The Mysterious Disappearance of Zebb Quinn

15 snips

Mar 16, 2026

A baffling disappearance after a late night pager call and a frantic roadside split. A car left in plain sight with lipstick marks, a live puppy, and a mysterious hotel keycard. Conflicting alibis, strange pager traces, and links to later violent crimes. A plea deal raises new questions while key evidence and motive remain unsettled.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Panic Pager Call Preceded Zebb's Disappearance

Zebb Quinn disappeared after leaving Walmart with co-worker Jason Owens and getting an urgent pager call that left him unusually panicked.
He returned from a payphone frantic, rear-ended Jason, apologized, then sped off claiming he had to take the call immediately.

INSIGHT

Jason Owens Remained A Consistent Person Of Interest

Jason Owens, the last person seen with Zebb, behaved suspiciously: he called in for Zebb, claimed a later unrelated crash to explain injuries, but passed a polygraph.
Investigators repeatedly found his explanations inconsistent though initially lacked direct evidence linking him to a crime.

INSIGHT

Pager Log Linked Call To Aunt But She Denied It

Pager logs showed the urgent call to Zebb came from his aunt Ida Ustich's home, but Ida denied making the call and later reported (then disputed) a mysterious alleged break-in.
Phone evidence tied the call to her line, creating a puzzling contradiction investigators couldn't fully resolve.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

On January 2, 2000, eighteen-year-old Zebb Quinn finished his shift at Walmart in Asheville, North Carolina and set off to look at a used car with his co-worker, Jason Owens. Halfway to their destination, Zebb told Jason he received an important call on his pager and needed to return the call immediately and they would have to postpone their plans to look at the car. That was the last time anyone saw Zebb Quinn.

For weeks, Zebb’s family and the Asheville police searched for the teenager, but it was as though he had disappeared into thin air. Then, to everyone’s surprise, Zebb’s car was found in a parking lot not far from the hospital where his mother and sister worked, as though someone had left it in a conspicuous place where it would be found. But more surprising than the discovery of the car itself was the incredibly strange and unexpected evidence found inside the vehicle, including several markings on the windows in red lipstick and a live black labrador puppy.

References

Alexander, Phil. 2000. "Police, family puzzled by Arden teen's disappearance." Asheville Citizen-Times, January 21: 11.

Bever, Lindsey. 2015. "N.C. man charged in murder of Food Network star, her." Washington Post, March 18.

Brevorka, Jennifer. 2004. "Police release tape in case of teen's disappearance four years ago." Asheville Citizen-Times, January 1: 15.

Burgess, Joel. 2022. "Judge accepts plea deal in cold case." Asheville Citizen-Times, July 27: 1.

—. 2022. "Zebb Quinn's killer dead, says Owens." Asheville Citizen-Times, July 22: 1.

DeGrave, Sam. 2018. "Lawyers clash in Zebb Quinn case." Asheville Citizen-Times, March 16: 1.

Forrest, Brett. 2001. "The vanishing." Spin, February 1: 90.

Kepley-Steward, Kristy. 2020. "20 years after the disappearance of Zebb Quinn, still very few answers." WLOS News, January 3.

King, Kimberley. 2022. "Former friend shares about 'pathological liar' Owens ahead of plea deal in Zebb Quinn case." WPDE News, July 22.

Maxwell, Tonya. 2001. "Questions abound in Quinn case." Asheville Citizen-Times, January 2: 9.

Morrison, Clarke. 2005. "Detectives hope re-enactment will jog memories." Asheville Citizen-Times, January 14: 1.

2012. Disappeared. Produced by Peacock Productions. Performed by Peacock Productions.

Tomlin, Robyn. 2000. "A mother pleads: Where is my son?" Ashville Citizen-Times, August 6: 1.

Warren, Sabian. 2012. "Dog a living link to Quinn cold case." Asheville Citizen-Times, April 20: 1.

—. 2015. "Suspect destroyed bodies." Asheville Citizen-Times, March 21: 1.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.