Timothy's aunt, Delany Davison, had custody of Timothy and his two brothers at the time of his disappearance. His parents lived in Winter Haven, Florida and were going through a divorce in 1985. Delany is Timothy's father's sister. She had been caring for her nephews for about a year.

Delany took Timothy to Brettwood Village Shopping Center in Decatur, Illinois on October 15, 1985. She left him unattended and asleep in her unlocked car at approximately 12:00 p.m., while she went inside the a grocery store at the center to shop. When Delany returned to the parking lot half an hour later, Timothy had vanished from the vehicle. There has been no sign of him since that time.

A deaf-mute child found on the streets of Juarez in Mexico, not far from the U.S. border at El Paso, Texas, was thought to be Davison. The Mexican boy, who was found in November 1987, was about the right age, matched Davison's physical description and had the same speech impediment. A comparison of footprints determined that he was not the missing boy, however.

Curiously, Timothy is not the only missing person in his family; his mother's sister, Cindy Smith, disappeared from Winter Haven, Florida in 1987. Her disappearance remains unsolved and it is not thought to be connected to Timothy's. He was a slow learner in 1985 and he did not know his own last name. He is believed to have been abducted. His case remains unsolved.