An individual claiming to be Timmothy Pitzen does not match the missing Illinois boy’s DNA, authorities confirmed Thursday.
After a man appeared in Newport, Kentucky, Wednesday claiming to be Pitzen, authorities investigated the claim. Pitzen went missing eight years ago.
“DNA results have been returned, and the person in question is not Timmothy Pitzen,” FBI spokesman Timothy Beam said, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
FBILouisville, @FBICincinnati, @AuroraPoliceIL, Newport PD, @CincyPD, and HCSO have been conducting a missing person investigation. DNA results have been returned indicating the person in question is not Timmothy Pitzen.
— FBI Louisville (@FBILouisville) April 4, 2019
Prior to the FBI’s finding, Newport resident Sharon Hall told CNN she noticed a “fidgety” boy wandering around and a neighbor’s daughter called the police. The person told her he had been running for about two hours, CNN reported. He also had bruises and scrapes on his face, according to witnesses.
He told police he was 14 and that he’d escaped from a Red Roof Inn from kidnappers who had held him captive for seven years, according to a police report.
“It could be Pitzen,” an Aurora, Illinois, Police Department spokesman, Sgt. Bill Rowley, said before the DNA results came out. “It could be a hoax,” he added, The New York Times reported.
Police identified the man claiming to be Pitzen as 23-year-old Brian Michael Rini, according to NBC News.
WATCH:
Amy Fry-Pitzen was seen in 2011 taking her 6-year-old son out of his elementary school in Aurora and at a water park. Soon after, her body was found in a motel room with an alleged suicide note that said her boy was in loving hands. “You will never find him,” the note also said, The NYT reported. (RELATED: Remains Of Child Found At New Mexico ‘Jihadi’ Compound Are Confirmed To Be Missing Boy From Georgia)
Pitzen was last seen at the water park in Wisconsin, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The boy’s family has searched for him for years to no avail, according to CNN.
APD continues to lead the investigation into the Timmothy’s disappearance. The FBI will support this investigation in any way possible. Anyone with genuine information about the case is asked to call the APD at 630-256-5000 or the NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).
— FBI Louisville (@FBILouisville) April 4, 2019
A local investigation is ongoing.
This post was updated with new information from authorities.
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