Teen Escaped Kidnappers, Identified Himself As Missing Child Timmothy Pitzen

Six-year-old Timmothy Pitzen vanished under bizarre circumstances back in 2011. Now, a 14-year-old has identified himself as the missing child.

The teen told authorities in Campbell County, Kentucky that he had just escaped from kidnappers, identifying himself as the missing Illinois boy, CNN reported. The boy’s identity has yet to be confirmed.

The teen claimed he had fled a Red Roof Inn in Sharonville, Ohio, about 12 miles northeast of Cincinnati, where he was staying with the two men who had held him for seven years, according to an Ohio police report obtained by CNN affiliate WCPO.

Officials searched all Red Roof Inns in the area, but the investigation has yet to yield any evidence.

“It’s hard to remember people, to be honest, because of so many people coming in and out,” Kennedy Slusher, a worker at the Red Roof Inn Beechmont, told WCPO. “But to hear something like that, it’s kind of mind-blowing. It’s scary.”

Then six-year-old Pitzen went missing back in May 2011. His mother had taken him out of school, citing a family emergency, before bringing the boy on a three-day road trip that ended with her suicide.

CNN described the mother and child as “relaxed and cheerful” in security video footage later uncovered from stops throughout their 500-mile trip.

Timmothy’s mother, Amy Frye-Pitzen, was later found dead in a Rockford, Illinois motel. Her death was ruled a suicide.

A note was found at the scene that said her son was safe, before adding, “You’ll never find him.”

The child was last seen at a Wisconsin Dells water park, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Police are currently investigating the child’s reported reappearance.

The teen described his kidnappers as two white men of a “bodybuilder type build, one with a spiderweb tattoo on his neck and the other with a snake tattoo on his arms,” according to the report. Police said the men drove a white SUV with Wisconsin plates.

Police are working with the FBI to determine whether the teen really is the missing Illinois child. DNA testing is currently underway, which officials expect to take about 24 hours.