The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released Tuesday a new age-progression photo of Timmothy Pitzen, the Aurora, Illinois child who disappeared in Wisconsin Dells a decade ago.
May 11 marks ten years since six-year-old Pitzen disappeared at the Kalahari Resort in the Dells.
Authorities say his mother, Amy Pitzen, unexpectedly picked him up from school. The next day, after no replies to repeated phone calls, Timmothy’s father reported his wife and son missing.
Three days later, Amy was found deceased in a motel in Rockford, Illinois. There was no sign of Timmothy there.
Authorities say Amy committed suicide and left behind a note indicating that Timmothy would be well taken care of.
On Tuesday, the NCMEC released the age-progression photo of what Timmothy Pitzen might look like today. They hope the release will aid the public in finding the missing boy.
“Our investigation remains active and we’re committed to finding answers for the Pitzen family,” said Chief Kristen Ziman of the Aurora Police Department in a statement Monday. “We hope this new image created by NCMEC forensic artists will allow someone to recognize what Timmothy might look like today and help us find him.”
NCMEC says it will also publish a blog with a short letter from Timmothy’s cousin.
“It’s hard to believe that we have been searching for Timmothy for ten long years now,” said Timmothy’s father, Jim Pitzen, in that statement. “We believe he is out there and we hope every day that he will make his way home.”
“We know that our age progression photos help bring home missing children,” said Angeline Hartmann, Director of Communications at NCMEC. “Because Timmothy has been missing since 2011, it can be tough to look at this image and realize that little Timmothy is now 16 years old. But this is the face that we ask everybody to look at closely, because we know that it’s one way he can be found.”
Anyone who may have information is asked to call The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or the Aurora Police Department’s Timmothy Pitzen Tip Line at (630) 256-5516.
