IL IL - Timmothy Fry-Pitzen, 6, Aurora, 13 May 2011 - mom found dead - #1

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A little more on the Friday timeline.

Timothy was last seen at about 10:10 a.m. on Friday when he accompanied his mother checking out of the Kalahari Resort in the Dells.


No one heard from Amy or Timothy until Friday afternoon when she contacted several family members and acquaintances by phone between approximately noon and 1:30 p.m., according to Ferrelli.

During those calls Amy said that she and Timothy were fine and were not in danger. Timothy also talked to at least one of the relatives and did not seem to be in any distress.

Aurora Police say that cell phone records indicate that the calls and texts were placed from the Sterling/Rock Falls, Illinois area.



http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/new...t-multi-state-search-for-missing-boy-20110515


According to google it is an approximate 3 hour drive from Wisconsin Dells to Sterling/Rock Falls (searching city to city only). Sterling/Rock Falls is also along I-88 which is a straight shot to IA heading west and back to Aurora going east.

IF Timothy made it safely to the Sterling Rock Falls area it is possible he was picked up by someone, however it appears LE isn't releasing or is not confirming anyone actually spoke with Timothy in the early afternoon hours the 13th.


Another thing I have not seen is information on the vehicle they were driving. I wonder why they wouldn't release vehicle information to determine if anyone saw the car between the time mom left WI and the time she was seen in Rockford.
 
I'll keep an eye out for him, i hope he's alright!!
 
Is it possible by the timeline that he is the unidentified boy found in S. Berwick, ME? I haven't been able to follow either case closely, and I know it's a stretch geographically, but it does seem curious to me.

Either way, I hope they find him, if he is with strangers, he must be so scared. I doubt that story though, because honestly, we've all heard it before and none of those cases have ended well that I can recall.

ETA: Okay, after being able to make a quick Google, it seems like the ME child was much shorter and lighter, so I don't think it's him. Sorry.
 
Questions.

When did she last purchase gas? She probably could have made it from WI Dells to Sterling/Rock Falls and back to Winnebago/Rockford on a full tank of gas. If she left WI with a full tank of gas.



Trying to narrow Fridays timeline.
10:10 am departs/checks out of the resort/water park in WI Dells.

Noon-1:30 pm makes calls text to family/friends. Calls texts determined to be from the Rock Falls/Sterling IL area.

8pm seen at alone at grocery store in Winnebago, IL (suburb near Rockford)

11pm checks into motel alone in Rockford.

Driving directions from the water park in WI to Rock Falls IL. According to google this is a 3 hour 8 min drive to a 3 hour 18 min drive along the toll roads. How did she make it there in 2-2.5 hours? and has LE been able to view any possible survellience via tolls, or did she have an I-Pass?

Kalahari Waterpark Resort Convention Center to Rock Falls, IL - Google Maps


The Rock River seperates Rock Falls and Sterling IL. Runs along the route to Rockford and to Janesville WI - which is also on the above map if she took the above route.


Friday afternoon there was a tornado warning mid afternoon 3 pm or so in DeKalb IL. Dekalb is just east of where she would have headed west after coming south if she took the above route.

There are flood warnings in various rivers in IL, a few in IA. I found nothing for the Rock River in IL or IA. Have not checked WI.

Some google searches indicate the Rock River floods often in WI near 90/94. Did she run through any bad weather Friday?

Lots of questions, little news.....


No vehicle information released. But LE has been able to determine various stops. How and where did she pay for food, and gas? When she purchased food did she purchase food for two or just herself? She had to have paid for lodging with a credit card.
 
I don't like the sounds of all the places Timothy's mother took him before committing suicide.

Why did she check in alone? :(
 
Here is quite a bit of rather hopeful new info:

6-year-old Timothy Pitzen has not been seen since Friday morning, when his mother checked them out of the Kalahari Resort in the Wisconsin Dells.

Since then, authorities in three states — Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin — have searched for Timothy, who has been missing since his mother's apparent suicide in a Rockford hotel room over the weekend.

