ALBANY, Ore. (KOIN) — The estranged husband of a missing Albany woman is now classified as a “person of interest” in the investigation.
Tiffany Marie Lazon, 37, was reported missing January 8 by her daughter. But police said they learned someone heard Tiffany and her husband in her home in the 2600 block of SE 16th in Albany around December 27, the last time any contact with her was reported.
“That lack of contact really has us concerned because it’s very difficult for people to just disappear without having some form of contact in the days of cell phones and social media,” Albany Police Captain Brad Liles told KOIN 6 News.
When police spoke with Craig Lazon around 1:25 a.m. on January 9, he said he didn’t know where Tiffany was and thought she moved to Washington.
But her daughter, Felicity Halberg, told KOIN 6 News her mother “left her car, her money, her cat, her clothes. She left everything. How would she get to Washington without anything?”
“He’s a person of interest because he is the closest person to her, had been off-and-on there, at that residence, it’s her residence but had been there with her,” Liles said.
He added Craig Lazon is not exactly cooperating.
“Craig has not come to us at all with information, provided information to us without us contacting him or searching him out,” Liles said. “So at this point we don’t have any credible information from Craig on where she went or who she was going to see or where she might be going to.”
Late Tuesday, Craig Lazon was arrested on animal neglect and abandonment charges connected with Tiffany’s cat, which has now been given to her daughter.
The cat was found at a storage unit in Albany listed in several people’s names, Liles said. “It sounded like a cat in distress so we responded and actually found the cat. So he was charged with that through our municipal court.”
He did not clarify if investigators have yet searched the storage unit.
On Wednesday, Tiffany’s house was searched with help from the Oregon State Police Crime Lab.
Thursday afternoon, Albany police officially said Craig is “a person of interest” in the case, which is now being looked at as both a missing person and a death investigation, although authorities are not saying Tiffany is dead.
The decision to classify this as both a missing person case and a death investigation is for investigative purposes.
“It’s how thorough and how we treat the information that we have and the information we’re investigating or obtaining and how critical that is to be appropriate with everything we do with that, documentation, proper warrants,” Liles said. “It’s really an investigatory decision. At this time we’re not saying that she’s deceased but we are treating it as though the possibility is that she is not alive.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Albany Police detectives at 541.917.7680.
