Aurora Police are investigating a possible sighting of Timmothy Pitzen, a 6-year-old boy who disappeared with his mother three years ago.
According to the Chicago Tribune, a woman in the northern Illinois town of Rockton contacted police over the weekend after seeing a boy that resembles Timmothy at her garage sale.
The tip comes after the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children released an age-progression image of the boy last week that showed what he would have looked like at the age of 9.
The newspaper reports that investigators have sent video clips of the boy to the woman to help her determine if the resemblence is strong.
Pitzen's been missing since his mother, Amy Fry Pitzen, was found dead of an apparent suicide in a Rockford motel room on May 14, 2011. A note left behind in the motel room said the Timmothy was safe and in someone's care but did not indicate whom.
The new development is a glimmer of hope for the boy's grandmother, Alana Anderson.
"Just praying that he's in a loving home and people are taking care of him and he'll grow up a nice young man," Anderson told NBC 5. "In her own depression and frustration in wanting to be out of this life did she choose well? I hope so."
Police are still on the lookout for missing items that could yield clues to the boy's whereabouts. Fry Pitzen's cell phone, I-Pass and the clothing she was seen wearing on other surveillance videos, as well as Timmothy’s Spider Man backpack and his toys from the SUV, are still missing, according to police.
When he went missing, Timmothy stood about 4 feet, 2 inches tall and weighed about 70 pounds, officials said. Anyone with information is asked to call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or Aurora Police at 630-256-5500.
