WASHINGTON, DC — DNA testing has confirmed that the person who was found in Kentucky and claimed to be missing child Timmothy Pitzen is not the Illinois boy who disappeared in 2011, according to the FBI.

Investigators said the individual was instead a 23-year-old man from Ohio identified as Brian Michael Rini. The announcement ended a brief burst of hope for relatives who thought the long-cold case might have taken a dramatic turn.

FBI Louisville said the identification was made after agencies in Kentucky, Ohio and Illinois worked together to verify who the man was. The family of Timmothy Pitzen has continued to hold out hope that he may still be alive nearly 15 years after he vanished.

How the identity check unfolded in Kentucky and Ohio

Authorities said the person was located in Kentucky on Wednesday and told police he was Timmothy Pitzen. That claim quickly drew attention because the boy has been missing since he was 6 years old, when his mother pulled him out of school early in Aurora, Illinois, in 2011.

The case moved quickly across multiple jurisdictions. FBI Louisville, FBI Cincinnati, the Aurora Police Department, the Newport Police Department, the Cincinnati Police Department and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office all took part in confirming the person’s identity.

By Thursday, federal agents said DNA results settled the question. FBI Louisville Supervisory Special Agent Timothy Beam said law enforcement has not forgotten Timmothy and will continue hoping for a reunion, but said that this was not the day the family had been waiting for.

Brian Michael Rini is identified as a 23-year-old from Ohio

Newport police said the man was Brian Michael Rini, a 23-year-old from Ohio. That identification directly contradicted the claim he made when he came to the attention of officers in Kentucky.

Officials did not describe why Rini claimed to be the missing teen, but the assertion set off immediate concern because Timmothy Pitzen’s disappearance remains one of the most closely followed missing-child cases in the country.

At the time of his disappearance, Timmothy was last seen being checked out of his school by his mother, Amy Fry-Pitzen. The family’s search began after she later died by suicide in a motel room in Rockford, Illinois, and Timmothy was nowhere to be found.

The Pitzen family again faces uncertainty and grief

For Timmothy’s relatives, the mistaken identification reopened an old wound. His maternal grandmother, Alana Anderson, said the family had been living through a painful mix of hope and fear while they waited for the DNA results.

She described the emotional strain as devastating, saying the family had been on tenterhooks. Timmothy’s aunt, Kara Jacobs, said it felt like reliving the day he disappeared all over again, and added that his father was devastated once more.

Anderson said she believes the man who claimed to be Timmothy may have been going through a terrible time and hoped authorities could help locate his own family. Still, she said the Pitzens are not giving up hope that their real relative will be found.

A disappearance that has haunted relatives for years

Timmothy’s case has drawn national attention for years because his family long believed he might still be alive. His mother left notes saying he was safe but would never be found, which fueled continued uncertainty after the disappearance.

His father, Jim Pitzen, told ABC News days after the boy went missing that he believed his son was alive and wanted him to come home. In a later interview in 2017, he recalled the last morning he dropped Timmothy off at school and the moment he watched him run toward class.

Pitzen also said he later returned to school and learned Amy Pitzen had picked the boy up about an hour after drop-off, telling others it was due to a family emergency. The next day, he said, he reported both missing to police when they still had not returned.

Missing-child cases can surface years later, experts say

John Bischoff, executive director of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, said cases like Timmothy’s are unique but not unheard of. He said the organization has handled 50,000 to 60,000 cases in the past five years.

During that time, he said, more than 3,000 children were recovered after being missing for six months or longer, and more than 150 were found after more than a decade. Those numbers, he said, show that long-term missing-child cases can still produce answers years later.

Bischoff said a possible breakthrough can lift families while also unsettling other parents still searching for missing children. He added that public attention can also help generate new tips, because someone may recognize a photo or detail at the right moment.