FBI: Ohio man charged after falsely claiming to be long-missing Timmothy Pitzen

FBI: Ohio man charged after falsely claiming to be long-missing Timmothy Pitzen
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CINCINNATI (AP) — The Latest on the investigation of a man who allegedly claimed to be a long-missing child from Illinois (all times local):

12:35 p.m.

A federal prosecutor says a man who claimed to be a long-missing boy raised immediate suspicions after he declined to be fingerprinted.

Benjamin Glassman is the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. He says investigators moved as quickly as possible to determine the truth after the man said he was Timmothy Pitzen, who disappeared in Aurora, Illinois, in 2011 at age 6.

The man, later identified as 23-year-old Brian Rini of Medina, Ohio, was charged Friday with making false statements to authorities.
Glassman said Friday that the charge is important to send the message that such false claims cause pain to families of missing people.

Robert Brown, the FBI agent over the Louisville office, says more than 50 law enforcement and public health officials helped in the investigation.
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11:50 a.m.

The FBI says an Ohio man has been charged with making false statements after authorities say he falsely claimed to be an Illinois boy missing for eight years.

An affidavit filed in federal court Friday says 23-year-old Brian Rini repeatedly told investigators he was Timmothy Pitzen, who disappeared in Aurora, Illinois, in 2011 at age 6.

The affidavit says Rini refused to be fingerprinted but submitted to a DNA test after which his true identity was determined.

The FBI announced the charges Friday ahead of a news conference. Court documents show Rini appeared in federal court Friday morning where the charges were explained to him.

A message was left with Rini's public defender seeking comment. A detention hearing was scheduled for Tuesday.
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11:15 a.m.

An FBI affidavit says an Ohio man who authorities say falsely claimed to be an Illinois boy missing for eight years has made similar claims twice before.

The affidavit filed in federal court Friday says 23-year-old Brian Rini repeatedly told investigators he was Timmothy Pitzen, who disappeared in Aurora, Illinois, in 2011 at age 6.

The affidavit says Rini refused to be fingerprinted but submitted to a DNA test after which his true identity was determined.

The affidavit says Rini had watched a TV show about Pitzen and told investigators he wanted to get away from his family.

Investigators determined Rini had twice before falsely portrayed himself as a juvenile sex trafficking victim.

Federal court records don't list an attorney for Rini.
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Updated: 7:55 a.m. on April 5, 2019

CINCINNATI (AP) -- A 23-year-old man authorities say falsely claimed to be an Illinois boy missing for eight years is being held in an Ohio jail.

Hamilton County's jail site shows Brian Rini of Medina, Ohio, was jailed Thursday. There were no charges listed Friday and no other information was available immediately.

The FBI announced Thursday afternoon that DNA tests disproved the claim of a person who Wednesday identified himself as Timmothy

Pitzen, who disappeared in Aurora, Illinois, in 2011 at age 6.

Rini was released on probation from Ohio prison last month after serving more than a year on burglary and vandalism charges.

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Updated 9:00 p.m. April 4, 2019

(CBS 58) -- The family of Timmothy Pitzen is devastated after the FBI's stunning announcement that the claim he had been found was a hoax.

The FBI announced on Thursday that DNA results revealed a person claiming to be 14-year-old Timmothy Pitzen was not him.

Police in Kentucky say that person is actually a 23-year-old man.

Timmothy's grandma and aunt said the news was devastating and that it's like reliving the day he was reported missing all over again.

"As are we. I was Very close to tim, he spent a lot of time here, last morning I had with him he crawled in bed with me and told me I was the best grandma in the whole wide world. He's a wonderful little boy and I hope he has the strength and personality to do whatever he has to do to find us," saud Alana Anderson, grandmother of Timmothy.

Police have not shared information about the 23-year-old man's motive for saying he was Pitzen.

"I'm disappointed. I'm disappointed that this appears to be either a hoax or some person that's obviously lying about who he was," said Sgt. Bill Rowley with the Aurora Police Department.

Sgt. Rowley says they've investigated thousands of tips on where Timothy may have been or what happened to him but he could not recall having anyone ever saying they were Timmothy.

"I hope someday that we're able to find young timothy and find out where he was and what happened to him so we can reunite that family again," said Sgt. Rowley.

In the meantime, the family says they will never stop looking.

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Updated: 3:39 p.m. April 4, 2019

(CBS 58) – The FBI says DNA results show a 14-year-old "boy" claiming to be a child last seen in Wisconsin nearly eight years ago is not Timmothy Pitzen. 

 A local investigation continues into this person's true identity.

According to police in Newport, Kentucky, the person who claimed to be Timmothy Pitzen is actually a 23-year-old man from Ohio. 

This is a developing story. Stay with CBS 58 on air and online for updates. 

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Updated: 4:33 p.m. April 3, 2019

(CBS 58) -- Police are on their way to confirm the identity of a boy found wandering alone in Kentucky who may be an Illinois boy who disappeared in 2011. 

Investigators say a 14-year-old boy found in Newport, Kentucky told them he had been abducted and his name was Timmothy Pitzen. 

The 14-year-old says he escaped two men at a Red Roof Inn who have been holding him captive for almost eight years. The boy said the men are driving a vehicle with Wisconsin plates. 

Pitzen was from Aurora, Illinois and disappeared when he was six years old. Authorities are trying to confirm the boy's identity. 

Pitzen was last seen in Wisconsin Dells with his mother, 43-year-old Amy Fry-Pitzen, on May 11, 2011. 

Days later, she was found dead of an apparent suicide in a Rockford, Illinois hotel room. Investigators said she left a note saying Timmothy was fine and she left him with unnamed people. Timmothy's father reported him missing the next day. 

A manhunt for Timmothy stretched through Illinois, Wisconsin, and Iowa.

The 14-year-old who was found was taken to a hospital in Cincinnati, across the river from where he was found. The FBI is also investigating. 

They plan on doing a DNA test but that could take up to 24 hours for results. 

Authorities checked the Red Roof Inn and surrounding hotels and didn't find anything. 

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Posted: 2:53 p.m. April 3, 2019

AURORA, Ill. (AP) — Police in the Chicago suburb of Aurora said Wednesday afternoon that the department is sending two detectives to the Cincinnati area to investigate a missing child report that could involve an Illinois boy who disappeared in 2011.

The department knows there is a boy involved but they don't know who he is or if he has any connection to Timmothy Pitzen, Aurora Police Sgt. Bill Rowley said. Pitzen was 6 years old in 2011 when he disappeared after authorities said his mother committed suicide.

Police believe Amy Fry-Pitzen, 43, picked up her son from school and took him to the zoo and a Wisconsin water park before she apparently killed herself. Her body was found with her wrists slit in a Rockford hotel on May 15, 2011.

"Pitzen disappeared ten years ago and we've probably had thousands of tips of him popping up in different areas," Rowley said. "We have no idea what we're driving down there for. It could be Pitzen. It could be a hoax."

The FBI said in a Wednesday afternoon statement that its offices in Louisville and Cincinnati were working on a missing child investigation with Aurora police and police departments in Cincinnati and Newport, Kentucky, and the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office in Ohio. The FBI offered no other details.

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