TIMMOTHY J PITZEN - 6 yo - Rockford IL

Aurora boy missing after mother found dead

Amy J. Fry-Pitzen (right) and her son Timothy

10:08 p.m. CDT, May 14, 2011

Aurora police are leading the search for a missing 6-year-old
boy whose mother was found dead today in a Rockford motel room from an
apparent suicide.

The mother, Amy J. Fry-Pitzen, 43, was
discovered dead by Rockford police this afternoon inside of a motel room
in the 3800 block of 11th Street in Rockford, with no signs of her son,
Timothy, Aurora police said in a news release.
Fry-Pitzen, of the 400 block of North Highland Avenue in Aurora, suffered slit wrists, authorities said.
The mom left a note saying that Timothy was fine and that she left him in
the care of unnamed individuals, authorities said. Aurora detectives are
working with other police departments in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa
hoping to gain new leads. Fry-Pitzen has several relatives and friends
in Iowa, police added.

After Fry-Pitzen's husband reported the
pair missing on Thursday, police discovered that Fry-Pitzen had checked
her son out of his school the previous morning.

After getting her son Wednesday, police said the pair stayed at the Key Lime Cove
Resort in Gurnee that night before heading to the Kalahari Resort in the
Wisconsin Dells on Thursday night. Fry-Pitzen was also seen at
Sullivan’s Foods in the 700 block of Elida Street in Winnebago, Ill., at
around 8 p.m. Friday.

Several of the woman's family members and
acquaintances spoke with her Friday. Fry-Pitzen told them that she and
her son were fine and not in danger. One relative spoke with the child,
who didn't sound as if he was in any distress, police said.

Timothy is described as a white, about 4-foot-2 inches tall, weighing about 70 pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes.

Anyone who may have seen Timothy in recent days is asked to call Aurora Police
at 630-256-5500, or their local authorities by dialing 911.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chibrknews-aurora-boy-missing-after-mother-found-dead-20110514,0,5866281.story?track=rss

Kiwi, this is very close to Annabeth.

How do they know someone didn't force her to write note!!

Seems odd that she didn't say where her son is.

I guess I'm overly suspicious but this smells hinky.

Boy missing after mom apparently commits suicide

Posted:
May 15, 2011 12:02 AM EDT

Updated:
May 15, 2011 12:02 AM EDT





ROCKFORD (WREX) -Aurora, Illinois Police want your help finding a missing six-year-old boy from Aurora whose 43-year-old mother. The mother was found dead earlier today after apparently committing suicide inside a Rockford motel room.

The missing boy is Timothy J. Pitzen. He is 4'2", weighs approximately 70 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes.

Amy J. Fry-Pitzen's husband, who is the boy's father, reported them missing shortly after 1:00 p.m., on Thursday, May 12. At around 2:00 Saturday afternoon, Aurora Police were contacted by Rockford authorities saying that Amy was found with slit wrists in
a motel room in the 3800 block of 11th Street in Rockford. Police found a note saying Timothy was fine and in the care of unnamed people.

Aurora Police have confirmed that Amy and Timothy stayed at the Key Lime Cove Resort in Gurnee, Illinois on Wednesday night; and the Kalahari Resort in the Wisconsin Dells on Thursday night. Amy was also seen at Sullivan's Foods in the 700 block of Elida Street in Winnebago, Illinois, at around 8:00 p.m., Friday.

Detectives are working with numerous jurisdictions in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa, in order to gain additional leads and information.

Anyone with information is asked to call Aurora Police at (630) 256-5500.


http://www.wrex.com/Global/story.asp?S=14647423

I sent Annabeth a PM about it when I first heard about it in case she missed it on the main blog

I would be interested to see the tox reports on the Mom.
It is feasible to stage a suicide and possibly she was coerced into writing that note. I agree. Seems she would have mentioned who had the boy, unless she's trying to hide him from the father. Another scenario: Dad offed both and this is his way of pointing the suspect floodlight away from him.

Annabeth wrote:Forgot to say that the places she stayed such as Key Lime Cove is really close to me, it is next to Six Flags in Gurnee. Then they went to the Dells over 3 hours away, that is weird. Then Mom ends up with slit wrists in a Rockford hotel....very fishy

Thanks for the info Annabeth. If a mother plans suicide, they often take their children with them too, but this is a very strange case. I hope she really has left Timothy with someone who he's safe with.

