12 Years After Vanishing, Timmothy Pitzen’s Father Reveals New Information

Horrible News The missing boy, Timothy Pitzen, was only six years of age when he disappeared on May 11, 2011. Just like any other day, James dropped him off at school and went to work. As soon as James heard his son hadn’t even been to school on the day he disappeared, he became frantic. A Happy Family Public Domain James and Amy Fry-Pritzen welcomed their only child, Timmothy, into the world on October 18, 2004. On the surface, the Pitzens appeared to be a normal family. In the weeks leading up to Timmothy’s disappearance, James and Amy had been fighting, even though they were happy together. Trouble In Paradise Public Domain The two would argue about everything and nothing at the same time. James was angry at Amy for taking a birthday trip to the Bahamas without him or Tim. It was her best friend who she took instead. But when James discovered other men’s text messages on Amy’s phone, things took an ugly turn. The couple almost divorced in 2008 as a result of this. He Gave Her A Choice Public Domain Amy had received an ultimatum from James at that time. Her choice was either to be with their family or to be with the other men. It was threatened that he would divorce her and take full custody of their son, Timmothy, from her. Amy did the unthinkable because of that threat. Opposites Attract Public Domain In the past, Amy had done things that were unsettling. James was well aware of the differences between the two when they met in Iowa in 2002. James was seen as just a regular guy who liked to fix up his Jeep and have a beer with friends, while Amy was outgoing and loved to party. They ended up pursuing a long-distance relationship in the end. She Had Some Problems Public Domain After learning that Amy had attempted suicide twice, James grew concerned about her depression. He received a phone call from a Cedar Rapids hospital when he hadn’t heard from her in a while. After speaking to Amy herself, he was reassured that she was “all better” and back on her medication. In Amy’s case, the problem was that she didn’t always take her medications, which led to his current situation. The Day It Happened Public Domain The situation James and his family were facing was unknown to him. After calling into work, he informed them of his late arrival. Arrangements were made for James to drive Tim to kindergarten and drop Amy off at work afterward. His drop-off at Greenman Elementary on Wednesday, May 11, 2011, would be just before 8 a.m. Amy would be in the passenger seat. The Last Time Public Domain Timmothy waved goodbye to his parents after jumping out of the Jeep. As he was making his way inside, James remembered his son saying, “Love you, Dad.”. “I also love you, son. I’ll see you in a bit.” He dropped Amy off at work. Their “I love yous” were exchanged, and James watched her enter the building. It was the last time he would see his family. Confusion Public Domain A little after 10:30 am, James hopped in his Jeep and drove to Greenman. The time had come to pick Tim up. After parking, he walked to the reception. He was met with a puzzled look by one of the teachers when he got to his desk. “Why are you here?” she inquired. Her question baffled James. Who Took Him? Public Domain James was startled when the teacher said, “he left this morning.” James’ heart began to pound. “What? Can I see who signed him out?” After hurriedly scanning the check-in and check-out register, James realized Amy had taken Timmothy. Frantic Call Public Domain “She claimed that there was an emergency,” said the teacher. James started frantically calling Amy on her phone, but when he got no answer, he became increasingly concerned. Concern turned to anger when he kept calling, and he still hadn’t heard back from her. He then left a voice message, “What’s up? Talk to me.” But she still did not call. Couldn’t Concentrate Public Domain Eventually, James ended up going back to work but couldn’t concentrate at all. He then decided to take the rest of the day off. He kept thinking about why she had taken Tim from school without notifying him. He was sure something was going on, and it probably was because he didn’t approve of her trip to the Bahamas, he thought. Not The First Time Public Domain He wasn’t entirely wrong. He remembered when Amy would get upset, and she would drive off for a few hours or longer. She’d go somewhere to clear her head. This seemed like one of those times, but what was unusual was that she chose to take Tim with her this time. James was running out of patience. Making More Calls Public Domain James managed to calm himself and decided to leave another message. “Hey, I’m not mad anymore. Just tell me what’s going on.” With his patience wearing thin and the hours ticking by, he decided to call Amy’s sister Kara. “Have you heard from her?” he asked. She hadn’t. “I’m sure it’s fine,” she told James, knowing all too well about Amy’s penchant for taking off when she felt overwhelmed. A Call For Help? Public Domain Kara’s mind flashed back to a call she had received from Amy only two days earlier. She seemed to still be upset about the argument she had had with James. But Kara was in a rush that day and didn’t have time to have a chat with her sister, who was clearly hurting and reaching out for help. Kara never realized that it would be the last time she would hear her sister’s voice. He Hadn’t Called The Police Yet Public Domain James had even resisted calling the police in the hopes that Amy would still get back to him. But when he looked at all the concerning elements around him, he eventually gave in. He discovered that Amy had not taken her pills with her and may not have been using them for several days. There were full bottles sitting in the bathroom cabinet, untouched. Calling The Police Public Domain James eventually called the