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Small Business Lifestyle

DNA from hair links man to 1995 case [Video]

New DNA testing linked a man named Billy Jack Lincks to the 1995 disappearance of Morgan Nick, the Alma Police Department announced Tuesday morning.Morgan Nick disappeared while playing near a Little League game in June 1995. Her case is the subject of a documentary series released last year that focuses on the investigation.Years ago, lab technicians found blonde hair inside a pickup truck that had belonged to Billy Jack Lincks and resembled a truck seen near the scene of her disappearance. Technology did not allow the hair to be tested until recently.A lab in Texas tested the hair and compared it to DNA submitted by Colleen Nick, Morgan’s mother. They found that the hair belonged to either Colleen, one of her siblings, or one of her children.”We’ve reached a point where we can concentrate on one suspect,” Alma Police Chief Jeff Pointer said.Pointer asked people who may have information about Lincks or anything else surrounding the case to call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which is 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).”We are hoping someone has the missing puzzle we need,” he said.The red pickup truckLaw enforcement has periodically released and re-released a photo of a red pickup truck with a camper. It was parked near the Alma ballfield at about the same time Morgan disappeared.Alma police chief Jeff Pointer told 40/29 News that after Nick went missing, officers received reports of suspicious activity involving the driver of that truck and children in an Alma neighborhood.”Children, and when I say children, it could be teenagers, it could be younger children who were approached by a man in a red truck with a white camper. We believe someone knows who was at the ballpark that night and who was driving a red truck with a white camper,” Pointer said.Police have also circulated a description of a person of interest in the case. He is described as a man who was between the ages of 23 and 38 at the time of Morgan’s disappearance. He was about 6 feet tall with a medium to solid build. He may have had a mustache and a beard. Investigators from multiple law enforcement agencies searched a red 1986 Chevrolet Scottsdale pickup truck and collected evidence from inside it. According to crime lab reports, blood was identified on part of a seat inside the truck. Investigators also recovered hair samples from various items that were found.At the time, lab technicians found the blood and the blonde hair did not have enough DNA information for a conclusive match. That hair was retested and found to be either Morgan Nick’s or a close relative’s.Video above: Colleen Nick reacts to development in missing daughter’s caseA new documentary revealed that law enforcement also found blue-green cotton fiber in the mat under the seats and in metal pieces of the truck.FBI technicians were able to match the fiber on a microscopic level to a Girl Scout shirt of the type Morgan wore when she disappeared.Court records from the Van Buren incident reveal that a neighbor who lived next to Lincks in 1995 told investigators back then that he thought there was a camper shell on Lincks’ truck “a few months ago.”Investigating Billy Jack LincksIn Nov. 2021, FBI agents publicly named a man named Billy Jack Lincks as a person of interest in the case and asked for the public’s help gathering information about him.Lincks was convicted of sexual indecency after attempting to abduct a child two months after Morgan Nick’s disappearance.According to initial police reports obtained by 40/29 News, on August 29, 1995, an 11-year-old girl told police she was walking with her younger brothers near the Sonic restaurant in downtown Van Buren when a man pulled up to them in a red pickup truck.Van Buren is about 10 minutes down the interstate from Alma, where Morgan Nick was taken.The girl told officers the man offered her money, made sexual comments to her and offered to pay her to get inside his truck and go with him to his house. The girl ran away and police were notified.A witness reported an Arkansas license tag to police that was traced to Lincks and an arrest warrant was issued the next day.Who was Billy Jack Lincks?Agents are trying to learn as much as they can about the life of Billy Jack Lincks.Lincks was born and raised in Crawford County, Arkansas. He served in the Army during World War II and then worked at Braniff Airlines in Dallas from 1962 to 1974.Lincks returned to Van Buren sometime in the late 1970s. He died in prison in 2000.”Whether it was through school, work, church, or any social activity, we need information about Lincks and details about his entire life,” the release states.”Remember, every piece of information about Lincks’ life is important – no detail is too small or insignificant,” it says.Morgan Nick FoundationColleen Nick started the Morgan Nick Foundation. The foundation’s mission is to educate children and teenagers about personal and online safety and to try and prevent child abductions.The foundation assists the attorney general, local law enforcement agencies, and families in cases of missing persons involving children and adults.

