Exclusive
BRING HIM HOME
Timmothy Pitzen’s childhood friend fears missing boy is at a religious commune and begs captors to let him go
In her cryptic suicide note, Timmothy's mom warned the boy would never be found
A FORMER classmate of Timmothy Pitzen believes the missing boy is still alive 13 years on from his puzzling disappearance and could be held captive at a remote religious commune.
Hannah Soukup befriended Timmothy at Greenman Elementary School in Aurora, Illinois, where the boy would ultimately vanish at age 6 in 2011.
11
11
11
Timmothy was led out of the school by his mom, Amy Fry-Pitzen, on the morning of May 11, 2011, under the guise of a family emergency.
In reality, there was no such crisis, and, instead, Amy took her son on a three-day road trip visiting waterparks and zoos while avoiding dozens of calls and messages from Timmothy's concerned father who was desperately trying to track them down.
The spontaneous excursion would serve as a final swan song of sorts for Amy.
She was found dead on May 14 at a motel in Rockford, Illinois, having slashed her wrists with a razor blade and consumed a fatal overdose of antihistamines, a medication often used for allergy relief.
Read More on Timmothy Pitzen
On a side table, she'd left behind a suicide note, providing a final twist at the end of her life story.
In it, she explained her decision to claim her own life to her loved ones and assured them there was nothing they could've done to change her mind.
Amy also cryptically claimed to have given Timmothy away to someone else who loves him and ominously warned the boy would never be found.
Indeed, no trace of Timmothy has been found since but his family continues to cling to the hope that he's still alive and out there somewhere, believing that Amy never would've harmed him.
Most read in The US Sun
Sharing their optimism is Soukup, who is also convinced her childhood friend is still alive.
"I truly believe he will be found," Soukup, now 19, told The U.S. Sun.
"One of my theories is, if he is found, then I think he's going to re-emerge by his own accord, I don't think it will be police or investigators who track him down."
Amber Alert for Eleia Maria Torres, 10 months, after mom found dead in New Mexico park alongside second murdered woman
Soukup believes Timmothy may be being held in a remote location with limited access to the internet or potentially in an isolated religious commune of sorts.
The key to finding precisely where lies in evidence gathered from beneath Amy's car, she says.
Years after Timmothy went missing, investigators analyzed pieces of weeds, grass, and dirt that were lodged beneath the vehicle's rear bumper.
Forensic analysis determined that Amy had stopped her car somewhere in northwest Illinois, likely near a body of water, before driving back to Rockford alone and claiming her own life in her hotel room.
Soukup believes advancements in technology will eventually help investigators pinpoint a more specific location as to where Amy went.
"Whatever Amy did, she did a good job of hiding him," said Soukup.
"I still think about Timmothy a lot and what happened to him, and with Amy, there were a lot of unexplained visits to certain places.
"I believe she dropped him off somewhere – I don't know if it was in a religious area, or something like that – but I think she dropped him off and gave him to people she knew would keep him safe and hidden.
"And I think she made it clear that either his identity had to be changed or that he had to stay away from the internet so he'd never know he was missing.
"I definitely think he's alive, but I definitely think he's somewhere that will be very difficult to find.
"It's really scary to think about where he might be now."
LASTING MEMORIES
Soukup's friendship with Pitzen was just beginning to blossom at the time of the boy's mysterious disappearance.
She and Timmothy were both enrolled in Greenman Elementary's "gifted program," meaning they'd often be paired together for reading, writing, and other academic exercises.
11
11
11
While Soukup said she was a quiet and reserved child, she remembers Timmothy being a very high-energy, personable, funny, and energetic boy who helped to draw her out of her shell.
One of her last and most vivid memories of Timmothy occurred around November 2010, just a few months before he was seen for the last time.
The two friends were handed Thanksgiving-themed treats by their teacher, Cheryl Broach, but they neglected to follow the teacher's instructions and opened and ate them before being permitted to do so.
As punishment, Soukup and Timmothy were banished to the quiet rug for a time-out.
The very shy Soukup was mortified after being reprimanded by Broach – but Timmothy was unfazed and seemingly carefree.
