The Mysterious Vanishing of Timmothy Pitzen

The archives of true crime host an array of missing persons cases. These dark tales rarely end the way we want them to.

Still, we retain hope that those who suddenly vanished will one day be found alive and healthy, even if they disappeared under suspicious circumstances.

The tale of six-year-old Timmothy Pitzen is one such case.

What began as a mother’s decision to take her child out of school and on a surprise road trip turned into a sad story involving a death, a missing child, and a plethora of clues that seem to lead nowhere.

It’s been over twelve years since Timmothy’s sudden disappearance, and his family is convinced he’s still alive.

But where is he?

The Family Emergency

Timmothy was a happy, intelligent little boy who was born in October 2004.

His mother, Amy Fry-Pitzen, and father, James Pitzen, doted on their only child. The small family lived in Aurora, Illinois, and life seemed idyllic from the outside looking in.

For the most part, it had been blissful for the Pitzen family, although Amy had been dealing with mental health struggles throughout adulthood, which she managed with medication.

Regardless of her struggles, there was no doubt that Amy was a great mother.

Her family would say that when they saw Amy hold baby Timmothy for the first time, they knew she’d been put on the planet to be a mother. As the boy grew older, he was known to be playful, full of energy, and loved to visit the zoo.

On May 11, 2011, Amy decided to take her son out of school under the guise of a “family emergency.”

Timmothy’s father, James, had only dropped the boy off at Greenman Elementary School mere moments before his mother turned up to collect him.

There was no family emergency, but it would appear Amy was going through a crisis of her own: she had stopped taking her antidepressants in the days leading up to this.

It wasn’t uncommon for Amy to take off on her own occasionally. However, she’d always left Timmothy with family. This time was different, though, and so was Amy.

James confirmed that his wife “was not in a good place,” leading up to her and Timmothy’s vanishing. In fact, the couple had discussed the idea of divorce before her taking off for the last time.

James had discovered Amy had been in touch with an ex, which led to an argument, although the pair managed to smooth things over afterward – or so it seemed.

When the time came for James to collect his little boy from school, he was panicked to find out the child wasn’t there.

He was even more alarmed that his wife had removed their son and lied about a family emergency. Naturally, the unnerved father contacted the police to report the mother and child missing.

However, Amy had managed to get a few hours head start on authorities since everyone had presumed Timmothy had been in school.

Time was ticking for the police, who immediately added the pair to the missing persons database. In doing so, other police forces in the country were notified to keep a lookout for the mother and son.

The database alert offered a basic description of the mother and son: Amy was 5 foot 10 and had brown hair and brown eyes, while Timmothy was 4 foot 2 and had dirty blonde/light brown hair and brown eyes.

The youngster wore shorts, a T-shirt, and some tennis shoes. He was last seen carrying his Spiderman backpack. Three agonizing days passed with no sightings until May 14, when Amy was finally found.

Her body was found in a hotel room; she had ended her own life. Beside her was a note promising that Timmothy would never be found.

The Road Trip

In the lead-up to the discovery of Amy’s body, she’d taken her son on a road trip – of sorts.

After taking him from school, she took Timmothy to his beloved Brookfield Zoo before taking him to a luxury hotel with its own water park. The next day, Amy checked the pair into another hotel, the Kalahari Resort.

This was three hours away from their hometown, and it would be where the mother and son would be last seen together. They were captured on CCTV as they waited to be given their room key, then again as they checked out the next day.

**One of the final sightings of Timmothy Pitzen captured on surveillance footage.**

Naturally, the Pitzen family and all of Timmothy’s relatives were desperate for the safe return of the pair. Amy hadn’t returned phone calls or messages, and the police were still struggling to find any leads to where the mother may have taken her child.

So, when Amy finally called select relatives on May 13 – none of which included her husband, James – it was a huge breath of relief for the family members.

Timmothy spoke to some of these family members and sounded his usual self by all accounts.

The only thing that perhaps concerned one relative was Timmothy complaining of hunger in the background of the call, but aside from that, the boy was in good spirits.

After checking in with her family, Amy threw the phone out of the car window and drove off, purposely disconnecting the one line of contact she had with those who cared about her.

Amy’s next sighting would be by herself in Winnebago, buying some pens, paper, and envelopes. She was then spotted buying some basic food supplies shortly thereafter before checking in to the Rockford Inn late in the evening of May 13.

Amy had always been just one step ahead of the police. They’d managed to trace her calls, which led them to Sterling, Illinois. But they’d also managed to track her credit card usage, which took them to Racine and Johnson Creek in Wisconsin.

