight of the trip, Slear said.

"Seeing the community bond around the family, knowing the tremendous effort that everyone put in, I just felt so overwhelmed," she said. "The whole trip was worth that."

Cetti agreed. "Actually seeing the family's expressions when they saw their new house, it drove it home that we were giving them so much more than benches," she said.

Touched by Nick's dedication and eager to support her effort to prevent abductions and save those children already missing, Keystone Ridge Designs President Artie Slear, one of Nancy's sons, pledged a portion of the proceeds from the company's July business to the Morgan Nick Foundation.

Both Cetti and Slear raved about the house's design but were asked by producers to keep the specifics secret until the show has aired.

The show originally was scheduled to be broadcast today but has been postponed until an undisclosed date in August. "The experience wasn't about being on TV," Cetti said. "We were able to be a part of the huge community effort to pull together and support this family in need, and I will always remember that."

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Originally posted on 07/23/05

Per Colleen Nick, the airing of the show is for August 14th.

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Originally posted on 08/11/05

by Kelly

From Colleen Nick:

"These are all the programs over the next few days who will be talking about Morgan!

*CNN Headline News "Showbiz Report" 6 PM CST Interview with Paige from EMHE

*CMT - Kathy Matea 12:30 PM CST Saturday

*AMW - 8:00 PM CST - Saturday

Extreme Makeover - Sunday 6-8 PM CST"

Kelly Jolkowski, Mother of Missing Jason Jolkowski

President and Founder,

Project Jason

http://www.projectjason.org

Read our Voice for the Missing Blog

http://voice4themissing.blogspot.com/

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Originally posted on 08/15/05

http://www.thehometownchannel.com

Local Family Receives Extreme Home Makeover

POSTED: 4:35 pm CDT August 14, 2005

UPDATED: 4:48 pm CDT August 14, 2005

FORT SMITH, Ark. -- Sunday night, Colleen Nick and her family will receive an extreme home makeover on national TV.

The show is about more than just a new home; it's about finding missing children around the country.

Some in the Hometown area has been anticipating this moment for months.

Hundreds of people are gathered at the Fayetteville Town Center for a local watch party and everyone is excited to see the two-hour makeover special and get Morgan's Nick's abduction story across the nation.

Ten years ago, Morgan Nick was abducted at the age of 6. Colleen, Morgan's mother, formed the Morgan Nick Foundation in an effort to recover missing children across the country.

Sunday afternoon, crews spent time setting up for the big event. They expect 1,500 people to show up for the watch party.

Not only will everyone get to see the transformation of the Nick household, but also see Morgan's story about her abduction 10 years ago.

Everyone involved in the makeover process said they hope the program will help in the search for Morgan.

"We just hope we get some resolution tonight for Morgan and we find her," said Lori Collier, of the Home Builders Association. "Our ultimate goal is that we find her and hopefully find some other missing children tonight."

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Originally posted on 08/21/05

http://www.nwaonline.net/

Homeowner Calls TV Home Makeover Life Changing

By Trish Mehaffey

The Morning News

FAYETTEVILLE -- Tammie Shelley said working with ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition crew on the house for Colleen Nick was nothing short of life changing and she would do it again.

"It was a blessing, an emotional roller coaster," said Shelley, a member of the Northwest Arkansas Home Builders Association project team. "We went through every emotion you can think of, every day."

The 670 members of the builders organization, along with the Greater Fort Smith Association of Home Builders and the River Valley Home Builders Association, pulled everybody together for the project, said Jan Skopecek, executive director of the northwest association. More than 2,000 volunteers worked on the project.

The project team, Colleen Nick and her family and many of the volunteers gathered Sunday at the Fayetteville Town Center for a watch party of the Extreme Makeover episode that aired Sunday night.

The watch party was also a fund raiser for the Morgan Nick Foundation. All who attended, except the volunteers and project team members, were asked for a cash donation. Proceeds from the party will go to expand the foundation's safety prevention programs and the recovery of missing children.

Morgan Nick was abducted in 1995 during a ballgame in Alma. Her mother, Colleen Nick, started the foundation which works with police and parents to provide education and training on the prevention of abductions.

The Nicks were chosen for the project because of Colleen's work, according to information from ABC. The Nicks moved into their two-story white plantation-style home June 16.

Shelley said the builders association got the e-mail from ABC at the end of March or early April.