"I remember it because it was traumatizing at the time for me, but he was just so chill with it and he sat there with a big smile on his face while I was shaking," Soukup reflected.
"He was a very happy-go-lucky type and he just never let small things bother him. He just smiled at me and that immediately comforted me.
"Our friendship was really starting to grow at that point [...] but then all of a sudden he just wasn't around anymore."
WITHOUT A TRACE
Soukup doesn't remember the day Timmothy vanished but she does remember the aftermath of his disappearance and Mrs. Broach informing the class it was unlikely that he would be returning any time soon.
Timmothy was led out of the front doors of the school by Amy at 8:15 am on May 11, 2011, 45 minutes after his father had dropped him off.
It was very scary just not having him there all of a sudden, especially because it was the end of the year.
Hannah Soukup
Amy and Timmothy spent the day at Brookfield Zoo, around 30 miles from Aurora, before heading northbound to Key Lime Resort, a hotel and waterpark in Gurnee.
Then, on the morning of May 12, Amy took Timmothy to Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, where they checked into Kalahari Resort.
On the way to the resort, they made a series of stops to buy clothes, toys, gas, and a small arts and crafts kit.
Timmothy's dad, Jim Pitzen, reported his son missing in Aurora the same day.
On May 13, surveillance video captured the last known images of Timmothy and his mother together as they checked out of the Kalahari Resort.
The young boy is seen holding Amy's hand as they wait in line, still wearing the same Spider-Man backpack he'd worn to school two days before.
It remains a mystery where the pair headed next.
Data from Amy's cellphone revealed she'd driven for around 170 miles along the Rock River toward Sterling, a small rural town about 80 miles west of Aurora, before switching off the device for good.
Records from Amy's I-Pass data would later reveal that she made two prior trips to Sterling in February and March of 2011, puzzling family members who were never informed of the trips.
Amy had no known connections to the area.
Investigators believe Amy may have been scouting out a discreet location to hand Timmothy over to someone else or perhaps looking for a secluded spot to bury a body.
11
11
11
Where Amy spent the next several hours is still unknown.
She finally resurfaced at a supermarket in Winnebago, Illinois, at 8 pm, near Rockford, where she purchased a pen, paper, and envelopes – materials that would later be used to craft her parting message.
At 11:15 pm she checked into the Rockford Inn and was found dead in her room by a hotel maid the following afternoon, taking the secrets of Timmothy's whereabouts with her to the grave.
A FRIGHTENING REALIZATION
Back at Greenman Elementary, Timmothy's prolonged absence was being noticed among his classmates.
His class was just days away from the end of the school year and Soukup can remember growing concerned that something was wrong with him.
"It was very scary just not having him there all of a sudden, especially because it was the end of the year," she said.
"I remember we all just kind of assumed he was sick, so it was all very sudden, and because we were all so young we didn't really understand what was going on, even when Mrs. Broach briefly told us what happened in a sugar-coated way.
"I just remember being very, very confused that he wasn't there."
Soukup said Mrs. Broach, some days after Timmothy last attended class, sat everyone down and informed them that it was unlikely he'd be back before the end of the year.
Broach made no mention of the boy being missing but encouraged the class to bow their heads for him.
Soukup remembers later tying yellow ribbons around a tree with her Girl Scouts troop in front of a TV crew in honor of Timmothy, which is when it began to dawn on her that perhaps something more nefarious had happened to her friend.
She also remembered seeing missing posters of Timmothy in her local supermarket, but still, she was too young to understand the full gravity of the situation.
It wasn't until Soukup was 11 that her mom finally sat her down to inform her of the full ordeal.
Timmothy Pitzen's disapperance: A timeline
May 11, 2011: Timmothy's mom, Amy Fry-Pitzen, picked him up from school at Greenman Elementary in Aurora, Illinois, at around 8:15 pm, citing an unspecified family emergency.
The boy's dad, Jim Pitzen, appeared at the school to pick him up at the end of the day and was confused when he was told by administrators that Timmothy had been collected by Amy that morning.
Calls and texts to Amy's phone went unanswered and Jim began to panic.
