CDC Employee Missing Since Leaving Work Sick 11 Days Ago

An employee at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta left work Feb. 12 because he wasn't feeling well, ABC News reports. He hasn't been seen since. According to NBC News, 35-year-old Timothy Cunningham is a US Public Health Service commander who has been part of responses to Ebola and Zika outbreaks. Cunningham's family became worried when he stopped returning texts and phone calls. They say he spoke to his sister nearly everyday, but she hasn't heard from him since the morning of Feb. 12. After extended family found Cunningham's house apparently empty but with two windows open, his parents drove from Maryland to Atlanta. They found Cunningham's phone, wallet, keys, car, and dog at his house, but there was no sign of their son. They say he would never leave his dog unattended.

Terrell Cunningham says "there were some exchanges via phone as well as text" the day before Timothy disappeared "that alerted me to be concerned about our son." Police are searching for Cunningham with the help of friends, family, and the Morehouse College alumni network. "It's not the type of news you want to hear. Your child is missing," Terrell Cunningham tells ABC News. "Thirty-five years old, but always your child." The CDC calls Timothy Cunningham "a highly respected member of our CDC family." He has two degrees from Harvard, won the Outstanding Atlanta award in 2014, and made the Atlanta Business Chronicle's 40 under 40 list in 2017. Cunningham's friends call his disappearance "shocking." "He has this pristine service record and background," one friend tells NBC. (More missing person stories.)