A longtime Hollywood actor and television director is now reportedly the subject of a nationwide manhunt after authorities issued a warrant for his arrest on serious child sex abuse charges and were unable to locate him for days, prompting the involvement of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Timothy Busfield, a 68-year-old actor best known for roles on Thirtysomething and The West Wing, has been missing for three days since the Albuquerque Police Department issued a warrant accusing him of sexually abusing two minor boys. Busfield, who has also directed dozens of television episodes over the course of his career, is married to actress Melissa Gilbert and is the father of three children from prior marriages.
According to police, the warrant was issued Jan. 9 and lists three felony counts: two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor and one count of child abuse. The alleged victims are 11-year-old twin brothers who worked as child actors and met Busfield on the set of the Fox television series The Cleaning Lady, where he began directing in 2022. To protect their identities, police refer to the boys only by the initials SL and VL.
The case stems from allegations that Busfield sexually abused the boys over several years. The investigation initially began in November 2024, when a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital reported suspected child sexual abuse. Police did not pursue the case at that time. Nearly a year later, in October 2025, the boys’ mother filed a new report with police and Child Protective Services, providing additional details that authorities say led to the arrest warrant.
According to the affidavit, the boys’ mother told investigators that her sons were groomed and abused by Busfield, whom she said instructed the children to call him “Uncle Tim.” She also told police that prior to Busfield joining the show, parents of child actors were routinely given iPads to monitor their children on set, a practice she said ended after Busfield arrived.
One of the boys, identified as SL, told his therapist that Busfield touched his genital area and buttocks. During interviews with police, SL said the abuse began when he was seven years old. Both boys described multiple alleged incidents over several years in which they say Busfield sexually abused them.
Busfield denied wrongdoing when contacted by police. According to the warrant affidavit, he told investigators during a phone interview that he may have tickled the boys, characterizing the set as a “playful environment.” He also suggested the accusations were retaliatory, claiming they were motivated by anger from the boys’ mother after the children were removed from the show, according to reporting by The New York Times.
As of Monday evening, authorities still had not located Busfield. People magazine reported that the U.S. Marshals Service was formally brought in to assist Albuquerque police in finding him and executing the arrest warrant. An APD spokesperson confirmed that Busfield has not been located, detained, or arrested.
The case has sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry, with a once-familiar television figure now facing grave allegations and actively being sought by federal authorities.
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