New search for missing Aurora boy expected
Aurora police are planning a new search for 6-year-old Timmothy Pitzen, who has been missing for almost two weeks.
Police said Wednesday they plan to search near Route 40 northwest of Sterling in the coming days.
Cellphone calls Timmothy’s mother, Amy Fry-Pitzen, made May 13 have been traced back to that area and it’s the last location police can prove the two were together.
Details of the search still are being ironed out, Aurora police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said.
Meanwhile, police released a security video taken about 10:10 a.m. May 13 at Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., which shows the last time Timmothy was seen as he and his mother exited the hotel. Fry-Pitzen later killed herself in a Rockford motel room, leaving a note saying Timmothy was fine and in the care of people she did not name.
Timmothy’s father and Fry-Pitzen’s husband, Jim Pitzen of Aurora, said he has no complaints about how police are handling the search for his missing son.
“The police are doing a magnificent job,” Pitzen said.
Pitzen said he still is building Timmothy a treehouse he started in late April and awaiting the safe return of his son, who will turn 7 on Oct. 18. The family has lived in Aurora almost six years, moving to town when Timmothy was a year old.
“My wife would never hurt Timm in any way; I know that for a fact,” Pitzen said. “I have faith that he is alive somewhere.”
Police are continuing the search for the boy with increasing concern for his welfare every day, Ferrelli said.
Investigators still are searching two computers taken from Fry-Pitzen’s home and one from her workplace, seeking clues that may help locate Timmothy.
A team composed of multiple law enforcement agencies has interviewed dozens of family members, friends and co-workers and looked through emails, financial documents, cellphone records and other items since the investigation began in mid-May.
Cops: Missing Aurora boy’s last known locations
Aurora police released new details of the travels of Amy Fry-Pitzen and her son Timmothy Pitzen before Timmothy last was heard from May 13 and Fry-Pitzen killed herself May 14. Here are their whereabouts, according to Aurora police:
Wednesday, May 11
Before 10 a.m.: Fry-Pitzen picks Timmothy up from Greenman Elementary School on Auroras near west side
10 a.m.: Fry-Pitzen drops off her 2004 Ford Expedition for repairs at a body shop in LaGrange. An employee takes her and Timmothy to Brookfield Zoo.
3 p.m.: Fry-Pitzen and Timmothy return to pick up the vehicle.
After 3 p.m.: Mother and son head to Gurnee and check into Key Lime Cove, where they stay overnight.
Thursday, May 12
Morning: Fry-Pitzen and Timmothy leave Gurnee heading North.
11:15 a.m.: Credit card receipts and surveillance video show Fry-Pitzen bought childrens clothes and toys at a store in Racine, Wis.
2:20 p.m.: Credit card receipts and surveillance video show Fry-Pitzen purchased gas and beverages at a Quik-Trip store just off I-94 in Johnson Creek, Wis.
Afternoon: The pair check into Kalahari Resort in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., where they stay overnight.
Friday, May 13
Between noon and 1:30 p.m.: Cellphone records show Fry-Pitzen contacted relatives from an area northwest of Sterling, near Route 40. During these conversations, Timmothy could be overheard saying he was hungry, but did not seem to be in immediate danger, according to sources police interviewed. This is the last location police can prove Fry-Pitzen and Timmothy were together.
7:25 p.m.: Fry-Pitzen visits a Family Dollar store in Winnebago and buys a pen, paper and envelopes.
8 p.m.: A witness spots Fry-Pitzen at a food store near Family Dollar.
11:15 p.m.: Fry-Pitzen checks into the Rockford Inn
Saturday, May 13
Afternoon: Amy Fry-Pitzen is found dead in her Rockford motel room from an apparent suicide. A note says Timmothy is fine and in the care of people she did not name.