Crime & Safety

Where Is Timmothy Pitzen? Aurora Boy Vanished 6 Years Ago

After his mother's suicide, investigators are still searching for answers in the 6-year-old's disappearance.

Timmothy Pitzen in 2011 (left) and in an age-progressed image showing what he might look like at age 10.
Timmothy Pitzen in 2011 (left) and in an age-progressed image showing what he might look like at age 10. (Aurora Police Department)

AURORA, IL — It's now been six years, and still no answer: Where is Timmothy Pitzen? The Aurora boy, then 6 years old, was last seen on May 12, 2011, with his mother, Amy Fry-Pitzen. Days later, Fry-Pitzen would be found dead, having committed suicide in a Rockford motel room — leaving no trace of what became of her son. Since then, investigators have worked to piece together what happened after Fry-Pitzen pulled Timmothy out of class at Greenman Elementary School on Aurora's West Side on the morning of May 11, 2011.

Police at the time said the mother and son spent an afternoon at the Brookfield Zoo before checking into Key Lime Cove in Gurnee, then headed to the Kalahari Resort in the Wisconsin Dells. They pair were last seen together on surveillance camera footage leaving the resort.

In 2011, police said Amy Fry-Pitzen and husband Jim Pitzen were married and living together but “there were signs of marital strife" and her departure wasn't unusual, according to the Rockford Register Star.

Find out what's happening in Forest Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

SIGN UP: Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest Aurora news — or subscribe to your Patch. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.

Based on Fry-Pitzen's cell phone records, police believe she and Timmothy were in the Sterling area between noon and 1:30 p.m. on Friday, May 13, two days after Timmothy was pulled out of school. The mother made several phone calls to friends and relatives indicating that she and Timmothy were OK, and a relative was able to speak to the boy on the phone at around 1:30 p.m., according to police.

Find out what's happening in Forest Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Fry-Pitzen was seen alone around 8 p.m. on May 13 at a grocery store in Winnebago, and Timmothy wasn't with her when she checked into the Rockford Inn at around 11:30 p.m. that night, the Register Star reported.

Her body was found at around 12:30 p.m. the next day, dead of an apparent suicide with slashes to her wrists and neck. Her vehicle, a 2004 Ford Expedition, was in the motel parking lot.

Fry-Pitzen left behind a suicide note saying Timmothy was safe with someone who would take care of him, adding, "You will never find him."

Since 2011, leads on the boy's whereabouts have turned up little. In 2014, on the same day an age-progressed photo of Timmothy was released, a Winnebago County woman claimed to have seen him at a garage sale, according to NBC Chicago. That lead didn't pan out, nor did a 2015 tip that a child living in Orlando, Florida, looked just like little Timmothy.

On Friday, the Aurora Police Department posted another plea for information on Timmothy's whereabouts.

"It was six years ago today that Timmothy Pitzen was last seen," police said, adding that the boy may go by the nicknames Tim or Timmy. "We continue to seek information on his case. If you know anything please call 911 or 1-800-"THE LOST" (800-843-5678)."

By now, Timmothy would be a sixth-grader. On the fifth anniversary of his disappearance, paternal grandmother Linda told the Chicago Tribune that she still hoped for answers. "I feel it's not long when he will be showing up," she said in 2016.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.