GA GA - Timothy Cunningham, 35, Chamblee, 12 Feb 2018

[esldanmac]

This would actually be a fairly common scenario for suicide. Just on personal experience, my dad left most of his belongings at home. He left in a car, but wallet and other typical items he would carry were left behind. He was found after 5 days a few miles away in a remote area. Many people committing suicide are hoping not be seen...don't want to be found by relatives, or maybe not found at all. If he was in a manic state, he may have been calling various people just to talk, or even say goodbye in some unclear way. We don't know. But I can say, this wouldn't be unusual for suicide cases.

Formerriverside, sorry for your loss but grateful for you sharing your experience. I have been a fan of this board for a while and know missing persons tend to bring up a lot of emotions. I remember a talent agent named Mark Schlegel who walked away without his wallet and keys and was found a couple of hundred feet from his home and it took 2 weeks to find him. Anyone that is in that much pain that they would take their life or walk away from it is obviously not doing anything to hurt anyone else.

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[SolR1]

We don't have to assume he was "confused," "rejected," "acting strangely."

That's not an assumption. It's honestly the only information we've gotten, beyond the personal items left behind and the open window.

 

[formerriverside]

That's not an assumption. It's honestly the only information we've gotten, beyond the personal items left behind and the open window.

Yes, exactly. Thus, Occam's Razor.

 

[Leru]

Everything about his disappearance to me suggests he voluntarily left and didn't plan on coming back.

Not getting the promotion and the reason why (which is unknown to us, but could have been one more blow to Tim)

The convos with family members and their concern.

Family members telling him it's ok to come home. Not appealing to someone who may have taken him or worse.

Telling the neighbor to delete his phone number.

Leaving a couple windows open so someone (who may not have a key) could get in to take his dog.

I feel him leaving his dog behind wasn't a major concern since he spoke to family regularly they would know fairly quickly something was amiss. Also he may have put out extra food and water (we don't know...the dog could have eaten or drank it and it may appeared he had none. (some dogs will gobble all the food up at once)

Coming from a military family could have made suicide a tough thing to talk about and may have been considered to be "the coward's way out".
So, he may not have wanted anyone to really know for sure that he did take his life and/or may not have wanted a friend or family member to find him in such a way that would be traumatizing to them. (Imagine his mom finding him). So he disappeared and left behind anything that could identify him (phone, wallet etc). He may have had cash and took a bus or cab somewhere further away than people would look for him.

One more thing...and it's heartbreaking, is his early morning text to his mom he may have wanted to communicate with her one last time. And possibly maybe even talk to her about what he was contemplating.

Does anyone know if there are bus stops within walking distance of his home?

There are so many things we don't know, but there is nothing to me that suggests foul play.

 

[formerriverside]

Everything about his disappearance to me suggests he voluntarily left and didn't plan on coming back.

Not getting the promotion and the reason why (which is unknown to us, but could have been one more blow to Tim)

The convos with family members and their concern.

Family members telling him it's ok to come home. Not appealing to someone who may have taken him or worse.

Telling the neighbor to delete his phone number.

Leaving a couple windows open so someone (who may not have a key) could get in to take his dog.

I feel him leaving his dog behind wasn't a major concern since he spoke to family regularly they would know fairly quickly something was amiss. Also he may have put out extra food and water (we don't know...the dog could have eaten or drank it and it may appeared he had none. (some dogs will gobble all the food up at once)

Coming from a military family could have made suicide a tough thing to talk about and may have been considered to be "the coward's way out".
So, he may not have wanted anyone to really know for sure that he did take his life and/or may not have wanted a friend or family member to find him in such a way that would be traumatizing to them. (Imagine his mom finding him). So he disappeared and left behind anything that could identify him (phone, wallet etc). He may have had cash and took a bus or cab somewhere further away than people would look for him.

One more thing...and it's heartbreaking, is his early morning text to his mom he may have wanted to communicate with her one last time. And possibly maybe even talk to her about what he was contemplating.

Does anyone know if there are bus stops within walking distance of his home?

There are so many things we don't know, but there is nothing to me that suggests foul play.

Good stuff Leru. And yes, when you mentioned bus, I went "DUH!". Something I should have though of having lived in Atlanta and that area for so long. Yes, of course, Marta buses run along Bolton Road. If he had $2.50 or his marta card he could have taken a bus. It would be Route 58, https://www.itsmarta.com/58.aspx. The only train station it leads to is Bankhead station. From there, he could go east to 5 points station, where he could also go north or south. He could have even made it to the airport on $2.50. But of course, it's super unlikely he could have gone anywhere from there. The possibility of MARTA does indeed expand his possibilities for travel within the city, that's for sure.

 

[Inthedetails]

My mind keeps going back to a bridge over water. If he jumped, his body will likely be found when it surfaces.

I hope he just took off, of course, and will be found safe at some point.

jmo

 

[formerriverside]

My mind keeps going back to a bridge over water. If he jumped, his body will likely be found when it surfaces.

