Police trying to determine if teen found in Newport is boy abducted in 2011
NEWPORT, Ky. (WKRC) - Newport Police are investigating after a teen told police he was abducted seven years ago and that his name is Timmothy Pitzen. Now, several law enforcement agencies are trying to determine if he is Pitzen, a boy who went missing from Aurora, Illinois, in 2011.
The boy was found Wednesday morning near W. Eighth and Columbia streets in Newport. At first, neighbors thought he was up to something. Sharon Hall snapped a picture of the boy around 7:30 a.m. because he was standing near her neighbor's SUV. Minutes later, another neighbor called police.
"When he talked to the girls, he said that he was tired and he's been passed around and he's lost and that he's from Aurora, Illinois," Hall said.
"It's like he wanted help. He did, but he didn't know who to trust to get that help; that's how he looked," said Fray Knight.
Knight said the boy looked scared and lost, and when he took off his hoodie, he was covered in bruises.
"[Part of his face] was red...like he'd been punched," said Knight. "He didn't look well-kept. His hair wasn't combed or anything. To me, he looked hungry. Like me and [Hall] said, if we had known that, we would've brought him in the house and fed him."
But witnesses said the boy wouldn't go near anyone for more than a moment until police took him away, leaving those in the neighborhood wondering what happened to him and how he got to Columbia Street.
"Seven years is a long time; it's a long time, and I hope and pray that he gets some help, and anything that this neighborhood can do, we'll do it for him. I know; I know Newport people are good, and we would do something for him," said Hall.
The boy was taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital to be evaluated.
A Sharonville Police report describes two of the boy's possible kidnappers. This comes after Campbell County Dispatch made a call to Sharonville advising them they found the boy. Sharonville Police Department was initially contacted because there is a Red Roof Inn in the neighborhood on E. Sharon Road, and the boy said he had last been staying at a Red Roof Inn, but he didn't know where it was or how long he had been staying there.
The boy told authorities his kidnappers were two white males who looked like body-builders. One suspect is described as having black, curly hair and had a Mountain Dew t-shirt and jeans on and has a spiderweb tattoo on his neck. The other is described as short in stature with a snake tattoo on his arm.
The suspects' vehicle is described as a newer model white Ford SUV with unknown Wisconsin plates, a second row, yellow transfer paint and a dent on the left back bumper. Several police agencies have checked out various Red Roof Inns in the area, but nothing was found.
Pitzen disappeared in 2011 after his mother, Amy Fry-Pitzen, took him out of school to go on a three-day trip to a zoo and water parks. She then committed suicide. According to the Chicago Tribune, Fry-Pitzen left behind a note that stated her son was safe but would never be found. He was 6 years old at the time and would be about 14 years old now.
The FBI is also involved. A statement says its agents are working with Newport Police and Hamilton County Sheriff's detectives, as well as police in Aurora, Illinois.
WBBM TV has confirmed with Aurora Police that detectives are in the Tri-State to determine if the teen is Pitzen. They'll meet with the FBI. The Aurora Police Department said it has had thousands of tips over the years and each one must be vetted.
Pitzen's grandmother, Alana Anderson, said Wednesday, "Don't want to say anything until I know for sure. I just don't want to comment until I know for sure. Praying it's him and he's OK."
Pitzen's aunt, Kara Jacobs, spoke to WBBM Wednesday and said the family was asked not to come to Cincinnati until authorities have verified the boy is Pitzen. Jacobs said they are running DNA tests and that they do have DNA samples from Pitzen already, so they'll be able to 100 percent confirm if the boy is him or not. She said those results should be in by Thursday afternoon.
"It’s still difficult to grasp the reality of it," said Jacobs. "We always felt very strongly that Tim was alive. Regardless of what anyone said, I knew he was alive. Where he was or who he was with was just too difficult to think about or imagine or try and figure out...We hope it’s true."
