The mother of American journalist Austin Tice made her first visit to Syria in almost a decade Monday and said that the administration of President-elect Donald Trump had offered support to help find her son, who disappeared in 2012.
Debra Tice made the remarks at a news conference in Damascus in her first visit to the country since insurgents toppled President Bashar Assad last month. She did not present any new findings in the ongoing search.
Austin Tice disappeared near the Syrian capital in 2012, and has not been heard from since other than a video released weeks later that showed him blindfolded and held by armed men. Tens of thousands are believed to have gone missing in Syria since 2011, when countrywide protests against Assad spiraled into a devastating civil war.
Outgoing US President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House in December that he believes Washington can bring Tice back, while admitting that “we have no direct evidence” of his well-being.
“I have great hope that the Trump administration will sincerely engage in diligent work to bring Austin home.” Tice said. “His people have already reached out to me. I haven't experienced that for the last four years.”
Syria's former government had publicly denied that it was holding him, but Tice hopes she will find him with the help of the new leadership. In December, she said the family had information from an unidentified source that her son was alive and well. She said Monday she still believes he is alive and in good health.
“Austin, if you can somehow hear this, I love you. I know you're not giving up, and neither am I,” she said.
Tice said she had a productive meeting with Ahmad al-Sharaa, the leader of Syria's new administration, who she said was “dedicated and determined” to bring back Austin and the others missing in the country.
She also visited two military intelligence prisons in Syria, known for their mass incarceration and systematic use of torture, which she described as an “unbelievably, horrible nightmare.”
Tice, who is from Houston, has had his work published by The Washington Post, McClatchy newspapers and other outlets.
