A lot of people have asked me about Timothy Carney, who disappeared from Butler, New Jersey in 2004. I found out last month that he was located, but under what circumstances I had no idea. Well, Jamie has sent me this article: Carney was actually found last September — seven years almost to the day after he vanished — and he’s alive and well, but he doesn’t want his family and friends to know where he is. Due to privacy laws, all the cops could do was say they’d found him and he was okay. So they closed his case. I had figured that was probably what happened, but it’s nice to have an article confirming it.
However, I don’t think it’s nice that the article says “Timothy Carney was never missing at all” just because he had left of his own accord. Plenty of people walk out of their lives and leave their families frantic, and just because they did it intentionally doesn’t mean they are not missing. You can say “Timothy Carney was never in danger” or something, but you cannot say he wasn’t missing, because he WAS missing for seven long years and the police and his family searched for him.
I hope he changes his mind and decides to at least give his mom and dad a phone call, or drop a postcard in the mail. I’m sure they would really appreciate it.
The Charley Project Blog 
Phew! Thanks for the update. His case mystified me ever since I saw his Disappeared episode. It seemed very plausible that he disappeared for his own personal reasons, but it also seemed that he could be in danger.
His family is probably better off without him in their daily lives, sad to say. He clearly harbors some resentment if he wants to be left alone. So sad.
To the two previous posters, if you remember correctly, he was part of a religion that has been called a cult. It is generally believed that he left his life to get away from the church. If that is the case then I definitely can see why he wants to keep his whereabouts a secret. If you read up on the Gospel Outreach, the things its former members paint a pretty grim picture of what that life is like. Maybe he left because he couldn’t figure any other way out.
The show NEVER stated the church he was attending was a CULT. Also if you actually look up the definition of a CULT. ALL religions are in CULTS. DEFINITION (noun) 1. religious sect or system
(adjective)1. popular with a particular group. So even some mundane things can/could be considered a CULT. So please become informed on what you are talking about before you try and comment on it. Having been in law enforcement it was rather obvious from the start this was no abduction. He wanted a new life and decided to go find it.
You are wrong. Cults are not just typical religious groups. I don’t really care what the definition of the word says buddy. Since when do you hear anyone announce, “Hey, I’m going to pray with my cult this Sunday…” Seriously? A “cult” is in fact described as a religious group gone rogue often lead by one person with an evil agenda. I am Catholic, but do not practice… I am not in affiliation with a cult so perhaps you should get your facts straight before you try to put people in their place as you are obviously unclear on this matter. Just because you read the dictionary for fun does not mean you are more educated than anyone, but likely means, you are probably affiliated with a cult…
Well said, Candace! If he’s NOT a member, he certainly gives that impression,
what an ass
I am concerned that Tim may be mentally ill. Twenty-five is right in the range for onset of schizophrenia in males. That would make his religiosity make sense and his erratic behavior.
I agree with you Kathy. Openness to authoritarian cults is a feature of some forms of mental illness. I speak from my own experience. People often join authoritarian religious groups to solve their inner mental stress and perplexity. But it is better to be sectioned than deceived.
The article said he “may” not have been missing at all, btw.
So sad and tough for his family that he could just getup and go. Seems a little selfish, he at least owes them an explanation don’t you think?
hes a scumbag. 2 leave his poor mom awake at night and crying all day worried and hes just bullshiting around town how could any man not call heir own mom on chrismas or mothers day what an ingrateful cock sucker hes 25 he madea choice 2 join a church he shoulda put his big boypants on and called famil
Agreed! What an incredibly selfish thing to do! He not only caused his family great anguish, he wasted the time and money of law enforcement, who could have spent that time looking for someone who was actually missing! One phone call, Jackass, and you could’ve spent the rest of your miserable life alone, without causing so much upheaval!
I personally knew the family for many years being friends with his sister. He always was a sweet boy, but socially awkward. He did not have many friends, but he was approachable. All in all, I am glad he us ok and am praying for the family.
I live in England and just watched disappeared about Tim, I m glad he as been found but wish the program would tell us at the end that people have been found, they could just add it on at the end.
This is awful. I have seen this story on “Disappeared” and it has played more than once. How could anyone let their family go through this unless they were mentally ill or brainwashed?!?? I cannot even imagine how his family felt.
Something is terribly amiss in the very unusual manner in which Mr. Carney upended his family, and his life. My personal observation tells me that this family is open, caring, and genuine. These are the seeds that sewed the central morality and ethics in the heart of Mr. Carney in his early childhood. In fact, loyalty to these tenets may be exactly what is at the root of this entire mystery. Let me explain.
It is a possibility that involvement with the small religious group of which he became a member tested his values and twisted his loyalty in favor of living a life eschewing anyone and anything that was countrary to their beliefs. The “importance” of each member becomes magnified when the group is small; you cannot blend into the walls if there are only a dozen or so members, as opposed to the typical church congregation of hundreds. Much more is expected of each individual, and with a charismatic leader, one can find themselves with a mind and soul completely swallowed up by the teachings of it’s leader. Once a person with Mr. Carney’s strong sense of personal integrity becomes swept up like this, his/her relationships to anyone or anything running counter to the group no longer have a place in their lives. Everthing in them begins to revolve around the way that they have now been programmed to believe. I realize that Mr. Carney relocated to another part of the country and away from the group he was part of, but would not be surprised to find a connection to where he is now.