Aurora police continue search for missing boy

Timothy Pitzen, 6 of Aurora, is missing after his mother's apparent suicide. (Family photo / May 15, 2011)

As Aurora police today continued their search for a boy
missing after his mother's apparent suicide in a Rockford hotel room,
the boy's father waited, hoping for good news from authorities on his
son's whereabouts.

James Pitzen, 39, last saw his son Timothy Wednesday morning on his way
to kindergarten. Pitzen's wife, Amy Pitzen-Fry checked the boy out of
school about 8:30 a.m. that day, before going to Brookfield Zoo and to
the Key Lime Cove Water Park in Gurnee that night, police said.

She called relatives Friday afternoon to say that the two were not in
danger. That night she was seen at a Sullivan's Foods in Winnebago
before checking into a motel in Rockford about 11:15 p.m. without her
son, police said. The next day, motel workers found her body.

"She's never done anything like this before," James Pitzen said today, standing in a room filled with Timothy's toys.

Timothy was last seen about 10:10 a.m. Friday when Pitzen-Fry checked
out of the Kalahari Resort in the Wisconsin Dells. The mobile-phone
calls later that day were made from the Sterling area, about 80 miles
west of Aurora, police said.

Pitzen-Fry was a "wonderful" wife and mother, said Timothy's paternal
grandmother Linda Pitzen this afternoon outside the Pitzens' house.

"It's just terrible not knowing where he is or who he's with or what happened," she said.

Timothy is a warm, playful boy, always giggling and smiling, Linda
Pitzen said. "He is just happy-go-lucky, with a smile that just melts
you," she said.

On Friday Pitzen-Fry and the boy spoke with Timothy's uncle, Chuck
Pitzen. Pitzen-Fry said nothing to explain her actions, but Timothy
seemed fine, the family said.

"We couldn't figure out what happened when she just took off. Then we
got the call yesterday," Linda Pitzen said. "We just expected them to
come home."

Police from Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa are searching for the boy.
Timothy is 4-foot-2, weighs about 70 pounds and has brown hair and brown
eyes.

Anyone with information about Timothy's whereabouts was asked to call
Aurora police at 630-256-5500, or local authorities at 911.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chibrknews-aurora-police-continue-search-for-missing-boy-20110515,0,932565.story

That's the same thing Trent Duckett's mom said when she committed suicide. Many in LE believe Trent is alive, that she sent him to another country to get him away from his father.

I'm still not sure this is a suicide.

We had a man claim his GF committed suicide last week. He has been charged with murder.

Search Continues For Missing Aurora Boy


Updated: Sunday, 15 May 2011, 9:17 PM CDT
Published : Sunday, 15 May 2011, 9:16 PM CDT

Tisha Lewis, FOX Chicago News


Aurora, Il. - Investigators have expanded
their search efforts to include the Chicagoland while 6 year old Timothy
Pitzen’s father and grandmother have started a prayer chain, hoping to
hear good news. According to Pitzen’s grandmother, Linda Pitzen, “Please if anybody sees anything, please just call 911. We just want him home.” Linda
Pitzen's makes a plea for the safe return of her grandson, Timothy, who
was last seen Friday morning with his mother Amy Pitzen-Fry. Later Friday night, Pitzen-Fry was discovered dead and her 6 year old son has has disappeared. “Our
prayers and hopes to God and we pray that he'll be found… It's pretty
hard on all of us. We don't know anything,” said Pitzen. According
to Dan Ferrelli, a spokesperson with the Aurora Police Department,
“We're working with authorities in Rockford, we're working with
authorities in Iowa, she apparently had some connections to Iowa… and
also in the Chicagoland area too, trying to get the information out
there along with the boy's picture.” Family members say the mother checked her son out of school Wednesday morning. After
leaving Aurora the two stopped at Key Lime Cove Water Park in Gurnee
before heading to the Kalahari Resort in the Wisconsin Dells. The two checked out Friday morning, even making calls from the Sterling Rock Falls area. “At
that point and time everything seemed to be fine with the mother and
the child also talked to some friends and relatives, he seemed to be
fine,” said Ferrelli. But when mom showed up to the Rockford Motel later that night, police say she was alone. Her dead body was discovered by motel workers Saturday afternoon, along with a message. According to Ferrelli, “She did leave a note saying that the boy was fine and he was being cared for by some unnamed people.” Linda Pitzen describes a woman who would never harm her son. According
to Pitzen, “My daughter in law was a very wonderful mother, wonderful
wife, wonderful daughter-in-law, wonderful daughter, she's just a
wonderful woman and this is just tragic.”
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/aurora-police-continue-search-for-missing-boy-20110515

