'Teen' who claimed to be long-lost missing boy actually a 23-year-old man

A man who told Kentucky police he was Timmothy Pitzen, an Illinois boy who went missing in 2011, is actually a 23-year-old man and not the long-lost child, the FBI said.

Pitzen went missing at the age of 6, after his mother, Amy Fry-Pitzen, pulled him out of school and took him on a trip to a zoo and a water park.

She took her own life soon afterwards in a motel room, leaving a note that local media said made the boy’s whereabouts a mystery.

Hopes were briefly raised on Wednesday (local time) when a man, who said he had escaped kidnappers, was Timmothy, however DNA tests have revealed that he actually Brian Rini of Medina in northeast Ohio.

Rini claimed that he had been held captive for seven years by two white men he described as “body-builder types,” until he escaped and ran across a bridge from Ohio into Kentucky.

A name and birthday that he gave to police matched Pitzen’s.

But FBI officials in Kentucky and Ohio said DNA tests conducted at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital showed that he was neither a teenager, nor Timmothy.

“A local investigation continues into this person’s true identity,” Louisville FBI Agent Tim Beam said in a statement.

“Law enforcement has not and will not forget Timmothy, and we hope to one day reunite him with his family,” the statement added.

“Unfortunately, that day will not be today.”

Police and the boy’s family say there have been other false sightings over the years.

Following news of a potential family reunion, a relative said they were not getting their hopes up given the disappointment of previous claims.

– with Reuters

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