Personally, I find this the most ironic and tragic thing about this and stories like it; the very qualities instilled in a child’s mind that were intended to help them live a moral life become the very same qualities that make them “ripe pickins'” for an unscrupulous group or individual. I hope and pray that he finds his way HOME.
That’s quite an astute observation.
Really??ALL CHURCHES ARE CULTS?? Hmmm….funny I don’t remember my church trying to keep me away from my family…….thanks for opening my eyes…
I don’t think the word, inherently, has as many negative connotations as people tend to attribute to it now a-days. Think of comments people make about movies, tv shows, certain books – anything like that – you often hear the phrase “has a cult following”. That would typically just mean a concentrated group of the public together who all feel very passionate about something. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just that so many “cult”-type religions have done terrible things and sort of garnered a negative reputation of cults as a result. But it doesn’t follow that all cults are bad, or have evil aims/goals, or are brainwashing machines etc….that’s just the reputation a select few have unfortunately caused to be the most prevalent.
I hope this Timothy Carney think wisely and give a phone call to his parents. They have been suffering a lot for his son, and this jet deserves burning in hell!!!!
Awful comment, Irma. Repent.
I hope eventually with enough time, he will contact his family. There is a whole branch of Psychology devoted to helping people recover from cults.
In psychology these are the widely accepted characteristics, Authoritarian leadership, Exclusivism, Isolationism, opposition to independent thinking, fear of being outcast, and threats of Satanic attack (http://andynaselli.com/sociological-characteristics-of-cults). With the right help a person can recover from being in this type of organization.
I wish his parents and family closure knowing that he is alive and well. God willing, he may eventually come around.
I hope it’s really Tim Carney and not someone who stole his identity!
Someone (SJ) needs to check again on the FULL meaning of CULT!! Only part of the meaning was quoted. There is a huge difference between just a religious group or system… and a cult. I hope and pray Tim eventually reconciles with his family for whatever his reasons were for disappearing.
Why do so many people want to cuss out, hate, and possibly harm some guy you don’t even know and just saw on a TV show that didn’t even tell the story from his point of view? You are good for entertainment value, though.
I so wish Discovery ID would quit airing his “Disappeared” episode for the 20th time. It was on as recently as last month. They have not put any note at the end saying he had been found. They played his episode more than any other on that series. I bet he has some mental problems if he doesn’t have the decency to contact his family after this length of time. The “cult” surely doesn’t have any hold on him now.
It was on again this morning….so tired of seeing it, since we’ve known for years he’s ok.
I knew Tim, I went to church with him.( Not the church he was a part of before he left, though)I liked him very much I could always joke around with him. He was highly intellectual, working on writing his novel as a teenager.Not everything is always as it seems, the family did have issues, like most do. I will not say, much more than that. I don’t think anyone should judge him, he had his reasons. I hope he feels well enough to come back someday, and that there are people who remember him as he was kind and sensitive
Unless he was abused by his entire family, this guy is a selfish jerk. I don’t have to actually hear ‘his side’ to come to this conclusion. He caused a lot of heartache and wasted the time and money of law enforcement. A decent person would reach out and let people know he was fine, but wanted to be left alone. Sure, he may have had ‘his reasons’, but again, you can disappear without wasting peoples time. It’s not difficult.
Wow, bad person. Always hear both sides before rushing to judgement.
Agreed. He should have to pay back the tax dollars spent on finding him.
It seems like the family yearns for Tim’s contact. I, as a social worker, see so many solely, lonely people that would kill for one ounce of love that Tim doesn’t realize he’s throwing away. His family, yes I have seen the episode many times, is sincere, it appears, in their quest for him, out of deep commitment, true love, care and concern. Theirs’ is not a selfish love-it is a wholesome and sacred love. I feel Tim has murdered it and thrown it away in a trash bag-like some of the other ID shows. And, in that, he makes his life and his families’ care for his life a true tragedy. His family graciously deserves much better-and I wish there was a way I could notify them in a celebratory way-that they deserve-that I feel this way.
“Theirs” and “family’s”
I always wondered if he was in a witness protection program. I also don’t think it’s fair to lash out on him because of his decisions. No one other than Tim truley knows the reasons he may have had for not telling his family his whereabouts. It could be to protect them, who knows. Being that he had large debts makes me wonder if he was in some sort of trouble. This may have been his only way to ensure his own safety and that of his family.
What a selfish piece of shit
I feel like up and leaving too…maybe we dont wanna be found.
Nobody knows what really goes on in someones head and thats because nobody really understands depression.
We dont really know about Tim..so we shouldnt judge.
As for the church it wasnt really a church..churches dont act like that with plp..i do agree it was more of a cult.
Gina, someone very close to me suffers from depression. When he’s going through a particularly difficult time, I worry for his safety. I have never actually said ‘ please don’t commit suicide’, but he knows my fears and has assured me he would never do that to the people who love him. I sometimes think, when engulfed in grief, after someone passes, how terrible it would be to have that feeling all the time. This is what depression is, but it doesn’t automatically erase your compassion for others. This man is a selfish individual. Plain and simple.
He sounded a bit strange. You can be socially awkward without joining a cult that keeps you away from your family and gets you 20 grand in debt because you give it to the cult.
I just wish someone had taken screenshots of all the “deleted” posts on his reddit page…
I wish they had, too! Am dying to know what those Reddit insider posts said. Argh!!
Saw the ID program just now. It is sad & odd. I see he has been located near Chicago, but no contact with family.