Austin Tice Update: US Hostage Envoy Searches for Information in Syria

The U.S. government’s hostage envoy is in Beirut this week to seek new leads on the whereabouts of Austin Tice, the American journalist who vanished in Syria over 12 years ago, the U.S. State Department said Monday.

Who Is the Hostage Envoy?

Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, is meeting with regional officials in hopes of gathering information on Tice’s location following the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller emphasized the urgency to find out where Tice is and “get him home as soon as possible.”

This is not the first time Carstens has made efforts to find information on Tice as he previously made a secret visit to Damascus to meet with Syrian government officials under President-elect Donald Trump’s first administration.

Meanwhile, Lebanon has played a central role in mediation efforts. It comes as President Joe Biden expressed optimism that Tice is alive while noting on Sunday that the administration still lacks “direct evidence” of his current condition.

On Friday, Tice’s mother said at a news conference in Washington, D.C., that she was confident her son was alive based on information she said had come from a “significant source.” Debra Tice did not identify the source but said they had been vetted by the U.S. government and treated as credible.

“He is being cared for and he is well—we do know that,” Debra Tice told reporters following a White House meeting with national security officials.

“The news we’re hearing from the Middle East is the kind of thing that can unsettle a mom,” Debra Tice said, later adding, “When I think about war, I never have a happy moment.”

A Biden administration official also confirmed last week that the Tice family had met with national security adviser Jake Sullivan.

Speaking on the information suggesting his son is still alive, Marc Tice also said last week, “We are confident that this information is fresh. It indicated as late as earlier this year that Austin is alive and being cared for. And we do hope to make as much of this public as we can.”

Austin Tice’s sister, Naomi Tice, said she asked officials whether the unrest in Syria could help secure Austin’s freedom.

“We were basically just told that we need to wait and see how it pans out,” she said. While Naomi Tice said this response may have been “understandable,” it was “beyond frustrating.”

Who Is Austin Tice?

Tice, a reporter whose work has appeared in The Washington Post and McClatchy, disappeared in 2012 at a checkpoint near Damascus as the Syrian conflict escalated.

A disturbing video released shortly after his abduction showed him blindfolded, pleading for help. Despite claims from Syria that it is not holding him, his fate remains uncertain.

Broader Conflicts

This latest update regarding Tice comes after the fall of Assad. On Saturday evening and Sunday morning, Syrian rebels streamed into their country’s capital of Damascus as the 24-year-old regime of President Assad reportedly collapsed with Reuters reporting that Assad had fled the city.

The head of Syria’s main opposition group abroad, Hadi al-Bahra, declared that Damascus is now “without Bashar al-Assad.” The government evacuated the Damascus airport and halted all flights, according to pro-government radio station Sham FM.

This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.