Documentary- What Happened to Timmothy Pitzen?

On Saturday November 19, NBC Chicago aired a new documentary entitled “Scene of the Crime: What Happened to Timmothy Pitzen?” The show looks at the evidence and investigators’ current understanding of the case through interviews with relatives, investigators, and experts. The documentary features interviews with Microtrace founder Skip Palenik about Microtrace’s soil and mineral analysis and its relevance to the case.

On 11 May, 2011, six-year-old Timmothy Pitzen’s father dropped the child off at school in Aurora, Illinois. Shortly thereafter, the boy was picked up by his mother, who claimed a family emergency. She then took Timmothy on a three-day trip to various amusement and water parks in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. Her body was subsequently found in a motel room in Rockford, Illinois, with a note stating that Timmothy was safe, but would never be found.

The Aurora police contacted Microtrace to examine soil from the car that Timmothy’s mother had used during her final days. Microtrace collected soil from the car and found an unexpected and uncommon mineral called anhydrite. Microtrace scientists used the presence of this unusual mineral to describe the area from which the soil was tracked.

“What Happened to Timmothy Pitzen?” is currently available online on the NBC Chicago website here. Following the 2022 Thanksgiving holiday, the show will be available on Roku, Peacock, Apple TV, Samsung TV and Amazon Fire.

Microtrace’s contribution to the Timmothy Pitzen disappearance has also been featured on HLN- Real Life Nightmare, and The Biography Channel- Taken: The Timmothy Pitzen Story.

Watch “What Happened to Timmothy Pitzen?” now.

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