Four times, the parents of a missing doctor with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been told that a body has been found. Each time, Tia and Terrell Cunningham are sent into heart-wrenching agony, only to learn that it isn’t their son.
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Terrell Cunningham retired December 31 after years with the Food and Drug Administration. He is also a retired Air Force colonel. “This was supposed to have been one series of memorable events after another,” he said. “This is not how we planned retirement.”
He praised the police department for working with the family. He understands the reason why the family was notified about the four bodies that were found, but it doesn’t make it any easier as a parent to bear such news.
“It is quite agonizing to wait on the news that it’s not our son,” he said. “We’d just like to send our sympathies and condolences to those families.”
While both try to remain positive, the parents have reflected on favorite memories.
For the father, it was in September for his 60th birthday. He had ordered all three of his children — Anterio, Tiara and Tim — join him and their mother in Cabo San Lucas. “I told them: I expect you to be there,” he said.
His middle son was always so busy working, his father feared he would not make it. “But he quickly said, ‘I’m coming.’ ”
It was an all-inclusive resort, and the family indulged in food and revelry. “It was so good to see Tim having so much fun, because he is such a hard worker. Very seldom does he have the time to just let go,” his father said. “It was awesome.”
http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2018/02/28/missing-cdc-doctor/
