I've tried discussing this case before, but few have responded. It's been a while, though, and maybe now some new people would like to talk about it. The thing is, I can't figure out a logical explanation for what happened to Molnar and how things happened the way they did. Any theories on the case? What follows is a general description of what happened in the case.

On January 24, 1984, Tim Molnar disappears from Daytona Beach Florida after withdrawing all but 10 dollars from his savings account. He only takes one pair of clothes with him.

Two weeks later, his family finds out that he bought gas in a city 150 miles north of Daytona Beach on the day he disappeared.

The Molnars receive a letter from an auto impound company stating that Tim's car had been found abandoned in Georgia in a parking lot one block away from a Greyhound station.

The Unsolved Mysteries segment airs, speculating that Tim bought a bus ticket and started a new life.

A man named Stephen Cull sees the segment, and recognizes the clothing described in the segment as matching those he found on a dead body he had seen in the woods in Wisconsin in 1986. He calls UM and reports this bit of information.

Subsequent DNA tests on the body in Wisconsin confirm that the body is indeed that of Tim Molnar.

Sorry I don't have that one on tape (you suggested it for v5) but I agree it is fascinating. Its always been a hard one to tape as I believe its one of those brief ones thats shown at the very end. I don't have any clear cut theories and of course the strangest part of this is where his body was found. It wouldn't seem that unbelievable that he left his family and I think he just tired of his life for whatever reason and decided to leave. I wonder if his money ran out and he hitchhiked. Maybe the person who picked him up was a killer and killed Tim and put his body in the trunk or something and just started driving and when he was far enough away from where the crime took place he dumped his body. Or maybe Tim started to drive up north and ran out of money and started walking maybe dying of exposure or something in the woods. They could never determine a cause of death, could they? Yet another strange twist to this story is the inheritance Tim was set to receive. Maybe he was having financial problems before he left and knowing of this inheritance could have persuaded him to stay. Did they ever say how much it was?

I have never seen this case but did read about it on the Unsolved Mysteries website. It sounds very strange indeed. Did Tim show any signs of wanting to leave home? He was apperantly a sophomore in college when he disappeared in 1984. Reading the case, and seeing he withdrew the money, I can think of a couple different possibilities. One, that he was overwhelmed in his life and just wanted to take off for a while but intended on returning, hence why he left the 10 dollars in his account but at some point in his journey met with foul play. Or two, as Heather said, that he died from exposure to the elements. The thing that bugs me and what makes me thing he might have met with foul play was he was found in the woods. However how did he end up in Neosho, Wisconsin? I looked up Neosho and found it is a small town of about 600 people in Dodge County, Wisconsin which is northwest of the Milwaukee Metro area. I would estimate Neosho to be about 25 to 30 miles away from downtown Milwaukee. Maybe it is more than that. I just cant believe that no one saw him and that no one knows how he wound up there. It said the last conclusive sighting of him was when he stopped for gas in Lake City, Florida on the day he disappeared. Since the car wound up in Atlanta that would tell me he took Interstate 75 straight up there. However I would think he would have to stop at least once more to get gas if he drove to Atlanta. Would a whole tank get him from Lake City to Atlanta? I guess that would depend on how many gallons his cars tank held and how many miles he got a gallon. Atlanta is probably a good 500 miles north of Lake City at least. The fact that his car wasnt left until 6 days after he disappeared tells me he was either driving around Georgia or hanging out in Atlanta. Or someone had his car and abandoned it. I have trouble believing though that if he was killed in Georgia that someone would drive his body all the way up to Wisconsin to dump it. But it is possible. The fact that his stereo, tool set and bike were missing could very well be that either Tim took the bike to ride and sold off the stereo and tool set for money or that someone killed Tim and stole those items either for themselves or to pawn off for cash.

