Timmothy Pitzen's Family Asks for Prayers After Man Claiming To Be Missing Boy Was a Hoax
People all over the country were shocked when a DNA test confirmed that the person who said that he was Timmothy Pitzen earlier this week was not who he claimed to be.
On April 3, 2019, residents reported a teen nervously wandering their Ohio neighborhood. When he finally approached a vehicle, he asked for help, said that he had been kidnapped and that he just wanted to get home.
When law enforcement officers arrived on the scene, they asked the young male his name to which he quickly replied, “Timmothy Pitzen,” a 6-year-old boy in Illinois who had gone missing in 2011.
The person found in Ohio said that he had escaped his kidnappers from a nearby Red Roof Inn and that he had been passed around in between multiple people for years.
Investigators took him to the hospital for assessment and treatment while the FBI also conducted a DNA test to test his identity.
On April 4th, the DNA results came back showing that his claims were actually not true.
A local investigation continues into this person’s true identity. To be clear, law enforcement has not and will not forget Timmothy, and we hope to one day reunite him with his family. Unfortunately, that day will not be today.
— FBI Louisville (@FBILouisville) April 4, 2019
As they ran more tests, investigators discovered that the “teenage boy” was actually 23-year-old Brian Rini.
While Rini does have a criminal past, including past charges of falsification, investigators are not sure of his motives yet.
Herb Stapleton, of FBI Cincinnati, said during a press conference on Friday, “Clearly, false reports like this one can be painful to the families of missing children and they also divert valuable law enforcement resources in order to investigate untruthful claims.”
Investigators also revealed that Rini will be facing criminal charges for his false claims.
#Breaking: Statement by FBI Cincinnati regarding charges in case of man claiming to be missing Aurora IL teen. Brian M. Rini has been charged by the #FBI with making false statements to a federal agent. pic.twitter.com/8MIWKGqK80
— FBI Cincinnati (@FBICincinnati) April 5, 2019
Timmothy’s family, his grandmother, Alana Anderson, and aunt, Kara Jacobs, said the whole situation has definitely opened old emotional wounds.
“Kinda back to ground zero for us,” Anderson said on Friday. “Kinda reliving everything that did happen and renewing the loss.”
Even though it could be easy to feel resentment toward Rini because he brought the pain of loss back to the surface, Jacobs spoke in a forgiving way toward him. She even asked others to pray for him.
“We hope that everyone will join us for praying for the young man claiming to be Timmothy Pitzen,” she said.
Regardless of the pain the situation has caused, they haven’t lost hope that Timmothy will be found alive.
“I am hopeful,” Anderson said. “I certainly hope that if Tim is in a place where he has communication with the media or a computer that he’ll remember us enough to look for us one day. And I think he will.”
Now they are hoping that the recent interest in Timmothy’s case will lead to new information.
Investigators also have stated their commitment to find Timmothy and to bring him home safely.
Our prayers are with Timmothy’s family as they grieve the unknown and continue to search for him.
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