Man who said he was Timmothy Pitzen is not the missing Illinois boy, police say

Reporting from CINCINNATI —  The family of an Illinois boy missing since 2011 says they are heartbroken after police determined that a person claiming to be Timmothy Pitzen apparently carried out a hoax.

Authorities say the person who claimed to be a long-missing Illinois boy is actually a 23-year-old Ohio man.

Newport, Ky., Police Chief Tom Collins told ABC News that the person is Brian Rini of Medina in northeast Ohio.

Records show a man by that name was released from a state prison on March 7, after serving time for burglary and vandalism charges.

Kara Jacobs told reporters Thursday that learning her nephew had not been found is “like reliving the day” he disappeared over again.

Timmothy disappeared around the time his mother killed herself after leaving a note that her 6-year-old son was fine but that no one would ever find him.

Police and the boy’s family say there have been other false sightings over the years.

The body of Amy Fry-Pitzen, 43, was found May 15, 2011. Her wrists were slit. Police believe she killed herself at a hotel in Rockford, Ill., adding that she took steps that suggest she might have dropped off her son with a friend.

At the time, police searched for Timmothy in Illinois, Wisconsin and Iowa.