A year after a 6-year-old Aurora
boy disappeared with his mother, police have released new surveillance video and
renewed their appeal for people in a large swath of northwestern Illinois to be
on the look-out for any missing items "that may help pinpoint what happened to
the boy."
Amy Fry-Pitzen took her son Timmothy from his kindergarten class at an Aurora school. Three days later, Fry-Pitzen's body was found at a Rockford motel. She had committed suicide and Timmothy was missing. In a note, Fry-Pitzen said her boy was safe but she didn't elaborate.
Timmothy was seen last with his mother leaving a Wisconsin Dells water park on May 13. Later that night, Fry-Pitzen checked into a Rockford motel alone. Employees found her body the next day after she killed herself with a knife, authorities said.
The last time anyone heard from Timmothy was during the day on May 13 when he talked to a relative on his mother’s cell phone as the pair were traveling about five miles west of Sterling, police said. Officers used bloodhounds, all-terrain vehicles and planes to search the area around Sterling, about 100 miles west of Chicago, but found nothing.
Police say a year later, they have no idea what happened to the boy. And they believe any clues -- a missing backpack and toys among them -- may be lying undiscovered somewhere in a six-county area where the mother apparently stopped during her trip with the boy.
An analysis of plants and mud on Fry-Pitzen's SUV indicates it was stopped for a while on a wide gravel shoulder or road near an asphalt secondary road, and backed into a grassy meadow or field to a spot that was nearly treeless and may be close to a pond or stream.
Police said the meadow is most likely somewhere in Lee and Whiteside counties but "areas in Carroll, Ogle, Stephenson, and Winnebago counties cannot be ruled out."
Authorities are asking residents in those areas, as well as hikers and bikers and boaters in various state parks, to look for items of the boy's that are still missing.
They include: Timmothy’s Spider Man backpack, several toys and a tube of toothpaste his mother bought for Timmothy before he disappeared, Fry-Pitzen's cell phone and am I-Pass device.
Pictures of several of the items are posted on Aurora's website at www.aurora-il.org under the “police department” tab on the left side of the homepage and then the “Timmothy Pitzen” tab from a pull-down menu. Aurora Police have also posted the photos on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/aurorapolice.
Police also marked the one-year anniversary of the disappearance by releasing five clips of Fry-Pitzen and Timmothy taken from surveillance cameras. They include four clips taken at the Key Lime Cove Resort in Gurnee on May 12 and one taken the next day at the Kalahari Resort in the Wisconsin Dells.
"While investigators continue to pursue any and all information that may come in, they still have no leads into Timmothy’s whereabouts, including whether they boy is still alive or if he met with foul play," police said in a statement.
Police noted that Timmothy would now be 7. When he went missing, he was about 4-foot-2 and weighed around 70 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information is asked to call Aurora Police at (630) 256-5500.
Aurora Area Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information. The phone number is (630) 892-1000.
Amy Fry-Pitzen took her son Timmothy from his kindergarten class at an Aurora school. Three days later, Fry-Pitzen's body was found at a Rockford motel. She had committed suicide and Timmothy was missing. In a note, Fry-Pitzen said her boy was safe but she didn't elaborate.
Timmothy was seen last with his mother leaving a Wisconsin Dells water park on May 13. Later that night, Fry-Pitzen checked into a Rockford motel alone. Employees found her body the next day after she killed herself with a knife, authorities said.
The last time anyone heard from Timmothy was during the day on May 13 when he talked to a relative on his mother’s cell phone as the pair were traveling about five miles west of Sterling, police said. Officers used bloodhounds, all-terrain vehicles and planes to search the area around Sterling, about 100 miles west of Chicago, but found nothing.
Police say a year later, they have no idea what happened to the boy. And they believe any clues -- a missing backpack and toys among them -- may be lying undiscovered somewhere in a six-county area where the mother apparently stopped during her trip with the boy.
An analysis of plants and mud on Fry-Pitzen's SUV indicates it was stopped for a while on a wide gravel shoulder or road near an asphalt secondary road, and backed into a grassy meadow or field to a spot that was nearly treeless and may be close to a pond or stream.
Police said the meadow is most likely somewhere in Lee and Whiteside counties but "areas in Carroll, Ogle, Stephenson, and Winnebago counties cannot be ruled out."
Authorities are asking residents in those areas, as well as hikers and bikers and boaters in various state parks, to look for items of the boy's that are still missing.
They include: Timmothy’s Spider Man backpack, several toys and a tube of toothpaste his mother bought for Timmothy before he disappeared, Fry-Pitzen's cell phone and am I-Pass device.
Pictures of several of the items are posted on Aurora's website at www.aurora-il.org under the “police department” tab on the left side of the homepage and then the “Timmothy Pitzen” tab from a pull-down menu. Aurora Police have also posted the photos on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/aurorapolice.
Police also marked the one-year anniversary of the disappearance by releasing five clips of Fry-Pitzen and Timmothy taken from surveillance cameras. They include four clips taken at the Key Lime Cove Resort in Gurnee on May 12 and one taken the next day at the Kalahari Resort in the Wisconsin Dells.
"While investigators continue to pursue any and all information that may come in, they still have no leads into Timmothy’s whereabouts, including whether they boy is still alive or if he met with foul play," police said in a statement.
Police noted that Timmothy would now be 7. When he went missing, he was about 4-foot-2 and weighed around 70 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information is asked to call Aurora Police at (630) 256-5500.
Aurora Area Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information. The phone number is (630) 892-1000.
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