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Small Business Lifestyle

DNA from hair links man to 1995 disappearance of Morgan Nick [Video]

New DNA testing linked a man named Billy Jack Lincks to the 1995 disappearance of Morgan Nick, the Alma Police Department announced Tuesday morning.Morgan Nick was six years old when she disappeared while playing near a Little League game in June 1995. Her case is the subject of a Hulu documentary series that focuses on the investigation.Years ago, lab technicians found blonde hair inside a pickup truck that had belonged to Billy Jack Lincks and resembled a truck seen near the scene of her disappearance. Technology did not allow the hair to be tested until recently.A lab in Texas tested the hair and compared it to DNA submitted by Colleen Nick, Morgan’s mother. They found that the hair belonged to either Colleen, one of her siblings, or one of her children.”We’ve reached a point where we can concentrate on one suspect,” Alma Police Chief Jeff Pointer said. Pointer asked people who may have information about Lincks or anything else surrounding the case to call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which is 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678). “We are hoping someone has the missing puzzle we need,” he said.The Red Pickup TruckLaw enforcement has periodically released and re-released a photo of a red pickup truck with a camper. It was parked near the Alma ballfield at about the same time Morgan disappeared.Alma police chief Jeff Pointer told 40/29 News that after Nick went missing, officers received reports of suspicious activity involving the driver of that truck and children in an Alma neighborhood.”Children and when I say children it could be teenagers, it could be younger children who were approached by a man in a red truck with a white camper. We believe someone knows who was at the ballpark that night and who was driving a red truck with a white camper,” Pointer said.Police have also circulated a description of a person of interest in the case. He is described as a man who was between the ages of 23 and 38 at the time of Morgan’s disappearance. He was about 6 feet tall with a medium to solid build. He may have had a mustache and a beard.Lincks’ Pickup TruckInvestigators from multiple law enforcement agencies searched a red 1986 Chevrolet Scottsdale pickup truck and collected evidence from inside it. According to crime lab reports, blood was identified on part of a seat inside the truck. Investigators also recovered hair samples from various items that were found.At the time, lab technicians found the blood and the blonde hair did not have enough DNA information for a conclusive match. That hair was tested with new technology in 2024 and found to be either Morgan Nick’s or a close relative’s.That led police to name Lincks as the sole suspect in her disappearance.A new documentary revealed that law enforcement also found blue-green cotton fiber in the mat under the seats and in metal pieces of the truck.FBI technicians were able to match the fiber on a microscopic level to a Girl Scout shirt of the type Morgan wore when she disappeared.Court records from the Van Buren incident reveal that a neighbor who lived next to Lincks in 1995 told investigators back then that he thought there was a camper shell on Lincks’ truck “a few months ago.” Investigating Billy Jack LincksIn Nov. 2021, FBI agents publicly named a man named Billy Jack Lincks as a person of interest in the case and asked for the public’s help gathering information about him.Lincks was convicted of sexual indecency after attempting to abduct a child two months after Morgan Nick’s disappearance.According to initial police reports obtained by 40/29 News, on August 29, 1995, an 11-year-old girl told police she was walking with her younger brothers near the Sonic restaurant in downtown Van Buren when a man pulled up to them in a red pickup truck.Van Buren is about 10 minutes down the interstate from Alma, where Morgan Nick was taken.The girl told officers the man offered her money, made sexual comments to her and offered to pay her to get inside his truck and go with him to his house. The girl ran away and police were notified.A witness reported an Arkansas license tag to police that was traced to Lincks and an arrest warrant was issued the next day. Who Was Billy Jack Lincks?Agents are trying to learn as much as they can about the life of Billy Jack Lincks.Lincks was born and raised in Crawford County, Arkansas. He served in the Army during World War II and then worked at Braniff Airlines in Dallas from 1962 to 1974.Lincks returned to Van Buren sometime in the late 1970s. He died in prison in 2000.”Whether it was through school, work, church, or any social activity, we need information about Lincks and details about his entire life,” the release states.”Remember, every piece of information about Lincks’ life is important – no detail is too small or insignificant,” it says. Morgan Nick FoundationColleen Nick started the Morgan Nick Foundation. The foundation’s mission is to educate children and teenagers about personal and online safety and to try and prevent child abductions.The foundation assists the attorney general, local law enforcement agencies and families in missing person cases involving children and adults.

