[2] As an epidemiologist, he was a team leader in the US Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and was named in 2017 as part of the Atlanta Business Chronicle's 40 Under 40 list.
His parents drove from Maryland[6] to his house in Atlanta and found his phone, keys, wallet, car and his beloved dog, Mr.
[7] Cunningham's remains were discovered Tuesday, April 3, 2018 in the Chattahoochee River in northwest Atlanta, police spokesman Carlos Campos said.
“In fact I would have encouraged him to stay on through June, when he would have received a service award, but he sounded too ready to leave.”[9] His supervisor Janet Croft told police that Cunningham left work quickly saying he felt ill on the morning of Friday February 9, shortly after he learned he had been passed over for a promotion.
[8] A day before Cunningham disappeared he told his neighbor's husband that his wife should erase his cellphone number from her phone.
[10] While police interviewed those closest to Cunningham, local parks and cemeteries were searched on foot, and a helicopter scanned the area.
"[8] On April 3, 2018, two fishermen notified police after they spotted a body buried in mud and tangled in debris on the banks of the Chattahoochee River.
There were no signs of trauma on the body, such as cuts or bruises, despite its state of advanced decomposition consistent with having been submerged, according to Fulton County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jan Gorniak.
[9] According to Maj. Michael O'Connor of the Atlanta Police Department, Cunningham was wearing his "favorite jogging shoes" when he was found, and three crystals were in his pocket.
“He said he didn’t want to be confrontational because they moved in the same social circles but it was obvious to him that Mr. Cunningham was making light advances,” police wrote in the investigative file.
[9] “I feel like I’m in a horrible ‘Black Mirror’ episode,” his sister, Tiara Cunningham, told the New York Times, referencing the dystopian sci-fi television show.
“And I don’t know if it’s an instinct you have because it’s your child, but it was not a normal conversation, and I was not comfortable.”[11] On April 21, Morehouse College hosted a memorial service for Cunningham, which was attended by approximately 600 people.
Marcella Law with the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion told the crowd.