"I said is this for real?" Shelley said. "So, we asked them to call us back and they did. We got the e-mail because they had put in (on the Internet) 'home builder'-- looking for a builder in this area and (the association's site) came up."

Shelley said they scrambled to see how they could do the project and decided the best way was to make it a community effort.

Shelia Robertson of Charleston, a volunteer, said she would get off from her job at the Arkansas revenue office at 6 p.m. and go work on the Nick house until 2 or 3 a.m.

She taped windows for the painters, carried debris and swept the roof until the weeklong project was completed.

Her mother, Wanda Robertson, also volunteered and helped served meals for the crew. She got involved to help others and because she was a fan of the TV program.

Tammy Dengel of Bentonville, a volunteer, said her sister-in-law owned the cleaning crew that worked on the project and got her involved. She worked for three days from 7 a.m. to 4 a.m.

"We carried bags of cement and helped with food for the workers," she said.

Dengel said at the end of project she was tired, but smiling and happy when she saw Colleen Nick's face.

Colleen Nick said Sunday she was shocked when she saw the house almost two months ago.

"It was a little too big," she said. "We would have people over for dinner some nights just because there was so much room."

A volunteer passed by and asked Colleen Nick if she loved the closets.

"Did you do that?" Colleen Nick asked the woman. "They're wonderful. Some have asked if they could just move into those."

Nick said the young people in the neighborhood love the skate park built in the back yard for Logan, 13, and Taryn, 11.

"You see little boys with their skateboards coming down the street all day long," she said.

Nick told the crowd waiting to watch the episode that she was thankful for what they did for her family.

"The 24 million (projected audience watching the program) will get to see what heart means tonight," she said.

Nick said she was grateful for the opportunity for those 24 million people to hear Morgan's story and know her family has never given up believing Morgan will come home.

"Maybe she will see this and be able to pick up a phone and come home," she said.

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Originally posted on 06/14/06

by Dan

June 9th marked the 11th year anniversary since Morgan Chauntel Nick was kidnapped.

We pray for her safe return.

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Originally posted on 08/20/06

by Kelly

http://www.thehometownchannel.com/ne...59/detail.html

Police: Ramsey Suspect A Person Of Interest In Nick Case

POSTED: 6:37 pm CDT August 17, 2006

UPDATED: 6:45 pm CDT August 17, 2006

ALMA, Ark. -- The arrest in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case brought up new questions in a local investigation, officials said. Those officials said that while Ramsey murder suspect John Mark Karr, who was arrested in Thailand on Wednesday, was a person of interest in the 1995 disappearance of an Alma girl, he was not a suspect.

In June 1995, 6-year-old Morgan Nick was kidnapped from an Alma baseball park. Since that time, Morgan's mother, Colleen, local investigators and countless volunteers have been working to bring the Alma girl home.

Please read more at the link posted above.

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Originally posted on 08/20/06

by Kelly

http://www.kait8.com/Global/story.as...01855&nav=0jsh

Alma,AR(AP)

AR Police Interested in Ramsey Suspect

August 19th,2006 - Posted at 12:38 p.m. CDT

........... White says Karr is not a suspect in the Nick abduction. White says:''He's a person of interest because of the type of crime he's accused of.'' A sketch of the Alma suspect shows a white man with a thin face, like Karr's. Nick, then 6, disappeared while playing with other children June 9th, 1995.

Please read more at the link provided above.

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Originally posted on 08/20/06

by Kelly

http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0806/353961.html

Investigators in Morgan Nick Case Interested in Karr

Friday August 18, 2006 9:08pm Posted By: Cassie Cummings

........ Alma Police say they want to know more about John Mark Karr, who was arrested in Thailand this week and held as a suspect in the death of JonBenet.

Police Chief Russell White says investigators want to know if Karr was in Western Arkansas in June 1995, when Morgan disappeared. White says Karr is not a suspect in the Nick abduction.

(Chief Russell White, Alma Police Chief) "He's not a suspect in our case; he's a person of interest because of the type of crime he's accused of."

Please read more at the link posted above.

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Originally Posted on 08/20/06

by Kelly

This statement comes directly to us from Colleen Nick, Morgan's mom:

"Anytime there is a lead, or a confession, or an arrest in another case that might be somehow be connected to ours, our investigative team checks it out thoroughly.

At this time there is nothing to cause the investigators, or us, to believe that this current predator has anything at all to do with Morgan's abduction."