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Small Business Lifestyle

Volunteer finds purpose, solace at New Bedford GBFB pantry [Video]

OKAY, COME ON IN. LISA RIVERO LOVES TO JOKE AND LAUGH AS SHE HELPS PEOPLE SHOP IN THE FOOD PANTRY OF THE ANTI-POVERTY ORGANIZATION PACE IN NEW BEDFORD. BUT NOT TOO LONG AGO, TIMES WERE VERY TOUGH FOR HER, TOO. IT STARTED TWO YEARS AGO. I HAD A TRIPLE BYPASS BAD HEART ATTACK. AND WHILE I WAS HEALING, I WAS STARTED SUFFERING FROM SEVERE DEPRESSION LIKE REALLY BAD. THEN ONE DAY, LISA DROVE BY PACE AND SHE DECIDED TO STOP IN AND VOLUNTEER, HOPING IT WOULD HELP HER WHILE HELPING HER COMMUNITY. SHES BEEN HERE EVER SINCE. MY GOAL OTHER THAN MAKING SURE THAT THESE FAMILIES HAVE THE FOOD THAT THEY NEED, IS THAT THEY LEAVE HERE WITH A SMILE ON THEIR FACE. LISA KNOWS WHAT THEYRE GOING THROUGH. SHES NOT ONLY A VOLUNTEER HERE, SHE ALSO RELIES ON THE FOOD PANTRY TO GET BY. I HAVE MY GRANDKIDS IN MY HOUSE EVERY DAY. I GOT TO MAKE SURE THAT IVE GOT STUFF FOR THEM, YOU KNOW? AND THIS HELPS WITH THAT. THE FOOD PANTRY HAS A LIMITED BUDGET, AND A RELATIVELY SMALL STAFF, SO VOLUNTEERS LIKE LISA ARE CRUCIAL FOR STOCKING SHELVES AND HELPING PEOPLE SHOP CHICKEN. LAST YEAR, THIS FOOD PANTRY SERVED 10,000 FOOD INSECURE PEOPLE IN NEW BEDFORD. MANY OF THEM GET NUTRITIOUS FOOD AND A POSITIVE ATTITUDE FROM LISA. SHES DONE A MIRACULOUS JOB. SHES REAL COURTEOUS TO ALL THE CLIENTELE. PEOPLE ARE GETTING TO KNOW HER. WE HAVE IT THAT CLIENTS ARE LOOKING FOR LISA WHEN THEY COME IN. HOWS LISA? WHERES LISA? IF, FOR INSTANCE, SHES NOT HERE FOR, YOU KNOW, PERSONAL REASONS. SO HER DEDICATION AND WORK ETHIC HERE HAS NOT GONE UNNOTICED. HEY, AND AS FOR THE DEPRESSION THAT DROVE LISA HERE IN THE FIRST PLACE, SHES LEARNING THAT TAKING CARE OF OTHERS FEEDS HER SOUL. AND FINDING THIS PLACE JUST TURNED MY WHOLE LIFE AROUND COMPLETELY. I AM SO GRATEFUL TO STILL BE ALIVE, AND IM SO GRATEFUL THAT I CAN BE HERE TO HELP OTHERS CONVERT BACK HERE. YES IT IS. REPORTING IN NEW BEDFORD, TODD

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Small Business Lifestyle

Home collapses, 6 others damaged in Milwaukee arson fire [Video]

Milwaukee police are investigating a house fire near Bremen and Center streets as arson.According to police, the suspect intentionally set a vacant house on fire Tuesday at approximately 11 p.m. Upon arrival, firefighters found a vacant 2 story house fully engulfed in flames. The fire department called a second alarm to mobilize additional fire trucks and resources to the scene.Firefighters said the home where the fire started eventually collapsed.All the residents in the homes nearby were able to evacuate on their own.The Red Cross is providing assistance to the seven people who were displaced.One firefighter sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to the hospital. No other injuries were reported. According to neighbors, the home where the fire started had been unoccupied for years and was recently undergoing construction.WISN 12 News spoke with a man who lives across the street and watched as crews battled the flames.”I heard something outside, and it sounded like two cars hitting each other, and I just walked upstairs, and it was like my whole living room was, like, lit up,” Dixon said. “It was basically just like every bit of that house was on fire. It was just the biggest, biggest fire I’ve ever seen in my life.”

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Small Business Lifestyle

United Methodist Village Earns Growth Associations April 2018 Small Business of the Month [Video]

The United Methodist Village in Godfrey is the Riverbend Growth Associations April 2018 Small Business of the Month.The beautiful senior community offers independent and assisted living options. Watch as Growth Association Director of Member Services Trish Holmes visits with UMV Executive Director Anita Martinez, Board Chairman Steve Schwartz and Senior Vice President of Life Care Services Richard Funk. Life Care Services is the management group for UMV.United Methodist Village 5201 Asbury Avenue Godfrey, IL 62035 618-466-8662