Child molester linked to missing WA grandmother

Person of interest named in missing WA grandmother case

Thurston County deputies have named 47-year-old Jeffrey Zizz, a local handyman, as a person of interest in the case of a missing grandmother who hasn't been seen since April 1.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Deputies have named Jeffrey Zizz, a convicted child molester, as a person of interest in the case of a missing grandmother in Thurston County.

The Thurston County Sheriff's Office is investigating the disappearance of 82-year-old Marcia Norman. Norman has not been seen or heard from since April 1.

Both of her vehicles are still parked at her home near McIntosh Lake.

According to investigators, the condition of Norman's house suggested she left abruptly, with dishes left half-cleaned and other tasks left halfway complete.

During their investigation, detectives learned Norman had dinner with 47-year-old Jeffrey Zizz, who was her handyman, the evening of April 1.

Detectives contacted Zizz and seized several items of interest, but did not have probable cause to arrest him in connection to Norman's disappearance.

"We spoke to him a couple of times over the days, just trying to understand the interactions with her, the relationship, how often he’s known her, what he was doing at the house — that kind of stuff. We just got basic information about the handyman stuff and what kind of work he does," said Lieutenant Mike Brooks with the Thurston County Sheriff's Office.

82-year-old Marcia Norman (left), Jeffrey Zizz (right) (Thurston County Sheriff's Office)

Person of interest in WA disappearance

What we know:

Thurston County deputies seized Zizz's vehicle as part of their investigation. Lt. Brooks tells FOX 13 Seattle Zizz willingly gave investigators his keys.

Authorities say Zizz then left the state on April 6 in a friend's vehicle.

Law enforcement arrested Zizz in Missoula, Montana on a bench warrant. The warrant is for a probation violation in connection to Zizz's child molestation convictions.

Previous criminal history

Dig deeper:

Court docs from 2022 show Zizz pleaded guilty to charges of child molestation and communication with a minor for immoral purposes.

Zizz turned himself in on Oct. 12, 2021, admitting to "numerous sexual assaults" he committed involving children connected to his family "over the years," court records say.

FOX 13 Seattle confirmed Zizz has a warrant issued for his arrest in Thurston County for two counts of second-degree child molestation and one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes via electronic communications.

Zizz remains in custody in Montana for the bench warrant out of Thurston County.

He is only considered a person of interest in Norman's missing person case.

The investigation

Brooks tells FOX 13 Seattle the sheriff's office is making Norman's disappearance a top priority.

"We've done some searching with drones, some underwater robots so far for [Lake McIntosh]. We've had some dogs out searching. We have some other areas we're checking as well, and we've deployed literally every detective we have to this case," said Brooks.

Anyone who has had recent contact with him or has any information that could help investigators is urged to contact the sheriff's office detectives division at detectives@co.thurston.wa.us or call (360) 786-5530.

The Source: Information in this story comes from the Thurston County Sheriff's Office.