Tim Molnar

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Volusia County Sheriffs Office (FL)

Death Location:

Daytona Beach, Florida

Summary:

Timothy Michael Molnar was a 19-year-old aeronautical mechanics student at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University who disappeared from Daytona Beach, Florida on January 24, 1984. His skeletal remains were discovered frozen in ice in a wooded area near Merton, Wisconsin on March 23, 1986, approximately 1,300 miles from home. His cause of death remains undetermined despite identification through DNA testing.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Death:

On January 24, 1984, Tim dropped off his 14-year-old brother Frank at school. He then returned home briefly to retrieve his bicycle, which his mother Helen saw him put in the trunk of his 1969 Dodge Dart before driving away. That night, Tim did not come home, which was very out of character for him. The Molnars received two phone calls, but the caller never said a word. Two weeks after Tim's disappearance, Tim had used his parents' credit card to purchase gas in Lake City, Florida, approximately 150 miles away from Daytona Beach. The gas station attendant recognized Tim when shown a photo and said he had been traveling alone. On January 30, Tim's car was found abandoned just a block away from a Greyhound bus station in Atlanta, Georgia. The Molnars were not notified of this until four and a half months later. When they went to Atlanta to inspect the car, they found his wallet, ID, credit card, and college textbooks. His bike, expensive tool set, and the stereo he had installed himself were missing. On March 23, 1986, a pair of hunters discovered skeletal remains frozen in a sheet of ice in a wooded area near Merton, Wisconsin. They reported the discovery to the police right away. Investigators recovered a black and gold bicycle and rusted keys from the scene. An autopsy was conducted, but the results were inconclusive.

Additional Details:

Tim had also withdrawn all but $10 from his bank account before he disappeared. Just days after his disappearance, a relative passed away, leaving Tim $50,000 in his will. Yet the missing heir would never claim his inheritance. Wisconsin authorities lacked any substantial clues that would aid them in linking their John Doe to Tim Molnar, who had vanished from Florida roughly 1,200 miles away more than two years earlier. Additionally, Tim had no known connections to the state. The case first aired on the November 17, 1995 episode of Unsolved Mysteries. Tim's mother Helen helped form the non-profit organization "Mothers Aid to Missing Adults". Steven Cull was watching Unsolved Mysteries on January 31, 1996. After viewing the episode, one of the hunters, Stephen Cull, called to say that he recognized Tim's clothes as the ones he had found on the frozen body in the woods. He had been wearing blue jeans, gray sweatpants, two pairs of knee socks, black and white Nike tennis shoes, a white T-shirt printed with a picture of a windsurfer and the words, "West Coast," a blue plaid flannel shirt, and a navy blue nylon jacket. After he contacted the medical examiner, they contacted Tim's family and received DNA samples. Through DNA testing, the body was confirmed to be his in November. Keys found with it were determined to match the locks on the Molnar home. Despite the identification, the cause of Tim's death could not be determined, and there were no signs of trauma. His family held a memorial service for him and had him buried in Daytona Beach, Florida. Sadly, Tim's parents have since passed away: his mother Helen in 2004 and his father Michael in 2012.

Case Last Updated:

Aug 12, 2026