This case is so strange it bugs me. I just cant figure out how Tim wound up in Wisconsin. Did he take a bus to Chicago or something and get killed there and get dumped in Dodge County, Wisconsin? I just cant figure out how he would wind up in the woods of a small town in Wisconsin about a half hour away from Milwaukee. I checked the Dodge County, Wisconsin sheriff's department page out and there was nothing there, it was like they have forgotten all about it. Either that or because they didnt have a conclusive cause of death they didnt label it a homicide. I still cant believe no one saw Tim after he left Lake City. The thing that would maybe make me believe he died not too long after he was last seen was he was wearing the same clothes that he was found in later. You would think he would buy a new shirt and pants and stuff. Also it sounded like Tim had a decent amount of money in his bank account bus travel isnt expensive and in 1984 it was way cheaper. So strange. I dont know if he got to a certain major city and then he just started hitching rides from truckers and the like or what. The only thing that makes me think foul play is how he wound up in the woods. But it is unclear how long he lived after he was last seen in Lake City. His body I believe was found in late 1985 so nearly two years after he disappeared his body was found.

I always assumed that Tim met up with foul play while hitchhiking. Why he left is another mystery all together. Also, I thought I remembered Stack saying that Tim's body was found in Waukesha (perhaps he said "near" since they are very close by). Did he actually say he was found in Neosho, Wi on UM? On google maps it looks like Neosho is miles from any Interstate, and I've certainly never heard of it. I live about an hour away and know the Milwaukee Metro area relatively well from having relatives in the area. That would lead me to think that the person who dumped the body new the area pretty well.

This is a very very sad case, and all the more sad because it seems like it might be impossible to solve at this point.

Waukesha is a possibility. It said on the Unsolved Mysteries website that his body was found in some woods near the town of Neosho. Waukesha is a western suburb of Milwaukee. But I would agree the fact that he was found where he was found raises the chances of foul play significantly. Because I think someone would have to know the area to dump him there. It appears Neosho is right off state highway 67 but it isnt off any major roadways. Neosho is actually near the intersection of state highway 67 and state highway 60.

Great to finally get some discussion on this case!

One thing I remember from the segment was that the morning that he disappeared, he dropped his little brother off at school, and his brother said that for some reason, when he said good-bye to him, he had a feeling that that would be the last time he would ever see him. Tim seemed depressed about something, but no one knew what. He was a good looking kid, and very popular in high school.

What an incredible, incredible coincidence that the man who was watching UM 12 years or so after he found the body in the woods happened to remember the clothes on the body and recognized that they matched the clothes Tim was wearing in the segment. The whole thing is so strange, so bizarre, I almost feel like I want to think that UM made the whole thing up as a ratings ploy! :)

Was Tim found in the woods? Or was he found in a building like a barn or something? I still cant figure out how he wound up going from Florida to Wisconsin. Sometimes I think he was murdered and other times I think he had an emotional break down and felt a need to escape and left a few dollars in his account probably thinking he would be back someday.

It said the last conclusive sighting of him was when he stopped for gas in Lake City, Florida on the day he disappeared. Since the car wound up in Atlanta that would tell me he took Interstate 75 straight up there. However I would think he would have to stop at least once more to get gas if he drove to Atlanta. Would a whole tank get him from Lake City to Atlanta? I guess that would depend on how many gallons his cars tank held and how many miles he got a gallon. Atlanta is probably a good 500 miles north of Lake City at least. The fact that his car wasnt left until 6 days after he disappeared tells me he was either driving around Georgia or hanging out in Atlanta. Or someone had his car and abandoned it.

I don't know what his vehicle was or the MPG but it's definitely possible to get from Lake City to Atlanta on one tank of gas. That's northern Florida so I doubt it's more than 300 miles. I made it from Miami to Atlanta in one day several times and that was something like 700 miles. The bulk of that was getting out of Florida. Like you said, you just shoot up I-75.

This guy should have hooked up with the Canadian who ended up dead in a motel parking lot in Tennessee. Mix them together and maybe something would make sense.

