Home Current DNA test dashes the hopes of  Timmothy Pitzen’s family after boy claimed...

DNA test dashes the hopes of  Timmothy Pitzen’s family after boy claimed to be their son

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DNA test dashes the hopes of  Timmothy Pitzen's family after boy claimed to be their sonThe family of a boy who vanished at the age of six in 2011 had their hopes dashed last night when it emerged a teenager, who claimed to be the missing child, was not telling the truth. The youth claimed to be Timmothy Pitzen, whose disappearance from Aurora, Illinois, became a high-profile case. But the FBI said DNA tests showed he was not. An FBI spokesman said: “DNA results have been returned indicating the person in question is not Timmothy Pitzen. A local investigation continues into this person’s true identity.” He added: “To be clear, law enforcement has not, and will not, forget Timmothy, and we hope to one day reunite him with his family. Unfortunately, that day will not be today.” According to a police report, the teenage boy said he had been held captive by two “bodybuilder-type” men for years and escaped from a hotel where they were staying, running across a bridge as he fled. The boy, wearing a red hooded top and green jacket, was found standing next to a road junction in Sharonville, a suburb of Cincinnati, 300 miles from Aurora, Illinois. Witnesses said he had bruises on his face and seemed “very scared and agitated”. Police were called and he identified himself as Timmothy Pitzen. A missing poster for Timmothy Pitzen Credit: AFP There have been several reported sightings of Timmothy, who would now be 14, over the years. Police and his family had treated this latest development with caution. Before the results of the DNA test, Alana Anderson, his grandmother, said: “I’m praying it’s him and he’s OK. There have been so many tips and sightings and whatnot, and you try not to panic or be overly excited.  “Every day you hope, and every day you worry. “We never forgot, never stopped thinking about him every day, stayed in touch with the police. It just went cold, and I just prayed that when he was old enough that he would remember us and contact us.” Timmothy vanished in May 2011 after his mother picked him up at school and took him on a three-day road trip, which included going to a zoo and a water park.  Amy Fry-Pitzen, 43, then took her own life at a hotel, leaving a note saying that her son was safe but would never be found. The mother wrote: “Tim is somewhere safe with people who love him and will care for him. You will never find him.” Relatives said she had battled depression and was having problems with her fourth marriage when she took her own life.  No trace of the boy, including the Spider-Man backpack he had with him when last seen, was ever found. Timmothy with his mother The boy claiming to be Timmothy told police the two men holding him had driven a white Ford SUV with Wisconsin licence plates and a dent on the back bumper, and were staying at a budget Red Roof Inn hotel when he escaped. The police report said: “Timmothy described the two kidnappers as two male, whites, bodybuilder type build. “One had black curly hair, Mountain Dew shirt and jeans and has a spider web tattoo on his neck. The other was short in stature and had a snake tattoo on his arms.” Police said the boy was taken to hospital but did not give any details of his condition. The FBI and local police forces searched hotels, including Red Roof Inns, for the men. The long search for Timmothy has included police releasing computer-generated images of what he would look like at ages nine and 13. Among the unconfirmed sightings was one in 2014 when a woman in Rockton, Illinois contacted police after seeing a boy who looked like Timmothy at her garage sale. Sign up for your essential, twice-daily briefing from The Telegraph with our free Front Page newsletter.