All in all, there were hundreds of miles for investigators to trawl in search of clues, and time was not on their side. They were being pointed in numerous locations, and all the while, Amy was moving quickly. Where? They didn’t know.

By the time authorities caught up with the mother, it would be too late. A maid at the Rockford Inn opened Amy’s room door on May 14 to be greeted by Amy’s body.

Alongside the body was a note. In it, Amy explained how she regretted the mess she’d created but stressed that Timmothy was fine and in good hands. However, she also said that the boy would never be found.

Amy’s Final Words: Truth Or Red Herrings?

The note was chilling, but it at least left some hope that the boy was alive and well.

The next task would be locating him – surely Amy would have left some clues? Some paper trail or perhaps someone would come forward with some information about the boy’s whereabouts.

Any initial hope about quickly finding Timmothy slowly dampened as time passed. Nobody was coming forward with any information.

Whatever Amy had done, she’d done so covertly and neatly that she’d not dropped a single clue – not even a crumb. Investigators had hit a brick wall.

The only evidence officials had to examine was Amy’s car. It had remnants of dust, foliage, and other residue covering the underneath.

Some of this could help point investigators toward Timmothy, officials thought. The vehicle was fully examined, and any sediments on the car were tested.

Investigators were able to ascertain that the car had been, at some point, parked in a grassy area, likely near water.

They were also able to figure out there were oak and birch trees near this area. Still, these snippets of evidence weren’t enough to conclusively pinpoint that area.

However, authorities weren’t about to let the case go cold. They appealed to the public who lived around the areas where Amy and Timmothy had been seen.

**Age progression photo of Timmothy Pitzen.**

Officials asked people to check their properties, land, or outbuildings for possible evidence, such as children’s clothing or toys. Again, this turned up nothing.

Amy’s promise – that nobody would ever find Timmothy – seemed to be one she kept. Naturally, this led investigators and those close to the missing child to wonder if Amy had done something to her boy.

Foul Play Or A New Life?

Theories, conspiracies, and opinions about what happened to little Timmothy have been bandied around since his 2011 disappearance.

Upon inspection of Amy’s abandoned car, it was notably void of any of Timmothy’s belongings: his Spiderman backpack, toys, and even his child seat were missing.

This helped lean towards the theory that Amy had given her child to friends who would take care of him.

However, since Amy’s frame of mind wasn’t considered to have been stable at the time she took her son, it has to be considered that the mother may not have known the people she gave her little boy to.

It’s also been suggested that Amy perhaps falsified that her boy was in danger. In doing so, she found someone who would be willing to take the child to safety and give him a brand new life and identity.

Of course, there is another macabre theory that can’t be dismissed as a possibility: Amy may have tragically killed her son before ending her own life.

When investigators searched Amy’s car, they noticed a significant amount of Timmothy’s blood in there – more than you’d expect from a grazed knee or nasty fall.

However, family members have suggested that the blood was from a nosebleed weeks earlier. Amy’s family doesn’t accept the idea that the mother would ever harm her boy and is confident Timmothy is still out there, somewhere.

If Timmothy is still alive, he would be 19 as of 2024.

Although he was young when he disappeared, he still had six years of happy memories with his parents, which he would surely remember.

This leaves hope that, if he was given to a new family, he might remember enough about his biological family to reunite with them one day.

In a bid to help find a now-adult Timmothy, age progression images of what he could look like now are regularly released and updated.

Still, years passed, and nothing new came of the case until fresh hope surfaced in 2019.

A Twisted Prank

A desperate teenager, fleeing traffickers, was found walking the streets in Kentucky. The dazed boy claimed he was named Timmothy Pitzen, and he’d been held in a trafficking ring since his 2011 disappearance.

The Pitzen family and Timmothy’s relatives were all hopeful that their beloved Timmy had finally been found, but after a DNA test was carried out on the teenager, the sick truth came to light.

“Timmothy” was actually 24-year-old Brian Michael Rini, an ex-con who’d only just been released from prison.

In 2020, Rini pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated identity theft and was handed two years in prison.

Despite the disheartening turn of events, Timmothy’s family remains hopeful he’s alive and that one day, he’ll turn up. Speaking of his son, James says, “We have a lot of catching up to do. I just can’t wait until you come home.”

The case of Timmothy Pitzen is equal parts tragedy and hope, and until evidence comes to light to suggest otherwise, we can only wish that Amy’s note was truthful: that Timmothy was given to people who’d take good care of him.