The mother of Austin Tice, an American journalist missing in of Syria more than a decade later, he said on Friday that he believed his son was alive, reporting that it had come from a “significant source” that he did not know, but that it had been banned by the US government and was believed to be credible.
“He’s taken care of and well — we know that,” Debra Tice said.
Tices’ mother and other relatives were speaking at the event Friday following a White House meeting with national security officials who were deployed amid unrest in Syria, as rebel fighters who have already captured the northern city of Aleppo, the country’s largest; They were pressing against the forces of President Bashar Al-Assad.
“The news we’re hearing from the Middle East is the kind of thing that can move a mom,” Debra Tice said, later adding: “When I think about war, I never have a happy time.”
Austin Tice’s sister, Naomi, said she asked the police if there was a way to ease the anxiety to help secure Austin’s freedom: “Basically we just said we’ll wait and see how things unfold” – a response she called “how frustrating.”
Father Marc Ttice echoed that sentiment, noting that meetings this week with White House and state department officials have devolved into finger-pointing.
“We’ve seen what real commitment looks like. We’ve seen it in Russia. We’ve seen it in China, we’ve seen it in Venezuela, you see Gaza,” he said, referring to places where hostages have been released in recent months. “And we still saw him for us.”
He also refused to talk about the information indicating that his son is alive but said: “We are sure that this information is recent. This year in Austin meant living and caring as late as ever. And we hope to do this as much as we can.
Tice, who is from Houston and whose essay was published by Washington PostMcClatchy newspapers and other issues, in August 2012 disappeared in the checkpoint in the conflict in the western region of Damascus.
A video released weeks later shows him veiled and held by armed men and saying, “Oh Jesus.” She has not been heard from since. In 2022 Joe Biden said the U.S. is “definitely” holding the Syrian authoritiesThe Assad regime immediately denied the allegation.
In the last months of the last Trump administration, two US officials – the top hostage dealer of the government, Roger Carstens, and Kash Patel, now Trump’s FBI agent – made a secret visit to Damascus to seek information about Tice and other Americans who had gone to Syria.
Talks were at their highest in years between the United States and the Assad regime, although Syrian officials have offered nothing significant about Tice.