Family of missing boy was elated, then devastated by hoax

Family of missing boy was elated, then devastated by hoax

The family of an Illinois boy missing for eight years was initially elated by a report that suggested he might have been found.

Timmothy Pitzen vanished at age 6 in 2011, around the time his mother killed herself. So relatives were amazed to hear that a young man had been found wandering the streets of a Kentucky town. He told police he had been held captive for seven years and that he was Timmothy, now 14.

For a day and a half, relatives waited and hoped for a breakthrough.

Then on Thursday came devastating word from the FBI: DNA tests showed that the man was not Timmothy.

Authorities say the person making the claim was actually a 23-year-old ex-convict who was recently released from an Ohio prison.

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