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Originally posted on 12/16/06

by Kelly

http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/71290.aspx

Have You Seen Me?

By Mark Martin

CBN News

December 13, 2006

CBNNews.com - ALMA, Arkansas - Colleen Nick is not giving up hope that her daughter Morgan will come home. In Morgan's room on her dresser still sits her kindergarten graduation picture. Morgan would have graduated from high school this year.

Colleen said, "One of the coach's wives made the initial 911 call to police and that began our search 11 ½ years ago ago to find Morgan and bring her home. It's a search that goes forward today."

Morgan was abducted from a ballpark in Alma, Arkansas on June 9, 1995. She was six years old. Morgan and her mother were watching a little league baseball game, when Morgan went to play with some friends and vanished.

"I went over to my car, thinking she had gotten in, and she wasn't, and it became very obvious that Morgan wasn't at the ball field," Colleen said.

Please continue to read at the link provided.

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Originally posted on 02/03/07

by Denise

Nick Talks Of Drawing Strength From Faith

Mother of abducted child addresses women's conference

This article was published on Friday, February 2, 2007 7:27 PM CST in Religion

By Debbie Miller

The Morning News

On the homefront, she clings to the continuing hope that daughter Morgan, abducted 11 1/2 years ago, will return to her.

On a national stage, Nick works through the Morgan Nick Foundation to recover missing children across the country and to provide support to families of missing children.

In her personal journey, she keeps the faith, too.

The Alma resident shared glimpses into her Christian walk during a women's conference at the Church at Pinnacle Hills on Jan. 27. Approximately 490 women attended the two-day conference.

A video from a Christian broadcasting network played prior to Nick's remarks and included a refrain Nick later repeated to her live audience.

"When life is trying to put you down, let it take you to your knees," she told the women. "When you hit your knees (in prayer), that's when God can do his very best."

Nick suggested to the audience that some might harbor private pain, "tears in the night that no one but God sees." She urged her audience to know God sees the hurts.

Some others have told Nick she's strong or she's extraordinary.

She rejects both adjectives.

"The fact is I'm just incredibly ordinary," she said, "but I'm passionate."

She readily acknowledged tough times, recalling a moment when she felt so low she "couldn't even look up and see bottom." Yet, God provided her with a peace, she said.

Nick referred her audience to chapters 11 and 12 of Hebrews, which details a list of men and women faithful to God's call.

Today's readers look at the Scripture and assume people like Moses and Abraham never had a moment of doubt, never questioned and were never afraid, Nick said.

That's because people who read the words now are looking back with the knowledge of how things turned out, she suggested.

"You think Moses' mother didn't have trembling hands" putting her baby in the water? Nick asked.

Such actions of faith have a message for others, she said. Tough times come. The bank account is empty, and people don't know how they're going to pay the bills. Kids get sick. Loved ones die.

Nick said still, God is always there. "He always has an answer for us."

Stand on faith, she encouraged her audience. It's something ordinary people do every day.

The Morning News: Religion : Nick Talks Of Drawing Strength From Faith

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http://www.katv.com/news/stories/0607/430244.html

Family and Friends Join Together To Remember Morgan Nick

Sunday June 10, 2007 2:05pm Reporter: Jessica Dean Posted By: Cassie Cummings

Alma - Family and friends joined together Saturday night to remember Morgan Nick on this 12 anniversary.

Morgan was last seen June 9, 1995 at an Alma ballpark. She was just six years old.

A dozen years after her daughter’s disappearance, Colleen Nick remains hopeful that one day she will see her daughter again.

Family and friends released pink balloons on Saturday in celebration of a girl nearly all Arkansans remember in her pink sweater.

(Colleen Nick, Morgan Nick’s Mother) "I hate to see it come every year. I always think this will be that year we'll find Morgan and we won't ever have to do this again-every year it keeps coming around and every year we just dig in and keep fighting."

Morgan Nick disappeared from an Alma Ballpark on June 9, 1995. A massive search ensued, but Morgan was never found. 12 years later Morgan’s mother holds onto hope that her daughter will return.

(Colleen Nick) "It really does make us stronger to come together...to fight for her."

Colleen Nick says 12 years later, she truly believes her daughter is still alive and that someone is Arkansas knows what happened to her.

(Colleen Nick) "I am resilient in my heart that I’m going to find Morgan, no matter how long it takes, no matter how hard it is that someday we won't have an empty seat at our dinner table anymore."

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