I wonder if the guy who found the body and called in the identification a decade later was ever considered a suspect? I'm sure he had nothing to do with the death but I've seen at least one case like that, a homosexual guy who killed a kid in California. Then he apparently got frustrated no one found it, so years later he found the body himself and got some favorable press. Not until maybe a decade later did the police put it together, kind of by accident once they realized where the guy was living at the time, near the kid's walking route, to school or the bus stop. They contacted him in a ruse and took him up to the area where the body was found, but he said he couldn't remember the area. However, the homosexual lover said it was one of the guy's favorite spots to take him.

I wonder if the guy who found the body and called in the identification a decade later was ever considered a suspect? I'm sure he had nothing to do with the death but I've seen at least one case like that, a homosexual guy who killed a kid in California. Then he apparently got frustrated no one found it, so years later he found the body himself and got some favorable press. Not until maybe a decade later did the police put it together, kind of by accident once they realized where the guy was living at the time, near the kid's walking route, to school or the bus stop. They contacted him in a ruse and took him up to the area where the body was found, but he said he couldn't remember the area. However, the homosexual lover said it was one of the guy's favorite spots to take him.

I was thinking about this same case (maybe I saw it on one the A&E shows?), and wondering about the man who found Tim Molnar's remains. As another poster said, it is such an incredible coincidence.

I was thinking about this same case (maybe I saw it on one the A&E shows?), and wondering about the man who found Tim Molnar's remains. As another poster said, it is such an incredible coincidence.

Ya, that was on cold case files.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I find it strange that someone would remember EXACTLY what clothes a dead body had on 12 years before.

I, for one, can't even remember what I wore 10 years ago, much less family, friends or even strangers.

Maybe someone needs to look again at the person that "found" the dead body.

Just a thought.

When I looked uo Tim Molnar's name I found http://members.tripod.com/~Aetherco/chameleon/cham1.html
The name on the dedication is Tim Molnar, but all the other people involved in this game lived in Pennsylvania.
There is a possibilty that this D&D style game was advertised in DRAGON magazine and Tim responded for a
Play by Mail (PBM)(the author of this game had a comic in DRAGON.)
It makes it even more weird when you realize that if Tim was in D&D, the headquarters for TSR is Lake Geneva,
Wisconsin and the convention Gencon was moved in 1985 from the University of Wisconsin, Parkside to the MECCA
in downtown Milwaukee! Maybe Tim had made friends in the gaming community and traveled to conventions because
I have a hard time believing he existed for almost two years with one change if clothes and a small amount of money.


Mark

Yeah, Tim was not very active in D&D. He was not quiet. He was usually not depressed. He was not the most popular guy in HS. He was a partier. He was into the drug scene. He adored his car. That is the biggest clue...his car...I really have a difficult time imagining him abandoning it willingly.

How can you find a body in the woods and UM is the first place you call?

How can you find a body in the woods and UM is the first place you call?
Well, that's actually not what happened. Stephen Cull, the man that found Molnar's body, found it in 1986, and when he did he immediately notified the police. The UM segment aired a few years later, and Cull recognized the clothes Tim was wearing in the segment as being the same as those he found on the body he came across in 1986. He contacted UM, they did a DNA test, and they confirmed the body was that of Tim Molnar.

The odds of Cull remembering the clothes Molnar was wearing and recognizing them on the UM segment, to me, are one in a million. It's perhaps the most unbelievable coincidence in the history of UM.

Is it really that surprising that a man who stumbled upon a dead man in the woods wouldn't remember forever what the man looked like

well, stumbling upon a dead body would be a very memorable event for anyone, so it doesn't surprise me in the least that he would remember what clothes he was wearing. the odds are much better than one in a million.

