Heartwarming story of man missing 25 years is darker. He's a registered sex offender.

[ad_1] After a fruitless 25-year search, a California lady discovered her long-lost brother in a USA TODAY story. However the case is probably not the heartwarming reunion it first appeared.

When Marcella Nasseri, a local of northern California, noticed a Might USA TODAY story asking for readers' assist to determine a nonverbal man at a Los Angeles County hospital, she was shocked. Native legislation enforcement confirmed that the person was her brother, Thomas Manizak, who vanished in 1999.

However new particulars uncovered by USA TODAY reveal that Manizak is a registered intercourse offender, convicted of abusing a toddler in 1993, a captain with the Lassen County Sheriff's Division confirmed Wednesday. Manizak spent three years in a county jail for the offense, Capt. Mike Carney stated at his workplace in Susanville, California.

Carney stated he was initially informed Manizak had been fingerprinted however then realized that by no means occurred, and that he was recognized utilizing images and his sister's constructive identification.

The Los Angeles Police Division both failed or uncared for to fingerprint Manizak, which might have helped to determine him, Carney stated. However after Manizak's sister notified his division that the person in Los Angeles was her brother, deputies ran his identify by the system and located the 1993 intercourse offender itemizing.

"I assume he wasn't cooperative after they tried to fingerprint him," Carney stated. "We have been informed that he was unable to stroll and was unable to speak, so I do not know what occurred to him."

<img alt="A photograph of Thomas Manizak which appears on California's Megan's Law website, which lists registered sex offenders in the state." loading="lazy" width="200" height="246" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" class="rounded-lg" style="color:transparent" src="https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/6YLM6tcjuKQQcZEUg0L9IQ--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTM2MDtoPTQ0Mw--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/usa_today_news_641/e0f2fcf58b706a762e7408474b804735"/> {A photograph} of Thomas Manizak which seems on California's Megan's Regulation web site, which lists registered intercourse offenders within the state.

Registered intercourse offender who 'floated round' The circumstances surrounding Manizak's disappearance are nonetheless murky. Nasseri says he was final involved with the household in August 1999.

Six years earlier than he disappeared, Manizak was convicted of lewd and lascivious acts and oral copulation with a toddler underneath age 14, which resulted in his identify being placed on the intercourse offender registry.

Carney stated Manizak was prosecuted in close by Plumas County, the place he served jail time. He then registered as a intercourse offender in Lassen County, however inside a few years he had left city. He did not register with no matter jurisdiction he moved to, which is a violation of California legislation, Carney defined.

"He went to Oregon and after that, in accordance with his household, he was simply type of a free soul and he simply floated round," Carney stated.

Lacking individuals bulletins present Manizak was final seen in July 1999 when he was 28 years outdated.

When he disappeared, Manizak was touring throughout the nation in his van. His final contact along with his household was a telephone name to his mom in August 1999, Nasseri stated.

Due to his diabetes, Manizak might have slipped right into a "diabetic coma" if he didn't take common insulin, in accordance with the Doe Community. He qualifies for incapacity checks, however didn't choose them up or use his medical card whereas he was lacking.

An avid camper, Manizak picked up hitchhikers, in accordance with the Community, a nonprofit that works with legislation enforcement to attempt to determine lacking individuals. He had tenting provides with him when he disappeared.

Marcella and Tommy in 1977.

Fundraiser raises greater than $11,000 On a GoFundMe web page posted after her brother was situated, Nasseri wrote that he had vanished "with no hint." Authorities by no means situated his car, she wrote.

The GoFundMe web page created by Nasseri was nonetheless on-line as of Wednesday 4 p.m. native time. It obtained greater than $11,500 in donations after detailing her purpose of transferring Manizak from Los Angeles County to a facility in Lassen County. The submit's description additionally stated she wished to ship him a tool so he can hearken to music.

Interviewed by USA TODAY Wednesday, Nasseri stated she has all the time been her brother's "protector." What Manizak did within the Nineties was "sickening and horrible," she stated.

"However on the finish of the day, he is nonetheless my brother, and I am not turning my again on my flesh and blood," Nasseri stated. "I really like him and I have been searching for 25 years — all the opposite stuff is exterior noise, he is my brother and I really like him."

The intercourse offender offense precipitated "big heartache" in her household, Nasseri stated, which was compounded by Manizak's disappearance.

Nasseri stated she plans to go to her brother as quickly as she is ready to go away her house, the place she stated she has the duty of taking care of animals.

"Once I'm launched from that, I am flying proper down there to satisfy him and I am unable to wait," she stated.

Nasseri stated she can be working to switch Manizak to a unique medical facility nearer to her house round 600 miles from the hospital the place he's at present a affected person.

She wrote on the fundraising web page that she hoped to purchase him used clothes, a paper and pencil, as a result of he liked to attract, and a listening machine along with his favourite songs to assist his recollections resurface, however did not have the funds for.