Timothy Cunningham, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was last seen on Feb. 12.
“Extremely unusual.”
Those were the words used to classify the circumstances under which Dr. Timothy Cunningham vanished.
Cunningham, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was last seen on Feb. 12.
All of the 35-year-old's worldly possessions were still in his Atlanta apartment when his family went to check on him.
“It is not common in missing person’s cases to find someone’s entire belongings,” Atlanta Police Department Major Michael O’Connor said at a Tuesday press conference.
Cunningham was last seen at work, where he learned he had been passed over for a promotion. He later said he wasn’t feeling well and left, authorities said.
He also reportedly made a comment to a neighbor about erasing his number from her cell phone.
But Cunningham had already been informed of the job decision a week before, officials said, noting there was no indication his employment led to his vanishing.
"This is an extremely unusual set of circumstances," O’Connor said.
There was no evidence of foul play in Cunningham’s disappearance, police said.
“It’s possible he’s out there,” O’Connor said. "There is no evidence suggesting anything."
Family members reported Cunningham missing on Feb. 14.
After Cunningham stopped responding to phone calls and text messages, his parents drove through the night from their Maryland home to his Atlanta apartment.
They arrived to find all of his known belongings, including his wallet, cellphone, keys, identification cards — and his dog, Beau — still in his home, but Cunningham was nowhere to be found.
“Tim never leaves Beau unattended,” his father Terrell Cunningham, 60, told NBC. “He just doesn’t do it.”
Two windows were also left open, which his family said was alarming as their son was particularly conscious of his environment.
Since Cunningham’s disappearance, police have combed the woods surrounding his home.
Loved ones have also been tirelessly searching.
“Tim is a very loving, brilliant, and responsible young man," read a GoFundMe page created by Cunningham’s father to find his son. "Therefore, his sudden disappearance is highly irregular and very much out of character for him."
As of Wednesday, the page had raised more than $23,000.
Crime Stoppers of Greater Atlanta has issued a $10,000 reward for any information in the case. Police said they have received more than 20 tips since Cunningham's disappearance.
Anyone with information about Cunningham is asked to call 404-577-TIPS.
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