A man who falsely claimed to be Timmothy Pitzen, a boy who mysteriously disappeared in 2011, has been arrested and charged with lying to federal agents.

Brian Rini, 23, told police in Kentucky that he was Timmothy, whose disappearance caused a nationwide search, and claimed he had been held captive for years before managing to escaped on Wednesday. DNA tests later proved he was lying.

The FBI said the results identified the man as Rini, a convicted criminal from Ohio, who has falsely portrayed himself as a juvenile sex trafficking victim twice before.

Confronted with the DNA results, Rini finally confirmed his true identity and said he had come up with the hoax after watching a documentary about the missing child.

Timmothy vanished in May 2011 from Aurora, Illinois, after his mother picked him up at school and took him on a three-day road trip, which included going to a zoo and a water park.