The family of American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared in Syria more than a decade ago, said Monday they have information that he is still alive and believe it is only a matter of time before they are reunited.
Tice went missing in 2012, a few days after celebrating his 31st birthday in the country, where he had gone to cover the civil war that began in 2011. Shortly after his disappearance, a video surfaced showing masked men holding him at gunpoint. The US government questioned whether the video was authentic and suggested it may have been staged.
The State Department claimed that Tice was being held by the Syrian government. Former President Bashar al-Assad’s government vehemently denied the accusation.
Now that the Assad regime has been toppled, Tice’s family has renewed hope that the Houston native can finally return home.
Before the rebels took over Assad’s government, the family received information that Austin Tice was not only alive but well cared for, parents Debra and Marc Tice said Monday in an interview with NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt.
But there is no clarity on who is holding Austin Tice, Debra Tice said.
“We’re just waiting, because little by little they’re tackling the prisons — and some of the larger prisons we know are not where Austin is,” she said.
President Joe Biden expressed hope on Sunday that the 43-year-old journalist would come home.
“We think we can get him back, but we don’t have direct evidence of that yet,” Biden told reporters.
U.S. Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens is in Beirut, Lebanon, as part of efforts to bring Austin Tice home, a U.S. official with direct knowledge told NBC News. The official added that the government is contacting anyone in Syria or the region who can help.
Hadi al-Bahra, chairman of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, told NBC News that the transitional government would make it a priority to investigate the whereabouts of those who disappeared under the Assad regime.
Marc Tice believes there is every indication that the new leadership is committed to the return of foreign prisoners, as the rebel groups have publicly stated.
“It’s just like Debra said: just a matter of time,” he said. “They have to go through a lot of locations and, you know, open a lot of doors. And we know for a fact that Austin is behind one of those doors.”
This is a time of opportunity for people in Syria and people like Austin Tice who have gone missing, White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said Monday on MSNBC.
“We’re assuming he’s still alive,” Kirby said. “But the truth is we want to get more information about him, about his whereabouts, and certainly about the conditions under which he could be held.”
Siblings Meagan Tice Malone and Simon Robert Tice told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Monday that they hope their brother will be home soon and fill a void that has dramatically changed their lives.
“We have a strong trust in the American government, and we were all raised to trust the American government,” said Simon Robert Tice. “And we believe that as long as he is not home, there is always more to do.”
The siblings described their brother, once a Marine, as an intelligent and compassionate man who felt a duty to go to Syria and report on the civil war.
“All we can say is that we are appealing to whoever has the authority and ability to reunite our family… and that the right people will do the right thing and bring him home to us,” Malone said.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
