Loved ones hold out hope in new search for missing CDC worker

ATLANTA — There is a new push to find a missing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention worker who disappeared nearly three weeks ago.

Investigators and friends spent the day on Saturday searching for Timothy Cunningham, 35.

Loved ones told Channel 2's Wendy Halloran they continue to hold out hope that Cunningham will come home.

Cunningham works as an epidemiologist at the CDC.

The Harvard graduate has vanished without a trace in a case Atlanta police are calling bizarre.

A group made up police, friends and family spent the morning Saturday searching for any clues as to where Cunningham might be. Among the search were members of the Alpha Team K9 Search and Rescue Team, professional search team volunteers.

“These dogs are trained to find people. We train all the time to disassociate from critters to people. And we first focus on them and how they react to the areas and then we follow up with people to kind of look at more details,” Gary Bonneau with the Alpha Canine Rescue Team told Halloran.

Dozens of people joined Saturday’s search, all optimistic something will shed light on what happened to Cunningham.

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Atlanta police believe Cunningham was last seen near Bolton Road in northwest Atlanta, where he lives.

Police said there's no evidence at this point to suggest foul play but they're not ruling it out. 
Investigators revealed earlier in the week that Cunningham was upset after he was told he didn't get a promotion to branch manager at the CDC.

He left work on Feb. 12, saying he wasn’t feeling well. He hasn’t been seen since.

“I think that it was pretty consistent that he was definitely upset. He told several coworkers that he was and that he was expecting this promotion,” Atlanta Police Maj. Michael O'Connor said.

The day before, Cunningham had a conversation with his family that was quite concerning.

“We were aware of some concerns at work that he had shared with us and there were some personal issues too,” O’Connor said.

Investigators said they’ve made sure his government credit cards aren’t being used, looked at his browser history on his work computer and checked his access card for the CDC, which shows the last time he checked in.

“He has such a history of being responsible and dependable that, that’s what puts us at such disbelief at this state,” Cunningham’s father, Terrell Cunningham, said.

But at the end of Saturday’s search, there was still no sign of the commander for the public health service.

A $10,000 reward has been issued for information on Cunningham's whereabouts.

Anyone with information on the case should contact Atlanta police or Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477.

Cox Media Group