Tommy Manizak, who went missing when he was 28, was convicted of a sex crime in 1993 and served three years in prison
A California man who was reported missing in 1999 was identified by his sister when his picture was printed in a USA Today article in April of this year, but the joyous discovery unveiled disturbing details.
Tommy Manizak, the long-lost brother of Marcella (Marcie) Nasseri, is a registered sex offender who was convicted in 1993, according to the Lassen County Sheriff’s Department via USA Today.
Manizak served three years in county prison, Capt. Mike Carney said.
Details about the circumstances surrounding the case suggest that Manizak was reported as being fingerprinted, but Carney later learned it never actually happened, which kept police from being able to identify him, according to the reports.
CALIFORNIA MAN, WHO VANISHED 25 YEARS AGO, TO REUNITE WITH FAMILY AFTER PICTURE IN NEWS ARTICLE
A California man who had been missing for 25 years was identified by his sister when she saw his photo in a news article, but the discovery unveiled disturbing details. (Megan's Law Website)
LCSO received a call from Nasseri, who told sheriff’s deputy Derek Kennemore she had been sent the article and believed the man in the article was her brother, who had not been heard from since his disappearance 25 years ago.
Manizak had been admitted to a hospital in the Los Angeles area, according to the sheriff's office. Kennemore reached out and learned the man had been transferred to another hospital in July.
This triggered the police to run his fingerprints through the database, and he was found in the 1993 sex offender listing.
"I guess he wasn't cooperative when they tried to fingerprint him," Carney told USA Today. "We were told that he was unable to walk and was unable to talk, so I don't know what happened to him."
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Manizak registered as a sex offender in Lassen County but when he left town he never registered in his new location, Carney said.
Tommy Manizak, who was missing for 25 years, is a registered sex offender who was convicted in 1993, according to the Lassen County Sheriff’s Department. (Lassen County Sheriff's Office/Facebook)
"He went to Oregon and after that, according to his family, he was just kind of a free soul and he just floated around," Carney said.
While Nasseri is aware of the newly uncovered circumstances, describing what her brother did as "sickening and horrible," she told USA Today she is still overjoyed to reconnect with him.
"But at the end of the day, he's still my brother, and I'm not turning my back on my flesh and blood," Nasseri said. "I love him and I've been looking for 25 years – all the other stuff is outside noise, he's my brother and I love him."
Manizak skipped town a few years after being released from jail and failed to reregister as a sex offender in his new city. (GoFundMe)
On her GoFundMe page, Nasseri said she is very far away from her brother's location and is looking for assistance to aid him until a medical transfer is possible as he is learning to do everyday things again.
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"I am 600 miles away in Lassen County. He is in Lynwood, California. I have initiated a possible medical transfer to a facility in Lassen County. All we know is that he just learned to walk, he can eat regular food, and he is non-verbal. I do not have money for things we need. I am mailing him used men's clothing, a set of pencils, and a scratch pad because he loved to draw. This is all I can send for now," she wrote in the fundraiser.
