Police seek person ‘of interest’ in stolen car investigation tied to Anchorage homicide

Anchorage police are seeking the public’s help finding someone they described as a “person of interest” in a stolen car investigation tied to a homicide last week.

A gray 2008 Mazda 6 was stolen around 10 p.m. Nov. 4 from the 200 block of East Third Avenue, police said in an alert. Police are looking for a person in the area at the time who “was wearing a gray/dark green hooded jacket with black shoulders, white shoes, dark faded pants, and a full backpack.”

Last week, on the morning of Dec. 5, police responded to a report of a body found in the stolen Mazda, which was parked in the 500 block of Sitka Street near where the car was originally reported stolen. Police identified the victim as Lanycha Zimmer, 27; according to a preliminary investigation, she sustained trauma to the body.

Police asked anyone who was in the area the night the Mazda was stolen and remembers seeing the car or the person described by police, as well as anyone with information about the identity of the “person of interest,” to call dispatch at 311. To remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 907-561-STOP or anchoragecrimestoppers.com.