The odds of Cull remembering the clothes Molnar was wearing and recognizing them on the UM segment, to me, are one in a million. It's perhaps the most unbelievable coincidence in the history of UM.
Is it really that surprising that a man who stumbled upon a dead man in the woods wouldn't remember forever what the man looked like
well, stumbling upon a dead body would be a very memorable event for anyone, so it doesn't surprise me in the least that he would remember what clothes he was wearing. the odds are much better than one in a million.
I agree with the latter two responses. To me, the odds are more like one in a million that you wouldn't remember the clothes. Seriously, how often do you find a dead body? I think that would be a shocking event where you would either block the whole thing out, or the image would be burned into your mind forever.

This story has always baffled me. I just started watching the eighth season of Unsolved Mysteries on Amazon Prime and this story was featured on one of the episodes. The last time I heard about this story was years back and it saddens me to see that no new developments have been made. What I have been thinking though, this might be a bit of a reach, but during this time Jeffrey Dahmer was active and it has been said that he was found in either Neosho or Merton, Wisconsin, which is only about a half hour away from Milwaukee, where Dahmer was murdering innocent young men. Though Dahmer usually kept his victims in his apartment, maybe Tim was still a victim that Dahmer decided to dump? Again, this is definitely a bit of a stretch but I thought maybe i'd throw this idea out there. Either way, I hope for Tim's family's sake that answers can be found sometime soon.

This story has always baffled me. I just started watching the eighth season of Unsolved Mysteries on Amazon Prime and this story was featured on one of the episodes. The last time I heard about this story was years back and it saddens me to see that no new developments have been made. What I have been thinking though, this might be a bit of a reach, but during this time Jeffrey Dahmer was active and it has been said that he was found in either Neosho or Merton, Wisconsin, which is only about a half hour away from Milwaukee, where Dahmer was murdering innocent young men. Though Dahmer usually kept his victims in his apartment, maybe Tim was still a victim that Dahmer decided to dump? Again, this is definitely a bit of a stretch but I thought maybe i'd throw this idea out there. Either way, I hope for Tim's family's sake that answers can be found sometime soon.

Welcome! :wave: I love to see it when Amazon Prime brings us some new folks to talk about these cases!

I'm not sure if anyone has posted this, but I recently saw a reddit thread written by someone who claims that Molnar was murdered and who they suspect:

I have family in Wisconsin, when we are driving past a park area my father remarks how family friends found a skeleton known as the "Monches Skeleton" while looking for shed antlers. Later while watching Unsolved Mysteries covering the disappearance of Molnar he (the family friend) makes the connection to the unidentified body he found years before, tells LE, and low and behold its Molnar. My father remarks how he always suspected a former (obviously) acquaintance of my uncle of committing the crime, because he was a creepy guy and was convicted of second degree sexual assault against a child in 2001 and lived in town. My sister and i are like wtf and ask him if he ever tipped off law enforcement, hes like" well..no..." we cant believe it, but the evidence isn't really much beyond hes a pedo at this point. But we are headed to my uncles who knew this man.

The man he knew was Richard J. Jashinsky

And as we ask more and more questions of our uncle, the more damning the picture becomes. Dick as he was known, was a strange man who lived nearby in a barn like shack, where he would often let young male drifters crash, rotating through. From this shack he was also a poacher, killing animals illegally and survivng off them. My uncle remembers how he tried to burn the bones in a furnace to hide his poaching and failed, and began looking for other methods of disposal. He also would leave in the winter to florida, where he had a plane and would fly back and forth, but would often drive down and fly out. Tim disappeared in January 1984 from Florida. Leaving his car at a greyhound station, taking a bike with him that was found with his body all the way in Wisconsin. Like I said he was later convicted of pedophilia in 2001 and had infiltrated a christian boys and girls club. He also would take long unannounced walks on my families property, making me wonder what he was really up to.

I'm trying to remember more, I have a feeling I've forgotten a super creepy piece of the Florida connection but I wanted to put this out there for my conscience and for Tim, if this guy had something to do with it than I have to say something.

Also this guy apparently owned a plane and thinks that he somehow lured Molnar to the Wisconsin area to work on his plane (Tim was studying to be an aeronautical mechanic at the time of his disappearance).

