Remembering Morgan Nick, 30 years after her disappearance
It was June 9, 1995. Colleen Nick and her children, Logan and Taryn, were staying in the bay of the Alma Volunteer Fire Department after 6-year-old Morgan disappeared during a youth game.
“We lived in Ozark and had come to Alma for the game,” Colleen said. “I didn’t want to leave in case something developed.”
In those early days, Colleen asked to speak with Mary Ann Witt from Fort Smith, whose daughter, Missy, had been abducted and murdered the year prior.
“I didn’t know her, and I didn’t expect her to come. But God bless her, she and a friend came to Alma. She looked me straight in the eye and said, ‘It’s not time to give up hope.’ Those words were simple, but powerful.”
Hope continues to anchor Colleen.
“People don’t want to give false hope,” she said. “But unless you can prove to me Morgan isn’t coming home, I will always have that hope. I have enough for all of us .”
Colleen’s grandchildren are old enough to learn about their aunt. She wrote a book just for them, explaining who Morgan was, what happened, and how much the family still loves and fights for her.
A large portrait of Morgan hangs near Colleen’s desk, where a kitten named Emily, who lived 19 years, watches over her. Firefly lights hang in the Morgan Nick Foundation, honoring the moment Morgan chose to go catch fireflies — the last time Colleen saw her daughter.
Remembering the night Morgan Nick disappeared
“She didn’t want to play at first. She just wanted to sit with me and watch the game,” Colleen said. “But when they asked if she wanted to catch fireflies, she really wanted to go.”
Colleen had hesitated. “I told her no at first. It was dark. But we could see the hill from where we sat, and she kept asking. Against my better judgment, I let her go.”
Morgan hugged her mother, kissed her cheek, and ran off. Colleen saw her playing — until the moment she didn’t.
“She was the last one near the cars. Then I saw the other two children running back, but Morgan was gone,” Colleen said. It was 10:45 p.m.
“I would give anything to go back and change that moment.”
Colleen Nick's life of advocacy
In the years since, Colleen has made Morgan’s story her mission. She never intended to start a nonprofit. She just wanted to find her daughter. But invitations to speak turned into a life of advocacy.
“Arkansas stood up,” she said. “The community, the media, law enforcement — they all stood shoulder to shoulder with us and said, ‘This can’t happen again.’”
The Morgan Nick Foundation now has a larger facility off Highway 71 in Alma, offering resources for families of missing children and adults. Colleen Nick has recently joined the Hope Division within the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, staffed by trained professionals who help families cope with ambiguous loss.
“When someone is physically absent but emotionally present, that’s what grief is with a missing person,” Colleen said. “You have to balance that and still find hope.”
She doesn’t look at the age-progression photos. “To me, she’s always six. I can imagine her being like her siblings, but she’s frozen in that moment — sparkling blue eyes and a cheeky grin, chasing fireflies.”
Morgan’s siblings were just toddlers when she vanished. Taryn, now grown, recently joined the foundation after working in foster care and earning her degree in social work.
“What happened to Morgan influenced what she’s done with her life,” Colleen said. “She wants to make a difference.”
Last year, the foundation reached 27,000 children through in-person and virtual programming focused on safety and online dangers like trafficking, cyberstalking and online enticement.
“We’re not trying to add more to teachers’ workloads. We’re here to help,” Colleen said. “We live in an age where we want constant communication with our children, but others out there are tracking them, too.”
Even now, holidays and milestone moments carry a bittersweet tone.
“When she would have graduated from high school, that was hard. We attended the ceremony and spoke with our classmates. It was an honor to walk with them,” Colleen said. “We’ve learned to find joy, but the grief never leaves.”
She still wrestles with the past.
“I had two other kids to raise. I had to give them a world where they felt safe, loved and found purpose,” she said. “If I could change things, I never would have let her go that night.
“I know we’ve done a lot of good in Morgan’s name — but I want my daughter back.”
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Remembering Morgan Nick, 30 years after her disappearance
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