Hoping for the safe return of Timmothy Pitzen

Six-year-old Timmothy Pitzen of Aurora, Ill., has been missing for almost two weeks. What happened to him remains a mystery.
His mother, Amy Fry-Pitzen, 43, committed suicide after checking in alone to a Rockford, Ill., motel on Friday May 13. Her body was found the next day along with a note saying that her son was fine and she had left him in the care of unnamed individuals.
Fry-Pitzen had been traveling with her son around suburban Chicago and southern Wisconsin for two days before his disappearance. Her husband, James Pitzen, says he has no idea why his wife checked their son out of school early on Wed. May 11 and took a road trip to Brookfield Zoo and two indoor amusement and water parks.
I’m hoping for Timmothy’s safe return to his father, but am preparing for the worst. I’ve seen enough of these sorts of cases in the news to know how they usually turn out. But occasionally there’s a case like that of Elizabeth Smart that gives you hope for the best.
I knew Amy when she was a girl. She lived one house over from mine in Libertyville, Ill. I was friends with her brother Bryan from grade school through high school, but we grew apart after I went off to college. Amy was a sweet kid, six years younger than me and the same age as my youngest sister.
It’s tragic what happened to her. But I pray that the tragedy stops there and Timmothy is found safe and sound.

Photo: Amy Fry-Pitzen (right) and her son Timmothy (correct spelling)

News articles about the case:

Video Shows Missing Boy, Mother Together (NBC Chicago; May 25, 2011)

The haunting last images of Timmothy Pitzen (U.K. Daily Mail; May 26, 2011)

Timmothy Fry-Pitzen Still Missing (HuffPost Chicago; May 25, 2011)

Aurora police plan next steps in search for missing boy (Chicago Tribune; May 25, 2011)

Family mourns mother in closed service (The Beacon-News; May 21, 2011)