Aurora police said Monday evening that Timothy's car seat and Spider-Man backpack are missing from the 2004 Ford Expedition that his mother, Amy Fry-Pitzen, was driving and which was found in the Rockford hotel parking lot. Police made the discovery after reviewing photos of the car's interior with James Pitzen, the boy's father and the mother's husband.

Police said the missing items may support a theory that Fry-Pitzen left Timothy with a friend or acquaintance.

Police also said they found credit card receipts showing that Fry-Pitzen bought some children's clothes and toys at a Shopko store in the 4800 block of Washington Avenue in Racine, Wis., around 11:15 Friday morning. About three hours later, receipts show that Fry-Pitzen bought gas and beverages at a Qwik-Trip store about 71 miles northwest in Johnson Creek, Wis., just off Interstate Highway 94, police said.

That night, she was seen at a Sullivan's Foods in Winnebago before checking into a hotel in Rockford about 11:15 p.m. without her son, police said. The next day, motel workers found her body around 12:30 p.m. Fry-Pitzen slit her wrists, police said.

As authorities continue to search for the child, details about Fry-Pitzen's troubled past began to emerge. She apparently had tried to kill herself at least once before, according to an ex-husband.

During an argument more than a decade ago with her second husband, Greg Campbell, Fry-Pitzen parked her car on the railroad tracks in Ames, Iowa, in an attempted suicide, according to Campbell.

Aurora police spokesman Dan Ferrelli confirmed that Fry-Pitzen had suffered bouts of mental illness, had previously attempted suicide and had been on medication for depression. There appeared to have been no argument or event that triggered Fry-Pitzen's decision to flee with the boy last week, Ferrelli said.



http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-timothy-pitzen-missing-20110516,0,2342201.story
Click to expand...
 
I am so hopeful that little Timothy is with a friend/relative, who for some reason has not come forward.

I am so fearful that little Timothy has been placed in the carseat in a lake somewhere, with all his new, guiltily purchased belongings.

*sigh* I really must try better to look at the cup as being half full.
 
Son of suicide victim probably not abducted, police say

[snip]

However, police are at a loss regarding the whereabouts of her 6-year-old son, Timothy J. Pitzen. Aurora police spokesman Dan Ferrelli declined to elaborate on the contents of a letter Fry-Pitzen reportedly wrote, indicating that Timothy was fine and left in the care of people she didn’t identify.

Timothy has been missing since Friday. However, Ferrelli said, the disappearance does not meet the criteria for an Amber Alert.

[snip]

Aurora police are working with several law enforcement agencies in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa. Several Rockford police investigators are assisting in developing leads in the area where Fry-Pitzen was last seen.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also has dispatched an Adam Team to assist Aurora police with the investigation.

More: http://www.rrstar.com/updates/x2005898253/Son-of-suicide-victim-probably-not-abducted-police-say


 
Wondergirl said:
I am so hopeful that little Timothy is with a friend/relative, who for some reason has not come forward.

I am so fearful that little Timothy has been placed in the carseat in a lake somewhere, with all his new, guiltily purchased belongings.

*sigh* I really must try better to look at the cup as being half full.
Click to expand...

I know. It's just hard to figure out why nobody would come forward if they had the boy safe somewhere. I really want to think he is safe, but there are so many huge red flags. The weekend at the resorts is really kind of chilling because so many parents that carry out murder/suicides do that first.

There are plenty of safe places she could have left him if she wanted him to be safe while she went and killed herself. imoo
 
This is the puzzling and maybe key part from the Tribune article about her travels, IMO:


Police also said they found credit card receipts showing that Fry-Pitzen bought some children's clothes and toys at a Shopko store in the 4800 block of Washington Avenue in Racine, Wis., around 11:15 Friday morning. About three hours later, receipts show that Fry-Pitzen bought gas and beverages at a Qwik-Trip store about 71 miles northwest in Johnson Creek, Wis., just off Interstate Highway 94, police said.​

Racine, WI is way in the SE corner of the state, along Lake Michigan. If she was here at 11:15 am on Friday at ShopKo and then her next stop is in Johnson Creek 3 hours later, I wonder what as happening in those two hours and then the time from Johnson Creek to get back to I-90 to head back down into NW Illinois.

