WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden said Sunday that the US government believes that missing American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared 12 years ago near the Syrian capital, is alive and that Washington is committed to bringing him home after the ouster of Bashar al-Assad. from power in Damascus.
“We think we can get him back,” Biden told reporters at the White House, while admitting that “we don’t have direct evidence” of his status. “Assad must be held accountable.”
Biden said officials have yet to identify Tice’s exact whereabouts after his disappearance in August 2012 at a checkpoint in a contested area west of Damascus.
“We remain committed to returning him to his family,” he said.
Tice, who is from Houston, has had his work published by The Washington Post, McClatchy Newspapers and other media outlets.
A video released weeks after Tice disappeared showed him blindfolded and held by gunmen saying, “Oh, Jesus.” He has not been heard from since. Syria has publicly denied holding it.
The United States has no new evidence that Tice is alive, but continues to operate under that assumption, according to a US official.
The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the US will continue to work to identify where he is and try to bring him home.
His mother, Debra, said at a news conference Friday in Washington that the family had information from an “important source,” which she did not identify, confirming that her son was alive.
“He’s taking care and he’s fine — we know that,” she said.
The Tice family met last week with officials at the State Department and the White House.
“To everyone in Syria hearing this, please remind people that we are waiting for Austin,” Debra Tice said in comments that hostage advocacy groups shared on social media Sunday. “We know that when he comes out, he will be quite dizzy and will need a lot of care and direction. Direct him to his family please!”
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