In the meantime, Timmothy and his mom went to Brookfield Zoo and later headed to Key Lime Resort, a hotel and waterpark, in Gurnee.
May 12, 2011: Amy and Timmothy went to Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, and the pair checked into the Kalahari Resort, stopping to buy clothes and other items along the way.
Jim reported Timmothy missing to police in Aurora after failing to make contact with Amy for almost 24 hours.
Police did not issue an Amber Alert because Amy hadn't yet committed a crime and Timmothy wasn't suspected of being in any danger.
May 13, 2011: Amy and Timmothy are captured together on surveillance video for the last time, checking out of the Kalahari resort.
While driving toward Sterling, Amy made contact with various family members but not her husband. She assured them Timmothy was fine and nothing appeared odd in her behavior, those contacted would later tell the police. The boy was heard in the background of the call and on at least one occasion spoke on the line.
Amy then turned her cellphone off after driving 170 miles along the Rock River and her movements for the next several hours remain a total mystery 13 years on.
She finally re-emerged several hours later, alone, at a grocery store in Winnebago, Illinois, near Rockford at 8 pm, where she stopped to buy supplies that would be used to craft her cryptic suicide note.
May 14, 2011: Amy is found dead in a hotel room at the Rockford Inn by a maid just after 12:30 pm. She left behind a suicide note apologizing for the mess and warning that her son Timmothy was safe but would never be found.
The boy's beloved Spider-Man backpack was missing from the room, along with a handful of his belongings.
May 19, 2011: More than 70 volunteers begin searching for Timmothy in the Sterling and Rock Falls area but come up empty-handed.
June 14, 2011: Police conceded they have very little evidence to go on in their search for Timmothy and began examining dirt found beneath Amy's car.
Aug. 11, 2011: Police confirm a small amount of Timmothy's blood was found in Amy's SUV but state it could've been the result of a bloody nose.
Dec. 28, 2011: A sighting of Timmothy in a car was reported at a Denny's in North Aurora but the report turned out to be false.
Another tip earlier in the month also falsely claimed the boy had been spotted in Massachusetts.
Aurora police said they fielded dozens of possible sightings, all of which were false and most were easily dismissed.
April 3, 2019: A boy wandering the streets alone in Newport, Kentucky, claimed to a passerby he'd just escaped his two captors and he was Timmothy Pitzen who vanished from Illinois eight years earlier.
Police were called but the boy turned out to be a mentally ill hoaxer named Brian Rini who had recently watched a documentary about the case and decided to impersonate him.
Learning of Timmothy's case in full for the first time was a frightening and upsetting situation, she said.
"It was honestly very scary, especially because he went missing because of his mother, and attempting to process that as a child – I just couldn't fathom someone doing that," said Soukup.
"I remember thinking my mother would never do that, so how could [Amy] do something like that? It was unfathomable.
"But the entire time, and even now, I don't think he is dead. I definitely feel that he's alive."
'LET HIM GO'
Soukup said she regularly thinks about her old school friend and often finds herself scouring for news articles about Timmothy, hoping to discover a new break has been made in the case.
A student of journalism at the University of Northern Illinois, Soukup also penned a first-person story in The Elgin Observer last year, sharing her memories of Timmothy.
If he is found alive, Soukup said she looks forward to the prospect of a reunion and would jump at the chance to speak with him again.
In the meantime, she issued a plea to anyone who may be harboring him, urging them to release him into the care of his devastated family.
"My message would be to let him go because it's unfair to him to make him live a lie for the rest of his life because he likely doesn't even know who he is," said Soukup.
"It's so unfair that he was taken from the rest of his family because his mother had ulterior motives.
"And it breaks my heart that people would keep him and not let him know who he is or anybody he knew before, and keep him secluded away from the rest of the world.
"At the same time still, what really scares me is he could be out there leading a normal life with no idea who he is.
"He could be at college with a completely different name and think these people he was handed off to are his family.
"That's a really scary thought."
Read More on The US Sun
The Aurora Police Department has been contacted for comment.
Anyone with information about the case is urged to call Aurora PD at 1-630-256-5516.
If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text Crisis Text Line at 741741.
11
11