I can't quite figure out the timeline, since some of it doesn't make sense. But I'm guessing that after being at the Gurnee waterpark she headed north into WI on 94 (which goes past Racine), then over to the Dells on the interstate. Maybe she was originally coming back to Illinois the same way, which is how she ended up in Racine.
 
The time line is off or it appears she was in two places at once.

10:10 am confirmed sighting of mother and son checking out of the Kalahari Resort in WI Dells.

11:15 am credit card purchases made in the 4800 block of Washington Ave Racine.

Driving directions according to Google between 1305 Kalahari Dr, Lake Delton WI (exact address of the waterpark in the Dells) to the above address in Racine. 146 miles and an estimated 2 hour 43 minute drive. Even flying no automobile is going to make a 146 mile drive in under an hour.

1305 Kalahari Dr, Lake Delton, WI 53913 to 4800 Washington Ave, Racine, WI 53406 - Google Maps


The distance between the Dells to the Rockfalls Sterling area is just over 3 hours. (posted upthread). Rockfalls and Racine are in opposite directions.

12:00 to 1:30 pm text messages are confirmed from the Rockfalls Sterling area around noon -1:30. I can see closer to 1-1:30 if she left Lake Delton and headed straight for Rock Falls.

So who made the purchases in Racine? Why would this person seem to 'wait around' for 3 hours or so and only make it 71 miles between Racine WI and Johnson Creek WI? If they weren't expecting Amy to return to the area? If the items purchased were indicative of someone having found a lost credit card I think LE would likely be able to determine so based on the items purchased. At least in comparison to other childrens items toys/clothing/souveniers she may have purchased between leaving Wednesday and the time these purchases were made in late Friday morning.

I'm not convinced she harmed her son. I think it is possible this person who made the purchases in Racine and may have Timothy might be too panicked to come forward after having learnt of her suicide. Perhaps thought they were going to be giving mom a needed break/time away and are fearful they might be accused of having prior knowledge of moms plans.
 
Yes, the times can't possibly be right. And/or as you said it's someone else using her credit card in Racine and Johnson Creek. Now that I think about it, the latter makes sense.

It would make more sense if the Racine and Johnson Creek transactions happened on Thursday. She could have headed from Gurnee up the interstate, stopped in Racine, then back on the interstate to head to the Dells with a stop at the gas station in Johnson Creek.

Then the Friday timeline makes more sense.
 
I would really like to know more about the kids clothing and toy purchases she made. If it were just one 'outfit' and toy, then I would be worried it was something to wear into eternity so to speak.
I would feel much better if it were clothing like t-shirts, a pack of socks and new undies and some summer stuff, making it seem like she was giving the caretaker some supplies, as opposed to a special outfit of some kind.
 
MarthaM said:
Yes, the times can't possibly be right. And/or as you said it's someone else using her credit card in Racine and Johnson Creek. Now that I think about it, the latter makes sense.

It would make more sense if the Racine and Johnson Creek transactions happened on Thursday. She could have headed from Gurnee up the interstate, stopped in Racine, then back on the interstate to head to the Dells with a stop at the gas station in Johnson Creek.

Then the Friday timeline makes more sense.
Click to expand...

Technically you are correct if one was taking a direct route. When I first looked at this I thought go from Gurnee to Madison than back to Milwaukee (if we were talking larger cities). The locations appear to be all over the place.

However reading a little further the MSM article posted above indicates Amy graduated HS from Libertyville which is almost next to Gurnee. If she had resided in Libertyville area from her childhood through the time she went off to College in IA, it would make sense that she would be very familiar with routes to and from the IL/WI border along both 90 and 94, where they split and the routes inbetween. Along with the many tourist or weekend getaway places between Beloit and the lake.

Even looking at the map where Johnson Creek is located along 94 it appears 26? or another route could take her from 94 to 90 and towards the Rockford area and onto Rock Falls/Sterling. I'm not familiar with 94 going E/W but am familiar with taking Rt 12 up to that area.

I'm hoping more WI media will pick up this story now that information indicates Timothy may have been between the Dells and Racine during the daytime on Friday or between the Dells and Johnson creek during the daytime Friday.
 
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