Overview

Full name: Charles Richard Timm

Age at disappearance: Not independently verified

Date last seen: 1980; exact date not verified

Last reported location: Palm Beach International Airport, West Palm Beach, Florida

City, county, state: West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida

Reported destination: Kansas City; state not established

Case classification: Reported missing-person disappearance; official classification not independently confirmed

Current case status: No verified resolution or recovery identified in the publicly available sources reviewed

Associated individual: Clarence Hopper, identified in the supplied case information with reference MP10236

Main circumstances: Timm reportedly left Palm Beach International Airport with Hopper for Kansas City and subsequently disappeared.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Charles Richard Timm: The Mysterious 1980 Disappearance From Palm Beach, Florida, After a Reported Trip to Kansas City

In 1980, Charles Richard Timm reportedly disappeared after leaving Palm Beach International Airport in Palm Beach County, Florida, with a man identified as Clarence Hopper. The two were reportedly traveling to Kansas City, but Timm was never seen again, according to the available case description.

More than four decades later, fundamental questions remain unanswered. Did Timm reach Kansas City? What happened after he left the airport? And could someone with knowledge of the trip provide information that would finally explain his disappearance?

The circumstances raise important questions, but the limited publicly verifiable evidence does not establish that Timm was the victim of a homicide or other crime.

Case Summary

• Full name: Charles Richard Timm
• Age at disappearance: Not independently verified
• Date last seen: 1980; exact date not verified
• Last reported location: Palm Beach International Airport, West Palm Beach, Florida
• City, county, state: West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, Florida
• Reported destination: Kansas City; state not established
• Case classification: Reported missing-person disappearance; official classification not independently confirmed
• Current case status: No verified resolution or recovery identified in the publicly available sources reviewed
• Associated individual: Clarence Hopper, identified in the supplied case information with reference MP10236
• Main circumstances: Timm reportedly left Palm Beach International Airport with Hopper for Kansas City and subsequently disappeared.

Verification note: The account of Timm’s final movements comes from the case information supplied for this article. An independently accessible, case-specific official record confirming the journey, exact disappearance date, or investigative findings was not located. Those details should therefore be treated as reported circumstances rather than independently established findings.

Charles Richard Timm’s Background and Disappearance in 1980

What is known about Charles Richard Timm?

Charles Richard Timm is associated with a reported disappearance in Palm Beach County, Florida, dating to 1980. The available account places him at Palm Beach International Airport, commonly known as PBIA, shortly before he vanished.

Unfortunately, little independently verified biographical information about Timm is publicly accessible.

His date of birth, age at disappearance, hometown, occupation, family circumstances, and physical description have not been established through the sources located for this article.

These omissions are significant because biographical records can help distinguish one missing individual from others with similar names. They can also help researchers identify historical addresses, employment records, travel arrangements, and potential contacts.

Rather than speculate about Timm’s personal life, the focus must remain on the circumstances reported in connection with his disappearance.

The reported departure from Palm Beach International Airport

According to the available case description, Timm was last seen leaving Palm Beach International Airport with Clarence Hopper in 1980.

Their reported destination was Kansas City.

The account does not establish whether they had purchased airline tickets, boarded a flight, traveled by another means, or reached their intended destination.

It also does not identify the precise day or month when Timm was last seen.

Those distinctions matter. Being last observed at an airport does not necessarily establish that someone boarded an aircraft or arrived at the destination associated with their travel plans.

No verified passenger manifest, ticket record, flight number, or arrival documentation was located to independently establish Timm’s movements.

The connection to Clarence Hopper

One of the most important details in the reported disappearance is the identification of Clarence Hopper as the person accompanying Timm.

The supplied account also associates Hopper with the reference number MP10236.

However, that number has not been independently matched to an accessible official missing-person record. It should not be represented as Timm’s NamUs, NCIC, or police case number.

The nature of the relationship between Timm and Hopper remains unverified. It is unknown whether they were friends, coworkers, relatives, business associates, or traveling companions for another reason.

There is also insufficient independently verified information to establish Hopper’s subsequent movements or circumstances.

Being identified as a traveling companion does not establish involvement in wrongdoing. No credible source reviewed for this article identifies Hopper as a suspect in Timm’s disappearance.

Investigation History and Available Evidence

What is publicly documented about the investigation?

The disappearance reportedly dates to 1980, but a detailed public investigative chronology could not be independently reconstructed.

No case-specific official investigative release was located establishing when Timm was reported missing, which agency originally accepted the report, or what investigative actions followed.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office maintains public information and missing-person notices, but the materials located during this research did not provide a verified Timm-specific investigative history.

It would therefore be inaccurate to claim that investigators conducted particular searches, interviewed named witnesses, reviewed specific flight records, or developed suspects without supporting documentation.

Passenger records and travel documentation

The reported airport departure creates several historically relevant questions.

Records that could potentially clarify the reported journey include airline reservations, passenger manifests, baggage records, and documentation of transportation arrangements.