Search continues for missing Aurora boy

Updated at 07:12 PM today
Video
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8134066


Family members of a missing 6-year-old boy from Aurora remain hopeful that he will be found safe. Related Content

Story: Aurora police searching for missing 6-year-old boyPhotos:Police search for missing persons

Timothy Pitzen was last seen Friday in Wisconsin Dells with his mother,
Amy Fry-Pitzen, 43. Authorities found Fry-Pitzen's 2004 Ford Expedition
in the parking lot of the same Rockford motel where she committed
suicide on Saturday after she and her son had visited a Wisconsin Dells
water park. She left a note saying the boy was in the care of friends,
but she didn't say who he was with. Police have confirmed the boy's
child seat and a Spiderman backpack are both missing from the car his
mother was driving. The child's paternal grandfather tells ABC7 that the family believes Timothy is safe. "It's just been very strange. We have no idea where he is at. We believe he is alive," said Dan Pitzen, grandfather, of Ohio. When
asked if Fry-Pitzen and her husband had any problems in their marriage,
Dan Pitzen said, "there's normal things in marriages, but nothing that
was serious." Police are looking for the boy in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa. "She
may have had ssome friends, acquaintances, family in those different
areas," said Dan Ferrelli, Aurora police spokesperson. Timothy
and his mother lived in the 400 block of North Highland Avenue in Aurora
with the father. He reported them missing on Thursday. On Friday, Amy
Fry-Pitzen contacted family members and acquaintances saying she and
Timothy were fine and not in danger. In their investigation,
Aurora police have uncovered that Fry-Pitzen checked Timothy out of
school on Wednesday in the southwest suburb The two apparently visited
Brookfield Zoo on Wednesday and then checked in to Key Lime Cove Resort
in Gurnee. They were last seen in Wisconsin Dells. Detectives
also said that Amy checked herself into the Rockford Inn Friday night.
Before checking in, she went to a local grocery store in Winnebago and
was not seen with her son. "We do have her on video at about 8
o'clock Friday night inside that grocery store in Winnebago County.
Apparently Timothy is not with her," said Ferrelli. The missing
boy is 4 feet 2 inches tall, weighs 70 pounds and has brown hair and
brown eyes. Anyone who has any information on the case is asked to call
Aurora police at 630-256-5500 or 911.

New Details in Search for Missing Aurora Boy, Timothy Pitzen


Updated: Monday, 16 May 2011, 9:53 PM CDT
Published : Monday, 16 May 2011, 9:53 PM CDT