Aurora Police Department that evening. He knew that it had now become a potentially dangerous case. “Well, we have to give her a little more time,” an officer told him. “Another 24 hours, to be exact.” James hated the wait, but he understood that maybe Amy and Tim just could be away for the day. Maybe they would be back by tomorrow. Filing The Missing Persons Report Public Domain The next day, James went to work as usual. He wanted to keep busy and not let his mind wander. Then two police officers showed up. “Ok, Mr. Pitzen, we’ll just take the missing persons report. Do you have a recent picture of the two of them?” James went home to get a picture from Chuck E. Cheese he had of them. “This is the best I can do.” The Wait Begins Public Domain “It’ll do, we’ll file this, and if something else happens, we’ll get back to you.” All James could do was wait. The police had filed the report and were now working on the case. He was worried sick. Especially about Timmothy. He just hoped and prayed that Amy would contact him soon and everything would go back to normal. A Breakthrough Public Domain Then, Friday afternoon, on May 13, there was a breakthrough. Amy finally reached out to her mother, who then called Kara. Kara recalled her mother telling her that “everything was fine. Amy was upset, and she just needed some time alone.” Kara breathed a sigh of relief. It sounded like Amy would finally be coming back home. Another Strange Call Public Domain But then Amy did something even more puzzling. Instead of calling James, she called his older brother Chuck. Concerned, Chuck immediately told Amy to rather call James as he was terribly worried about his son and had the right to know where his wife and child were. But Chuck had the fright of his life with Amy’s chilling reply to him. A Disturbing Reply Public Domain “Tim is my son, and I can do what I want.” His blood ran cold, and as soon as he hung up, he immediately called James. James frantically tried calling Amy again. He tried three times, but each time he was met with no response. He would later learn that she had attempted to call him at one point, but the call didn’t go through. A Knock At The Door Public Domain In the early afternoon of Saturday, May 14, there was a knock on James’ front door. When he opened it, there were two men in suits standing there with grim expressions on their faces. “Can we come in, please?” they said. “We’re detectives with the Aurora Police Department. We have some information regarding your wife.” Bad News Public Domain Thank God was all James could think of. They must’ve finally found Amy and Tim. He hurriedly ushered them in, eager to hear the details they had. “Mr. Pitzen, we found Amy deceased. James stared at the two detectives for a moment, trying to understand what he had just heard. He heard the words, but they just didn’t register. He Couldn’t Believe It Public Domain “What do you mean, deceased?” They went on to explain that Amy was found in a Rockford motel, dead of an apparent suicide. James was still trying to make sense of it all when the next thought popped into his head. “But where’s Tim? Where is my son? The detectives just looked at each other. Where’s Tim? Public Domain “We don’t know, sir. He wasn’t there. But we’re looking for him.” James stood there when he heard the news. His wife Amy was dead, and his son Tim was missing. How was this possible? How did it all come to this? “We will let you know more as soon as we can.” The detectives then handed him a card and left. Suicide Notes Public Domain In the hours that followed, James learned about the suicide notes that were left behind in the motel room. There was one addressed to her mother and another to her best friend, who went on the Bahamas trip with her. The contents of the note to her mother was the one that had the most details in it. Chilling Last Words Public Domain “I’ve taken him somewhere safe,” she wrote to her mom. “He will be well cared for, and he says that he loves you. Please know that there is nothing that you could have said or done that would have changed my mind.” Investigators pored over the notes for any clues and began reconstructing the last three days of Amy’s life. It was here that they were able to find out what had happened. Using cellphone data, surveillance video, and I-Pass records, detectives were able to piece together a 500-mile journey she took Tim on, covering six counties of Illinois and Wisconsin, with stops at two water parks and a zoo. Heartbroken Public Domain James was beside himself. He couldn’t believe that Amy would do such a thing. Where was Tim, and if she said he was in a safe place being taken care of, who had him? So many thoughts were going through his mind at this point. Looking at the surveillance footage and seeing Tim broke his heart. He was just going along with his mom, not knowing anything bad was going to happen and certainly not knowing he wasn’t going to see his dad again. The Aftermath Public Domain Now twelve years later, James Pitzen still has hope. He believes that his son Timmothy is alive somewhere and that someone has him. “There have been so many false leads and imposters out there, but I still hold onto the hope that he is alive.” He received another call from someone in Kentucky claiming to be Tim. He said he escaped from kidnappers in Ohio and ran across the bridge for help. The FBI announced that DNA tests showed the boy was not Timmothy. But James is not giving up. Speaking to his son, James added: “Timmothy, I love you. I miss you. I want us to be together. We have a lot of catching up to do. I just can’t wait ’til you come home.” Disclaimer: In order to protect the privacy of those depicted, some names, locations, and identifying characteristics have been changed and are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, are entirely coincidental. Source link