However, there is no verified public evidence that investigators obtained any of these records in Timm’s case.

Given the decades that have passed, the availability of original travel records is also uncertain.

The absence of publicly accessible documentation should not be interpreted as proof that records never existed or that investigators failed to pursue them.

Witness statements and physical evidence

No authenticated witness statement describing Timm’s final confirmed movements was located beyond the supplied disappearance account.

Similarly, the available sources do not establish the recovery of clothing, luggage, identification documents, personal belongings, or other physical evidence associated with his disappearance.

There is no verified public information identifying a vehicle, crime scene, forensic discovery, or recovered remains connected to Timm.

These are limitations of the accessible record, not definitive statements about what may exist in confidential investigative files.

DNA testing and genetic genealogy

Modern missing-person investigations can sometimes benefit from DNA comparisons, unidentified-remains databases, and forensic genetic genealogy.

For Timm, however, no publicly confirmed DNA submission, genetic genealogy investigation, forensic identification, or remains comparison was located.

It is not known whether a family reference DNA sample has ever been collected or whether any unidentified-person cases have been compared with his information.

Theories and Unresolved Questions

The limited information surrounding Timm’s disappearance leaves several possibilities open. None can currently be established as the explanation for what happened.

Did Charles Richard Timm reach Kansas City?

One central question is whether Timm completed the reported trip.

If the destination was Kansas City, Missouri, or Kansas City, Kansas, determining the intended arrival location could help narrow historical travel records and possible contacts.

The available description does not specify which jurisdiction was intended.

There is also no independently verified evidence of Timm’s arrival, accommodation, employment, or subsequent activity in either location.

Was the disappearance voluntary?

A voluntary disappearance is one possible explanation in an unresolved missing-person case.

However, no verified evidence establishes that Timm intended to sever contact, change his identity, relocate permanently, or conceal his whereabouts.

Consequently, a voluntary disappearance cannot responsibly be presented as the likely outcome.

Could an accident or medical emergency have occurred?

An accident, medical emergency, or other unexpected event is another general possibility.

No identified accident report, hospital record, unidentified-remains case, or death investigation has been reliably connected to Timm.

There is therefore no factual basis for favoring this explanation over others.

Was foul play involved?

Foul play cannot be ruled out solely from the limited information available, but neither can it be established.

No verified investigative finding identifies a homicide, abduction, assault, or criminal suspect connected to Timm.

The circumstances should remain described as a reported unresolved disappearance unless reliable law enforcement or court records establish a different classification.

Questions that remain unanswered

Among the most significant unanswered questions are:

• What was the exact date Timm was last seen?
• Who last independently confirmed his whereabouts?
• What was the purpose of the reported Kansas City trip?
• Did Timm and Hopper board an aircraft or leave the airport by another means?
• Did either traveler reach Kansas City?
• When and by whom was Timm reported missing?
• Which law enforcement agency holds the original case file?
• Are any original records, photographs, or family DNA references still available?

Answers to even one of these questions could substantially improve the documented understanding of the disappearance.

Latest Publicly Available Investigative Updates

Research status: October 19, 2026

No publicly confirmed recent investigative developments were located concerning Charles Richard Timm’s reported 1980 disappearance.

Specifically, the sources reviewed did not establish any recent arrests, charges, newly identified suspects, recovered remains, forensic matches, DNA breakthroughs, or official cold-case announcements connected to him.

No verified recent family appeal, age-progression image, or case-specific news report was located.

This does not prove that the case is inactive or that investigators have stopped working on it. Investigative information may exist in records that are not publicly accessible.

Florida’s missing-person resources

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement operates the Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse (MEPIC), which supports missing-person investigations, information sharing, and analytical assistance.

Florida also maintains a public missing-person search. FDLE cautions that its public records may not be complete or current and that case status should be confirmed with the reporting law enforcement agency.

A verified individual database entry for Timm was not obtained during this research.

The most useful next step for establishing the case’s official status would be confirmation from the law enforcement agency responsible for the original report.

Conclusion: The Unanswered Disappearance of Charles Richard Timm

The reported disappearance of Charles Richard Timm in 1980 remains difficult to reconstruct because so few independently verified details are publicly accessible.

The available account describes Timm leaving Palm Beach International Airport with Clarence Hopper for Kansas City and subsequently vanishing. Yet the exact date, travel arrangements, intended destination, and events that followed remain uncertain.

More than 46 years after the reported disappearance, it is important to preserve the distinction between the original account and what official records can establish.

Timm’s story deserves careful documentation, not speculation.

Public appeal for information

Anyone who knew Charles Richard Timm or Clarence Hopper around 1980, remembers their reported travel plans, or possesses photographs, correspondence, documents, or other relevant information is encouraged to contact law enforcement.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office can be reached through its general number at 561-688-3000. Its involvement as the original investigating agency has not been independently established.

Information may also be directed to Florida’s Missing Endangered Persons Information Clearinghouse at 1-888-356-4774.

Even information that seems minor could help establish a clearer historical record.