I hope he just took off, of course, and will be found safe at some point.

jmo

This has been my main thought all along. I wish I knew how deep the water was in that section of the hooch. I am inclined to believe it's one of the deeper sections. The fall would not have been enough to kill him from the Atlanta Road/Marietta Blvd bridge. He would have had to be weighted down somehow I think. As I said before, if I were the family, I'd be paying for divers to check that area. I know APD won't do it. At least I seriously doubt it.

 

[liz b.]

That's not an assumption. It's honestly the only information we've gotten, beyond the personal items left behind and the open window.

And the dog left in the house. And the strange conversation with his neighbor.

 

[liz b.]

Good stuff Leru. And yes, when you mentioned bus, I went "DUH!". Something I should have though of having lived in Atlanta and that area for so long. Yes, of course, Marta buses run along Bolton Road. If he had $2.50 or his marta card he could have taken a bus. It would be Route 58, https://www.itsmarta.com/58.aspx. The only train station it leads to is Bankhead station. From there, he could go east to 5 points station, where he could also go north or south. He could have even made it to the airport on $2.50. But of course, it's super unlikely he could have gone anywhere from there. The possibility of MARTA does indeed expand his possibilities for travel within the city, that's for sure.

Wonder if the MARTA system has cameras ?

 

[formerriverside]

Wonder if the MARTA system has cameras ?

I believe there would be cameras from the front of each bus. How long the film saves is another question. There would of course be security cameras in each train station. It's possible the police tried to run down the cameras from route 58 buses that day. Though I never put too much faith in ol' APD.

 

[Gussified]

This has been my main thought all along. I wish I knew how deep the water was in that section of the hooch. I am inclined to believe it's one of the deeper sections. The fall would not have been enough to kill him from the Atlanta Road/Marietta Blvd bridge. He would have had to be weighted down somehow I think. As I said before, if I were the family, I'd be paying for divers to check that area. I know APD won't do it. At least I seriously doubt it.

Is that bridge secluded? Or would there be a fair amount of traffic on it mid-morning on a Monday?

 

[HelloThere]

This has been my main thought all along. I wish I knew how deep the water was in that section of the hooch. I am inclined to believe it's one of the deeper sections. The fall would not have been enough to kill him from the Atlanta Road/Marietta Blvd bridge. He would have had to be weighted down somehow I think. As I said before, if I were the family, I'd be paying for divers to check that area. I know APD won't do it. At least I seriously doubt it.

But there’s a decent amount of traffic on that bridge, right? Someone would’ve seen something during the daytime, and he didn’t respond to any texts or calls on Monday after he tried to call his mom, so he must’ve disappeared in the middle of the day. 🤔

 

[formerriverside]

But there’s a decent amount of traffic on that bridge, right? Someone would’ve seen something during the daytime, and he didn’t respond to any texts or calls on Monday after he tried to call his mom, so he must’ve disappeared in the middle of the day. 樂

It's near a busy intersection. I wouldn't say the bridge itself is that busy to where it's impossible to be unseen jumping. Cars also go real fast through there. If he was walking along the bridge and jumped, good chance no one sees. We also don't know that he would have done this in the daytime. It's possible he walked around or sat somewhere all day.

 

[formerriverside]

Is that bridge secluded? Or would there be a fair amount of traffic on it mid-morning on a Monday?

See my comment above. Not secluded.

 

[marycreekmore]

He got a promotion last June. It would be interesting to know what his supervisor told him about why he didn't get the promotion.

 

[nesha3782]

How is the grey hound regulated. For example, do you need ID to purchase at ticket. I think its interesting to note that Ga is where he attended school and work. Where is he originally from? I know his father was military so that may have contributed to him moving around as a child, granted this is speculation. However, I feel it is worth mentioning because if he did up and leave everything, where would he feel most at home?

 

[SolR1]

Yes, exactly. Thus, Occam's Razor.

Ah, gotcha! Misunderstood you to mean we "shouldn't" assume. My apology.

 

[SolR1]

Just had a thought about the window. We had a relatively warm February. They may have been open for some fresh spring air, and I think I read they were upstairs windows, which would have been off the ground and safer to keep open while away.

Not sure how likely it is he'd leave an upstairs window open for someone to get his dog.

 

[HelloThere]

Just had a thought about the window. We had a relatively warm February. They may have been open for some fresh spring air, and I think I read they were upstairs windows, which would have been off the ground and safer to keep open while away.

Not sure how likely it is he'd leave an upstairs window open for someone to get his dog.

Does anyone know which news source originally reported that the windows were upstairs? I remember reading and hearing that 2 windows were open (nothing about location), and then a different video showed his house and zoomed into 2 upstairs windows and then AJC and maybe a couple other sites started saying the windows were upstairs. Wondered if this was maybe just bad reporting or if the police/family have actually stated that the windows were upstairs.

 

[fred&edna]

Does anyone know which news source originally reported that the windows were upstairs? I remember reading and hearing that 2 windows were open (nothing about location), and then a different video showed his house and zoomed into 2 upstairs windows and then AJC and maybe a couple other sites started saying the windows were upstairs. Wondered if this was maybe just bad reporting or if the police/family have actually stated that the windows were upstairs.

Approx 1:33 I hear "upstairs" windows

http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/missing-cdc-employee-promotion-wanted-vanished-53396124

he goes on to say "upper level"