Five years ago, 30-year-old Sam Goodwin crossed into Syria from Iraq as part of a years-long journey to visit every country in the world.
The St. Louis native's visit to war-torn Syria, his 181st country out of 193, will be brief. He spent time in Qamishli, a city on the Turkish-Syrian border believed to be under the control of U.S.-backed Kurds.
After checking into the Asia Hotel and having a quick meal, he waited until it was time to meet his local fixer friend who would show him around northeast Syria.
As she walked down the street to meet her guide at a nearby restaurant, Goodwin called her mother, Ann, on FaceTime near a statue of former Syrian President Hafez Assad, the late father of current Syrian President Bashar Assad, and decided to show her some of the view.
Portraits of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (left) and his late father and predecessor Hafez hang on the wall of a ruined apartment in the southern Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil on August 17, 2006. (Patrick Vaz/AFP via Getty Images)
A man in military uniform called out to him, but Goodwin instinctively explained he wasn't taking photos, he was just talking to his mother.
Those were the last words Ann heard before the phone call ended, and the last conversation she had with her son until his release from a Syrian prison 62 days later.
Goodwin spoke to Fox News Digital ahead of the publication of his book, “Saving Sam: The True Story of an American Missing in Syria and His Family's Extraordinary Fight to Bring Him Back.”
“I was taken to the basement of a facility called Syria's Military Intelligence. [Branch] “I was sent to prison number 215 and put in solitary confinement for 27 days. My only interaction with others was for a few seconds in the morning and evening when the guards brought me bread, boiled potatoes and water,” he said.
Sam Goodwin with Branch 215 in Damascus on the Lebanese-Syrian border after his release. (Sam Goodwin/Ashley Carnahan for Fox News Digital)
Goodwin, a former Division I college hockey player, told Fox News Digital he has relied on a variety of things to get him through his time at Branch 215 and Adra Correctional Facility, including his Catholic faith and world travel.
“I relied on my belief that there is a purpose in life and my desire to see my family and friends again. I was at rock bottom in that cell, but as contradictory as it may be, I found strength in relying on gratitude, controlling what I could control and recognizing that these uncertain times were opportunities for growth,” he explained. “And that's what I learned and what I try to share now when times are tough.”
He added that there isn't much information about why he was detained and they are still searching for answers.
Map of where Sam Goodwin was taken in Qamishli, Syria, in 2019. Courtesy of Sam Goodwin
“Northeast Syria is largely controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces, but there are still small groups of Assad regime forces present,” said Andrew Tablet, a Martin J. Gross senior fellow at the Washington Institute.
“These are areas you want to avoid because if a U.S. citizen is stopped at a checkpoint, they could be detained for a variety of reasons.”
From Adora to Lebanon and back home
Goodwin said he was blindfolded and interrogated for hours by a man who spoke perfect English and threatened to hand him over to ISIS if he did not admit to being a spy.
On the 27th day of solitary confinement, Goodwin was transferred to another larger prison building, and then a few days later to Adra Prison, outside Damascus.
An aerial view of Adra prison on the outskirts of Damascus, Syria. (Google Earth/Fox News Digital Ashley Carnahan)
“The other inmates at Adra Prison became friends. We cooked together and shared meals. They taught me Arabic. I taught them English. The prison had a basketball court and I taught some of them how to play knockout. One of them even sneaked a note out of the prison on my behalf. That note survived the geopolitical game of telephone and reached my father here in the US. They really put their lives at risk. [lives] “The people who helped save my life were an incredible display of humanity,” he recalled.
Texas family seeks justice after father 'tortured and murdered' in Syria's notorious prison
“These men reaffirmed some of the most important things I learned throughout my travels, such as never judging people by the actions of their government. I learned that those who have the least are often the ones who have the most to give. I've found this to be true in every part of the world.”
A police officer stands at the gates of Damascus Central Prison in the Adra district near the Syrian capital, Damascus, on May 28, 2010. (REUTERS/Khaled Al Hariri/File)
“I'll never forget about two weeks into the second month, one of the prisoners came up to me and I said, 'Everyone here is so nice to me,' and he said, 'Sam, in Syria, all the good people are in prison because all the bad people are outside and put us here.' That was a very sobering thing to hear,” he continued.
Goodwin's family worked with the FBI, CIA, State Department, the Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Vatican envoys, Middle East experts and others to bring him home.
The Goodwin siblings and matriarch Anne meet with former National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien. Courtesy of Sam Goodwin.
The family has written a letter to Pope Francis, asking him to help in efforts to secure their son's release.
Joseph Abbas, a friend of Goodwin's sister and the uncle of her former college roommate, contacted his old friend, General Abbas Ibrahim, who was appointed head of Lebanon's general security directorate in 2011, to help solve the case.
Lebanese intelligence chief, Syrian mediator resigns
Sam Goodwin (left), General Abbas Ibrahim (centre) and Joseph Abbas (right) meet in Lebanon. (Courtesy of Sam Goodwin)
General Ibrahim travelled to Syria and met with Ali Mamluk, a close aide and security adviser to President Assad, who explained that Goodwin was not a spy but merely a tourist.
After months of prayer, meetings and phone calls, Goodwin's release was secured and he was driven to Lebanon, where he was reunited with his parents, who had flown in to see him, for the first time in two months.
“The real heroes in this story are my family. The fact that they were able to reach out in seemingly different ways to a head of state on the other side of the world is amazing and humbling, and I still struggle to find how to express my feelings about it,” he told Fox News Digital.
Click here to get the FOX News app
“On the one hand, I think this is an unforgettable story that involves travel to countries around the world, high-stakes diplomacy, heads of state, celebrities and more. But on the other hand, and more importantly, I think it's about what we all learn from this experience.”
