Fingers and toes crossed that he’s who he says he is. It will be beyond awful for Timmothy’s father and grandmother if the kid is an imposter. And, thank heaven for DNA. They will know for sure one way or the other.
So many emotions with this story. I remember when it happened. If it is him it brings tears to my eyes to think what he has endured over the last few years because of the selfishness of his mother.
If this boy isn’t him - well, he’s obviously still a victim.
I can’t even imagine the emotions the father is experiencing.
Really surprising news about (hopefully) his reappearance. I assumed he was dead.
This story should not have been made public until they are certain that the 14 year old is in fact the missing boy.
I was not familiar with the original story. Did it get a lot of national press? I’m really hoping that it is him.
I am hoping it is Timmothy as well. Many of the others return from kidnappings(Jessie Dugard, Jayme Closs, the 3 ladies from OH, Elizabeth Smart ETC ) and are immediately believed so I will have faith in him for now although I agree with TomSrOfBoston that it should have been checked out prior to releasing the information. If it is him how traumatizing to be gone that long and be living scared the whole time
@readthetealeaves Most of those you mention were older than Timmothy when abducted and were more easily recognizable.
@TomSrOfBoston That is absolutely true which is why I agreed with you about law enforcement checking out the claim before publicizing. I hope that if it is Timmothy it will spark others who are abducted as babies/children to find their way home
@TomSrOfBoston Due to the circumstances in which he was found, it would have been impossible to stop it from going public. A lot of people saw him and he seemed to be avoiding them. He appeared jumpy.
Then an African-American woman looked out her window and saw him leaning against a neighbor’s car. She thought he was trying to steal it, so she called her neighbor. She also took a photo of him so that if he did take the car, she could give the photo to police.
However, right about that time, the neighbor’s two daughters, teens themselves, had come out to get into the car and go to school. He approached them and asked for help. He said he had been running for two hours, his stomach hurt, that he didn’t know where he was, and that he had been kidnapped and wanted to go home. One of the girls called police and stayed with him until they came. Best excuse ever for being late for school!
Other people were watching and saw the police come. Some thought he was being arrested. Police did search him, but didn’t handcuff him. When a policeman pulled down his hoodie, one side of his face was bruised. Police asked his name; he said it. He included his middle name or they asked it. He gave the right one: James. They asked his DOB. He gave the right one. They asked dispatcher to check that name and DOB. Yep, missing kid. This info went out over an insecure network in at least two separate calls.
The cops were calling neighboring jurisdictions, asking them to search for the alleged kidnappers.
Whether or not he’s Timmothy, he was in a bad way. I think most adults were afraid to approach him, but another teen believed him and got help.
I just got an alert Daily Mail reports boy is not Timmothy per DNA test
I thought that was going to be the case. Didn’t want to seem negative.
Ah, too bad. I was so hoping for a wonderful outcome.
The poor father.
So who in the world would fake such a thing? And why?!
And how did he know things like the kids middle name and date of birth?
I cannot fathom the depth of despair his father, grandmother and aunt must be feeling right now. I know that they said they would wait for the DNA test results, but how could you not hope?
And I wonder who the heck the kid is…and whether he has some connection to Timmothy. Based on news accounts, the kid has been beaten multiple times.
He’s certainly in trouble now. I can’t imagine he thought he’d get away with it. Not when there are DNA tests.
ETA: He’s now been identified.
The male who claimed to be Timmothy actually is 23-year-old Brian Michael Rini of Medina, Ohio, said the police chief of Newport, Kentucky.
@TomSrOfBoston of course, that is a brain fart moment on my part. I guess I was really thinking was why would somebody do this? Somebody that was still a kid themselves when this disappearance happened? I am thinking maybe he knows more than the general public and wanted to find a safe way to tell it.
The imposter is 23. What a dirtball. I feel so sorry for Timmothy’s family.
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2019/04/04/timmothy-pitzen-brian-michael-rinni/
This outcome is so sad for the family