A California man who went missing in 1999 has been found after 25 years, but the happy reunion came with some unsettling revelations. Tommy Manizak, who disappeared decades ago, was identified by his sister, Marcella “Marcie” Nasseri, earlier this year when she saw his photo in a news article. However, as the pieces of his story came together, shocking details about his past emerged.
It turns out that Tommy, now 67, is a registered sex offender who was convicted back in 1993. According to the Lassen County Sheriff’s Department, he served three years in a county prison for his crimes.
Captain Mike Carney explained that although Tommy was supposed to be fingerprinted back then, it never happened. This oversight made it much harder for police to track him down over the years.
The discovery happened when Marcie spotted Tommy’s picture in an article in April. She hadn’t heard from her brother since he vanished 25 years ago and reached out to the Lassen County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputy Derek Kennemore took her call and started piecing things together. It turned out Tommy had recently been admitted to a hospital in Los Angeles and later transferred to another hospital in July.
This new information prompted police to run his fingerprints through their database, and that’s when they found his 1993 sex offender record. Captain Carney revealed that Tommy had refused to cooperate when authorities tried to fingerprint him years ago. “We were told he couldn’t walk or talk at the time,” Carney added. “I don’t know what happened to him, but it complicated things.”
Tommy initially registered as a sex offender in Lassen County, but when he left the area, he never updated his location with authorities. Carney said Tommy moved to Oregon and later seemed to drift from place to place. “According to his family, he was just a free spirit,” Carney explained. “He floated around.”
Marcie is fully aware of her brother’s troubling past and described what he did as “sickening and horrible.” Yet, despite everything, she says she’s overjoyed to have found him.
“At the end of the day, he’s still my brother,” Marcie shared. “I’ve been searching for him for 25 years. I love him, and I’m not turning my back on my flesh and blood. All the other stuff is just noise.”
Tommy’s story is both heartbreaking and complicated, reminding us how much family ties can endure, even in the face of disturbing truths.
