The FBI says that DNA tests have been returned and show that the person who said he was a missing boy is not Timmothy Pitzen, who disappeared in 2011.
He is actually Brian Michael Rini, 23, from Medina, Ohio, according to Newport, Kentucky, police. Records show a man with that name was released from an Ohio state prison on March 7 after serving time for burglary and vandalism charges.
“Unfortunately, this child is not our beloved Timmothy. We know that you are out there somewhere, Tim, and we will never stop looking for you,” said Timmothy Pitzen’s aunt, Kara Jacobs. “It’s devastating. It’s like living that day all over again. And Timmothy’s father is devastated once again.”
According to a police report from the Sharonville, Ohio, Police Department, the man, who was found in Newport, Kentucky, on Wednesday told investigators that he had just escaped two men who held him hostage for years.
“He had bruises on his face. He looked real shaky, like he was hungry, he was unsure. I mean even a little noise, he was jumping. He was very uneasy out here, and that’s what made us wonder where he was,” said Fray Knight who saw him in Kentucky.
The man told investigators that he and his abductors were staying at a Red Roof Inn, but he could not provide the exact location of the hotel, the report states. The man said he was able to escape his captors, the report states, and was able to flee into the Kentucky area.
In the report, the man described the vehicle his abductors were driving as having Wisconsin license plates.
Timmothy was last seen on surveillance video at the Kalahari Resort with his mother in the Wisconsin Dells. She eventually was found dead in an apparent suicide in a Rockford hotel, but there’s been no sign of Timmothy since his disappearance.
The Aurora Police Department issued a statement Thursday saying, “As you likely now know, the FBI Cincinnati office has just released a statement indicating that the person in question located yesterday morning was not our missing person, Timmothy Pitzen.
“Any remaining investigation into who that person is, including any of the allegations made by that person at the time of his contact with authorities down there remains the purview of the local authorities in Ohio.
“Although we are disappointed that this turned out to be a hoax, we remain diligent in our search for Timmothy, as our missing person’s case remains unsolved,” Sgt. Bill Rowley said.
The FBI said it will continue to support this investigation in any way possible. Anyone with genuine information about the case is asked to call the Aurora Police Department at 630-256-5000 or the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800-843-5678.
