Deputies search for sex offender who was discovered nude in property owner's pool



MACHIAS, Wash. -- Snohomish County sheriff's deputies were using dogs to try to track down a naked man with a history of sexual assault in the Machias area.

Authorities said a property owner near 16400 block of 14th St NE called 911 around 9:15 a.m. Tuesday to report finding a naked man in his 20s in his pool. The department tweeted that the man was "nude and possibly armed."

Deputies believe the man is 29-year-old Christopher Zellner, and he may have fled the area in a stolen white Dodge Caravan. Zellner has been armed when confronted by authorities in the past, and police encouraged anyone who spots him to call 911.

Patrica Dale said her mother's van was stolen right from their driveway.

"They had stopped him the night before, and he'd ran from them. He was possibly naked because he'd left his clothes at the neighbor's house, probably ransacked our trailer there, looking for some clothes."

Dale said she and her family will be on alert.

"I'm pretty sure he's not stupid enough to come back," she said. "But he was stupid enough to go in a pool naked and go running away from the cops."

Zellner is listed as 6-foot-4, 240 pounds with blue hair and brown eyes. He has previously been convicted of third-degree rape.

Parents of Machias Elementary school students received a robocall informing them the school had been placed on a modified lockdown. The lockdown was lifted a short time later.