Sun-Times Media Wire


Aurora, Ill. - Police have released new
details that emerged Monday afternoon in their search for 6-year-old
Timothy Pitzen, the boy whose mother was found dead over the weekend at a
motel in Rockford, the victim of an apparent suicide. Authorities
have confirmed that Timothy’s child safety seat and Spider Man backpack
are both missing from the 2004 Ford Expedition SUV his mother was
driving, a release Monday night from Aurora police said. The discovery
came Monday when detectives were reviewing pictures of items left in the
vehicle with Timothy’s father at the time it was found in the parking
lot of the Rockford motel. Timothy’s mother, Amy Fry-Pitzen, killed
herself in a room at the same motel, the Rockford Inn, on Saturday. The
discovery could lend credence to a working theory detectives have that
Amy could have possibly dropped Timothy off with a friend or
acquaintance, the release said. In addition, detectives were able
to confirm through credit card receipts that Amy apparently purchased
some children’s clothes and toys from a Shopko store in the 4800 block
of Washington Avenue in Racine, Wisconsin on Friday morning about 11:15
a.m.; and some gasoline and beverages from a Qwik-Trip store located
just off I-94 in Johnson Creek, Wisconsin about 2:20 p.m., Friday. The
last time anyone saw Timothy is when he and his mother were checking
out of the Kalahari Resort in the Wisconsin Dells about 10:10 a.m.
Friday. Surveillance video from the resort shows Timothy to be
wearing shorts that are possibly blue in color and a brown t-shirt with
white socks. His shoes are not identifiable in the video. Timothy is 4-foot-2, weighs approximately 70 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes. Amy had left a note in the motel room indicating that the boy was fine and was in the care of unnamed persons. Even
with the new discovery police reiterate that they are working on
numerous theories and are continuing to try and cultivate leads in the
case. Authorities know that, based on cell phone records, between
approximately noon and 1:30 p.m. on Friday, Amy and Timothy were in the
Sterling/Rock Falls, Illinois area where Amy placed several calls to
family and friends. A relative talked with Timothy who told police that
he did not sound as though he was in danger. That conversation was the
last that anyone has had with the boy. Police know that Amy was
seen without Timothy at Sullivan’s Foods in the 700 block of Elida
Street in Winnebago Illinois about 8 pm. Friday; and when she checked
herself into the Rockford Inn, located in the 3800 block of 11th Street,
between 11:15 and 11:30 p.m. Friday. The food store and the motel are
about 20 minutes apart. Amy’s body was discovered at approximately 12:30
p.m. Saturday. Aurora Police are working with several
jurisdictions in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa including the Rockford,
Illinois Police Department and an ADAM Team from the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children. Anyone who believes they saw
either the boy, his mother, and/or anyone who may have been with them
--- or anyone who may have information on the case— is asked to call
Aurora Police at (630) 256-5500, or their local authorities by dialing
911.http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/tim-pitzen-timothy-amy-fry-missing-mom-killed-suicide-rockford-aurora-new-details-20110516

A week after his mom pulled him out of his
kindergarten class, dozens of police officers are now looking for the
6-year-old Aurora boy who has not been seen since his mother’s apparent
suicide.




On Tuesday, the FBI and U.S. Marshal’s Office
joined the hunt, increasing the already sizable team searching for
Timothy Pitzen. The new agents join a specialized missing child team
dispatched Monday and investigators from Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin.

Timothy was last seen with his mother, Amy
Fry-Pitzen, 43. She checked the boy out of Greenman Elementary School on
May 11, then took him on what appears to be a small, unannounced
vacation to Brookfield Zoo, Key Lime Cove Resort in Gurnee and Kalahari
Resort in Wisconsin. When they checked out of Kalahari, it was the last
time Amy and Timothy were seen together, police said.

Amy’s body was found in a Rockford motel room
Saturday afternoon. Police said she had slit her wrists and left a note
saying Timothy was safe and being cared for, without indicating where he
was. Police have tracked Amy’s phone calls and credit card receipts as
far as Racine Wis., Sterling, Ill., and Johnson Creek, Wis.

Police have considered that Amy, who had a history
of depression, might have given Timothy to someone with a false story
that the boy was in danger. That theory might have gained some traction
when police learned Monday night that Timothy’s car seat and Spider-Man
backpack were missing from Amy’s Ford Expedition.

Police and family members in Aurora have stressed
that the boy would be safe at home, where he has people who love him,
including his father, Jim Pitzen.

On Tuesday, the family was talking to as many
different media outlets as possible, trying to make sure Timothy’s
picture is spread as far as possible, while also making final
arrangements on Amy’s funeral. At the same time, police are trying to
narrow the area where Timothy might be.

Timothy lived with his mother and father in the 400
block of North Highland Avenue in Aurora. He is 4-foot-2, about 70
pounds, with brown hair and brown eyes. According to a surveillance
video, he was last seen wearing shorts, a brown T-shirt and white socks.

Anyone with any information is asked to call Aurora police at 630-256-5500, or local police by dialing 911.


http://beaconnews.suntimes.com/news/5418994-418/fbi-u.s.-marshal-join-hunt-for-missing-aurora-boy