Timothy Benally Missing Person Case

May 21, 2026

May 21, 2026

Timothy

Benally

68

34

70 inches

74 inches

200 lbs

300 lbs

American Indian / Alaska Native

Male

In the summer of 1992, 34-year-old Timothy Lee Benally, a member of the Navajo Nation, left his wife's family home on the Navajo Nation and has not been seen by family members since. Although his last known location is listed as Mesa, Arizona, the exact date of his disappearance is unknown. Benally, a U.S. Navy veteran, is described as an American Indian male with black hair and brown eyes, standing between 5'10" and 6'2" tall and weighing between 200 and 300 pounds at the time he went missing. His hair was described as straight and a few inches long. The circumstances surrounding his departure remain unclear, leaving his family with unanswered questions for decades. For years, there was no information regarding Timothy's whereabouts. A significant amount of time passed before he was officially reported as a missing person in early 2026, with his case being entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) on May 21, 2026. The only potential lead in the case emerged from an account provided by his wife. She reported that in 1998, she visited a homeless encampment at an undisclosed location in Mesa, where she spoke with a pastor. This pastor recalled hosting Timothy at a church sometime in the mid-1990s, but could not provide further details. The identity of the pastor and the specific church remain unknown, leaving this thread of information a dead end. The investigation into Timothy's disappearance is being handled by the Chandler Police Department. Checks with the Department of Veteran Affairs and the Social Security Administration have provided no signs of activity. Records confirmed that Timothy, despite being a veteran, has not claimed any of his benefits. Similarly, no Social Security benefits have been withdrawn on his behalf. The lack of financial activity, coupled with the absence of contact with family, deepens the mystery of his case. The passage of over three decades has made the search for answers increasingly difficult, yet the hope of discovering what happened to Timothy Benally persists.

Jan 01, 1992

Mesa

Arizona

Maricopa County

No

195440

Chandler Police Department

Chandler

Arizona

Maricopa County

85225

Adam Hayes

Detective

250 East Chicago Street, Arizona

4807824000

Local

Law Enforcement

https://www.chandlerpd.com/

2026-12197

2026-01-26

Chandler Police Department

Black

Brown

Brown

08/07/2026