Timmothy's mother was found dead in a motel with self-inflicted wounds, three days after the two of them went missing.
Trigger warning: contains details that may be distressing to some.
When Jim Pitzen dropped his 6-year-old son, Timmothy, at the Greenman Elementary School in Aurora, Illinois on May 11, 2011, it was an ordinary day, at least for him. As he watched his son run towards his kindergarten school teacher with his swinging Spider-Man backpack, little did Jim realize it would be the last time he would see his son. “I told him I loved him and to be good. And then he was gone,” recalled Jim.
According to People, within half an hour, little Timmothy's mother Amy Pitzen arrived at the school and picked up her son, citing some family emergency. The next few days that Timothy spent with Amy must've been the best experience for him as he went to the zoo and then two days at an indoor water-park resort. What he did not know was that his father had no idea where his son and his wife were.
HLN Special Examines Case of Timmothy Pitzen, Missing Boy Whose Mom Wrote Taunting Suicide Note https://t.co/jnhhHtplle
— People (@people) December 4, 2020
Even though Amy didn't tell Jim about her and their son's whereabouts, she did call the police and Jim's brother once in a while to tell them that they were safe. However, she refused to tell them their exact location.
Then on May 14, 2011, the employee of Rockford Inn motel found Amy's dead body in a room, just three days after she went missing with Timmothy, as per People. She had taken a fatal dose of drugs and had self-inflicted wounds on her arms and neck. Timmothy, however, was nowhere to be found, but Amy left behind a note.
In the suicide note, she said that Timmothy was in "safe" hands with people who loved him and would take care of him. There was also one little detail that sent chills down everyone's spine, she wrote, "You will never find him." On an episode of Real Life Nightmare, Jim said, "They read the note to me. She said Timmothy was with somebody who loves him and will take care of him — and that we'll never find him."
Sunday night at 10 ET/PT on HLN: Six-year-old Timmothy Pitzen vanishes after a 3-day trip to waterparks and the zoo with his mom. In a terrifying twist, his mom is found dead in a motel room with a disturbing note by her side: https://t.co/yWXYYrH6mX. #RealLIfeNightmare pic.twitter.com/R8MqyoDzpX
— HLN (@HLNTV) December 1, 2020
After the discovery of Amy's body, a priority search was conducted to find Timmothy. Even though nine years have passed since and there's no clue of where little Timmothy is (who would be 15 years old now if still alive), Jim and the rest of the family are still optimistic about finding their little boy. The distressed father doesn't believe that Amy would've harmed the little boy as he previously told People, "She loved that little guy so much. I can’t see her killing him. I just can’t."
Amy and Timmothy were seen in the surveillance footage roaming around and holding hands. The little boy seemed happy as well in the videos, Jim revealed while talking to Cincinnati.com. According to the reports by CNN, before the tragic incident, Amy had a history of mental health problems. She had also talked about divorcing Jim.
While talking to Crime Watch Daily back in 2017, Jim expressed hope of finding Timmothy. "Every day I get up and check my phone and wait for the detectives to say ‘Hey, we found Timmothy here.’ It’s going to be a glorious day when he comes home. Just can’t wait. It’s going to be happy. I’m going to cry a lot. I’m going to cry a lot when he comes home," reported FOX18.
Help find Timmothy Pitzen
— Bernice Man (@BerniceYMan) December 7, 2020
More info on the case now on HLN https://t.co/A2uZDcYm0Y
If you have any information about any missing children you can pass it on to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE LOST.
References:
https://people.com/crime/timmothy-pitzen-hln-special-examines-case-missing-boy/
https://edition.cnn.com/2015/08/28/us/the-hunt-timmothy-pitzen/index.html
https://www.fox19.com/2019/04/04/father-missing-boy-timmothy-pitzen-once-said-he-knows-hes-alive/