IMO, this sounds legit and gives a reason as to why Tim ended up in Wisconsin. I think it's possible that he left on his own to get away for awhile (he took all of his money out of his accounts except for $10, and took all of the expensive items out of his car, something a suicidal person would not do) but ultimately crossed paths with his killer.

Source (https://www.reddit.com/r/UnsolvedMysteries/comments/bwwqj4/i_have_information_on_the_disappearance_of_tim/) for the reddit thread.

Thanks for that post! But for that information, I was thinking it was a Gail Delano type suicide. I understand that it didn’t totally fit most typical suicides, but I’ve seen some doozies recently that don’t typically fit the expected mode...

How can you find a body in the woods and UM is the first place you call?

It was 10 years later after the body had been found, the body had no Identification on it. The person who called UM recognized the clothing that was described and remembered it being on that john doe from 10 years earlier.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I find it strange that someone would remember EXACTLY what clothes a dead body had on 12 years before.

I, for one, can't even remember what I wore 10 years ago, much less family, friends or even strangers.

Maybe someone needs to look again at the person that "found" the dead body.

Just a thought.

I know this post is so very old; however, I wanted to mention that for some reason, I can still remember what I wore on my first day at a job that I began almost 15 years ago. I can also remember what I wore while covering a particular news story more than 24 years ago.

But remember what I wore a week ago? That is harder. Remember to check the bathroom sink for toothpaste that may have not gone down the drain and rinse it off, as my boyfriend has asked me numerous times? Not always.

All this to say some people remember really unusual things.

I know this post is so very old; however, I wanted to mention that for some reason, I can still remember what I wore on my first day at a job that I began almost 15 years ago. I can also remember what I wore while covering a particular news story more than 24 years ago.

But remember what I wore a week ago? That is harder. Remember to check the bathroom sink for toothpaste that may have not gone down the drain and rinse it off, as my boyfriend has asked me numerous times? Not always.

All this to say some people remember really unusual things.

I'm with the people that say, you find a dead body out in the woods.. Gonna be hard to forget many things, even if you want to.

But.. I have a theory about the $10.

Find an ATM that gives out cash in increments of $10.

I think there's your answer as to why there was $10 left in the account.

They are out there, but.. Pretty difficult to find. MAYBE more common in the 80's? I think the $10 left as a signal he might one day come back is wishful thinking by the family or the writer of the writeup I read at the wiki.

I always thought the $10 left in the account was symbolic of if wherever he went or was intending to go didn't work out, he still had the $10 to come back home and start over. He left his license, wallet, credit cards, and all of his clothing behind.

I always thought the $10 left in the account was symbolic of if wherever he went or was intending to go didn't work out, he still had the $10 to come back home and start over. He left his license, wallet, credit cards, and all of his clothing behind.

If it had been $5 would you say the same? If it was 47 cents?

My assumption is that he pulled the money from an ATM and.. Getting something in multiples of $10 is difficult at an ATM. As I said, perhaps more common back int the 80's.. But i've NEVER seen one that will do multiples of $5 and none of them are giving change.

So, I think that's more just he got what he could get without going into a bank.

If it had been $5 would you say the same? If it was 47 cents?

My assumption is that he pulled the money from an ATM and.. Getting something in multiples of $10 is difficult at an ATM. As I said, perhaps more common back int the 80's.. But i've NEVER seen one that will do multiples of $5 and none of them are giving change.

So, I think that's more just he got what he could get without going into a bank.

If he had left $5.32 in his bank account, then I would agree that he took whatever he cold in multiples of $10 or $20. But, because he didn't take his ATM card or anything else with him, I think the $10 was left "just in case" he had to return home.

If he had left $5.32 in his bank account, then I would agree that he took whatever he cold in multiples of $10 or $20. But, because he didn't take his ATM card or anything else with him, I think the $10 was left "just in case" he had to return home.

Do we know he left EXACTLY $10?

I mean, this almost sounds like something that's been passed around and changed during one of the passes.

