Family and friends of Missing Illinois boy Timmothy Pitzen believe he is alive in a religious community with no access to the outside world, or the internet and possibly unaware of who he is.
Linda Pitzen, the boy’s paternal grandmother, has come up with the theory that her daughter-in-law, Amy Fry-Pitzen, 43, gave Timmothy away to Mormons in May 2011 — just days before killing herself, leaving only a short, cryptic suicide not behind.
In the note, Fry-Pitzen reassured her family that Timmothy was safe and had been placed in the care of others who “love” him, but warned them that he would never be found.
Linda Pitzen, after “torturing” herself trying to decipher the note, along with her family, is convinced her grandson is still alive.
“I think she wanted Timm to be raised Mormon,” Linda Pitzen told the US Sun. “The rest of us aren’t Mormon and I think this was her way of making sure he was after she’d gone.”
“She never pushed it on anyone apart from Jim. But he was reluctant and I think her church may have been pushing her a little, I don’t know.
“But she went to a Mormon church. She wasn’t raised that way, she was a convert – and that was before Jim had met her.”
On May 11, 2011, Amy Fry-Pitzen took her then 6-year-old son out of school early in Aurora, Ill., telling the staff there was a family emergency.
After she cut off communication with her family for 48 hours, Amy talked to her mom and her husband Jim’s brother on May 13, informing them they’d be home soon.
The young boy was heard in the background making noises and was put on the phone at one point.
After the phone call, Amy turned her phone off, with its last location pinging in the small town of Sterling, 80 miles west of Aurora.
Amy was found dead on May 14 in Rockford, Ill. motel room.
Her death was ruled a suicide by overdose of prescription medication and deep razor cuts to her wrists.
Timmothy was never found.
Hannah Soukup, the boy’s former classmate, suspected Timmothy was given to people his mother instructed to keep away from the world.
“I believe she dropped him off somewhere – I don’t know if it was in a religious area, or something like that – but I think she dropped him off and gave him to people she knew would keep him safe and hidden,” Soukoup told the outlet on the 13th anniversary since he disappeared.
“Whatever Amy did, she did a good job of hiding him,” Soukup added. “I think she made it clear that either his identity had to be changed or that he had to stay away from the internet so he’d never know he was missing.”
Linda Pitzen agrees with Soukup’s theory, claiming Amy possibly gave her son to a commune.
“I read that suicide note, and if you read that note and you know her, I would guess she probably gave somebody to live in a compound,” she said. “I have to hope that’s true because it’d be a lot better option for me to deal with, as opposed to what the other options are.”
Timmothy’s former classmate also maintains the hope that he is still alive, and if he were to reappear, it wouldn’t be because of anyone looking for him.
“One of my theories is, if he is found, then I think he’s going to re-emerge by his own accord, I don’t think it will be police or investigators who track him down,” Soukup said.
As Timmothy’s family continues to wish for his return, they are also hoping new technology can also play a key role in figuring out the mysterious disappearance.
Investigators found dirt and grass underneath Amy’s car which they analyzed and determined were from northern Illinois in a location suspected to have been visited by the mother before she drove off alone and killed herself.
Soukup thinks advancements in technology can pinpoint the location it came from potentially helping figure out where Amy went before her death, and where Timmothy is.
