ALMA, Ark. – Authorities are searching an eastern Oklahoma property that was searched years ago in connection with the 1995 disappearance of a 6-year-old Arkansas girl.
Investigators aren’t saying whether this week’s search is connected to the unsolved abduction of Morgan Nick, for whom Arkansas’ missing-child alert system is named.
According to KFSM, authorities in LeFlore County, say they received a tip that led them back to the property.
The search is taking place in Spiro, Oklahoma, about 25 miles southwest of the Arkansas town of Alma where Morgan was last seen at a baseball field. Investigators say Morgan was abducted from a Little League game as she chased fireflies with friends.
This is the same location that police searched in connection to the Morgan Nick case in 2010, according to Spiro police.
In 2010, police searched the property for DNA evidence and spoke to a man who lived on the property at the time of the abduction, according to KFSM. They did not find evidence on the property at that time, KFSM reports.
“We are deeply grateful for the ongoing efforts by law enforcement to find Morgan and bring her home,” said Colleen Nick, Morgan’s mom.
Investigators said there is a well on the property that is the center of the investigation. They have only been able to get less than a foot into the ground because they are going through everything very carefully, according to investigators.
Fort Smith television station KHBS reports the search involves the FBI, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation and local authorities. LeFlore County Sheriff Rob Seale says the digging began Monday after authorities received a tip.
Seale says the current resident of the home isn’t associated with the investigation.