Someone who writes the story from talking to the family, they say "He left $10 there" when it was.. $12.52, they just rounded it.. and that warps into some big thing.

I guess i'd really like to know how he got the money. If he pulled it at a bank branch.. Then my theory is pretty much crap. Though, maybe you could say he left a pittance in there to keep the account active (Though, "$10" was more then than it is now)

That piece of this whole thing.. It just smells to me like a desperate family grabbing on to anything that they could. I don't blame them for that at all. Totally understand it. But, I think it's got other people who have latched onto it as well.

Again.. Unless you know more than I.. It's just speculation on my part. I got nothing that says what I think is any more right than what anyone else thinks.

Someone earlier in here mentioned the aircraft angle.. Which.. That one makes a lot of sense to me. The only question would be why he didn't say anything about him leaving to his family.

I also didn't find anything about any forensics on his car. Has anyone seen anything on that? Did they find any odd fingerprints or other evidence in his vehicle?

I'm not sure if anyone has posted this, but I recently saw a reddit thread written by someone who claims that Molnar was murdered and who they suspect:



Also this guy apparently owned a plane and thinks that he somehow lured Molnar to the Wisconsin area to work on his plane (Tim was studying to be an aeronautical mechanic at the time of his disappearance).

IMO, this sounds legit and gives a reason as to why Tim ended up in Wisconsin. I think it's possible that he left on his own to get away for awhile (he took all of his money out of his accounts except for $10, and took all of the expensive items out of his car, something a suicidal person would not do) but ultimately crossed paths with his killer.

Source (https://www.reddit.com/r/UnsolvedMysteries/comments/bwwqj4/i_have_information_on_the_disappearance_of_tim/) for the reddit thread.

It would also explain why Tim didn't tell anyone where he was going. Think about it, if Tim had said to his parents on that last day "hey, I am going to go hang out with so and so." The parents would want to know more, and I doubt they would want their son in the company of someone like the person described in the reddit thread.

I concur with the others on this thread saying that it's not surprising that the person who found Tim's body would remember exactly what clothes he was wearing so long after the event. I know that, if I found a dead body, the chances that I'd remember every detail about it would be very high owing to it being such a shocking experience.

I do wonder if this was another of those cases where the individual in question (i.e. Tim Molnar) might have witnessed, seen or experienced something in the days leading up to his disappearance that caused him to become frightened or disoriented or at least feeling that he needed to leave things behind. Perhaps this could explain the erratic and sudden nature of his departure, his withdrawal of most of the money from his bank account and his decision to discard his car and his items of identification. Since they found his abandoned car close to a Greyhound terminal, that may have been how he got to Wisconsin. The autopsy on his body showed no apparent sign of trauma, apparently, so his tragic and untimely death might have been due to any number of things. I'm not necessarily convinced it was foul play but of course it can't be ruled out

Such a tragic case. I feel for his family, particularly his brother as its sole surviving member in terms of that immediate family unit. A promising life cut short in such mysterious circumstances. Sadly, I think it will be very difficult to get a breakthrough in this case unless it was foul play and someone comes forward

Didn't Tim's behavior and demeanor change before he disappeared. Sometimes I wonder about people who disappeared under similar circumstances; their personality changes, and then they take off and no one sees them. I wonder how many of these kids were showing symptoms of schizophrenia when they disappeared.

Think about how many cases profiled of people like Blair Adams, the girl from Florida, (forgot her name) that guy named Jim who got mad at the new stereo and had a melt down, the guy who wandered into New Mexico and, they found a business card from some other man. You know, the "yous buy your tea" guy. All of them suddenly began acting strange and then they vanished. Sure, it's possible they saw or were involved in something. But schizophrenia is something that happens during adolescence or early adulthood.

I think this happened to Tim. He ventured to the Mountain where he later froze to death for some reason. Maybe he was looking for something he thought existed and died in the process.

Sorry for not remembering names but you know who I'm talking about.