The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientist who’s been missing for over two weeks was passed up for a promotion the day he vanished, police said.
Timothy Jerrell Cunningham, a commander with the US Public Health Service, had a meeting with a supervisor on Feb. 12 to discuss why he wasn’t receiving a promotion he wanted, CNN reported.
Colleagues told police their 35-year-old co-worker was “obviously disappointed” by the news and that he left work early, saying he didn’t feel well.
The Harvard graduate called his mom as he drove home, but she didn’t pick up and he didn’t leave a message. He hasn’t been heard from since.
His concerned relatives drove from Maryland to Atlanta only to find Cunningham’s belongings, including his phone, wallet, keys and car, and his dog, Beau, alone at home.
“The most unusual factor in this case is that every single belonging that we are aware of was located in the residence,” said Atlanta Police Maj. Michael O’Connor Tuesday. “Anything you can think of we’ve been able to locate.”
Since his disappearance, cops have canvassed his neighborhood, scoured nearby woods and searched a cemetery and other areas.
Investigators say there have been no bank transactions from his account in the weeks since he vanished.
“There is a lot I simply cannot explain,” O’Connor said. “This is an extremely unusual set of circumstances.”
A rumor has circulated on the internet that Cunningham — who responded to Superstorm Sandy and the Zika and Ebola outbreaks — was a whistleblower who warned people about this year’s flu shot being the root cause behind the recent flu deaths.
But Cunningham was with the chronic disease unit of the CDC and not the infectious disease unit, cops said.
His father, Terrell Cunningham, told CNN the rumor “is a lie.”
Cunningham’s parents have been told four times that their son’s body has been found — only to learn it had been misidentified.
“It takes you to a place that the light is not shining in,” said the worried dad. “I won’t call it a dark place, but there are lows. This is extremely hard.”
Friends of Cunningham — who was named one of the Atlanta Business Chronicle “40 under 40” last year — are helping cops canvass and offering a $20,000 reward for tips to help find him.