WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden said Sunday that the U.S. government believes missing American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared 12 years ago near the Syrian capital, is alive and that Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. After his ouster from power, the US government said it was committed to bringing him home.
“We think we can get him back,” Biden told reporters at the White House, but acknowledged there was “no direct evidence” of his situation. “Mr. Assad must be held accountable.”
Biden said authorities still needed to determine Tice's exact whereabouts after he disappeared at a checkpoint in a disputed region west of Damascus in August 2012.
“We have been committed to returning him to his family,” he said.
Tice, a Houston native, has had his work published in The Washington Post, McClatchy Newspapers and other outlets.
A video released weeks after Tice went missing shows him blindfolded and held down by armed men, saying, “Oh, Jesus.” Since then, we have not heard from each other. Syria has publicly denied detaining him.
U.S. officials say the United States has no new evidence that Tice is alive, but continues to operate on that assumption.
The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the United States would continue efforts to locate him and bring him home.
His mother, Debra, said at a news conference in Washington on Friday that the family has received information from an anonymous “key source” confirming that her son is alive.
“He's being taken care of and he's doing well. We know that,” she said.
The Tice family met with State Department and White House officials last week.
“To all the Syrians who heard this, please remember that we are waiting for Austin,” Debra Tice said Sunday in a comment shared by hostage advocates on social media. “We know that when he comes out, he will be quite dazed and will need a lot of care and direction. Please show him to his family!”
