The fall of the Assad regime in Syria revived hopes for people who went missing in the country mired in the civil war. The White House said Tuesday it was working with Türkiye and other nations to help locate journalist Austin Tice, who went missing in Syria over a dozen years ago.
Spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said locating Tice "is a top priority" for the Biden administration, noting the FBI and U.S. State Department have put out an $11 million reward for information on his whereabouts. "We do not know where he is located. We do not know, but we continue to hope that he is alive. And I think that's what you hear from this president, that he is hopeful that he is still alive," she told reporters. "We're talking through, certainly, this with the Turks and others to find him and to bring him home." Jean-Pierre did not specify the other nations the U.S. is working with to locate Tice.
His mother said Friday that her son is alive, citing a source vetted by the U.S. government. "We have from a significant source that has already been vetted all over our government: Austin Tice is alive. Austin Tice is treated well, and there is no doubt about that," Debra Tice said in remarks delivered at the National Press Club following a meeting with Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden's national security adviser.
Austin Tice, a freelance journalist for outlets including McClatchy, CBS and The Washington Post, disappeared Aug. 14, 2012, shortly after his 31st birthday. He was reportedly stopped at a checkpoint in a Damascus suburb while reporting on Syria’s civil war. A video released weeks after his disappearance showed Tice blindfolded and held by armed men. He has yet to be released and returned to his hometown of Houston, Texas.
