Mother of missing US journalist renews search in Syria

The mother of US journalist Austin Tice, kidnapped in Syria in 2012 while on a reporting trip and one of the longest-serving American hostages, has returned to the country for the first time in a decade to renew the search for her son.

Debra Tice’s visit comes in the wake of the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in a rebel lighting offensive last month. His son, now a 43-year-old freelance journalist, Darayya was taken captive while reporting on the Syrian civil war from the Damascus suburbs.

“We had information, but the whole world changed,” he said in the Syrian capital, Damascus, referring to the removal of Assad from power.

“We don’t know where he is right now. It feels a little bit like a square, trying to figure that out again.”

Tice was last seen blindfolded and in apparent distress in a video posted online weeks after his capture. No government or group has claimed responsibility for his disappearance, although for years, US officials said they believed Tice was being held by the Assad government.

According to recent US media reports, investigators believe Tice, a former US Marine, fled weeks after his capture, but was recaptured by forces directly responding to Assad.

Last month, after rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) ousted Assad and seized power, President Joe Biden said the US believed Tice was alive, but his whereabouts remained unknown. Rebels opened up Syrian prisons, freeing thousands of people and giving experts access to documents that could shed light on what happened to Tice and other missing people.

“I never doubted it … I always knew (Tice) was going to walk free. And, you know, we have a new way of thinking about how that’s going to happen,” he said. “I can hardly wait to get my arms around (him).”

On Sunday, Debra Tice – who said she also wore a “Free Austin Tice” badge at home – met with Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, who has vowed to hold accountable those responsible for the Assad regime’s worst crimes. .

He said he hoped families would continue to have access to the facilities where the inmates were being held “so people can search and keep hope.”

“I am here to be with the people who understand the longing, to celebrate with the people who are meeting and also to hold the hearts of those of us who are still searching and waiting.”

He last visited Syria in 2015, when the country’s authorities stopped issuing visas. Now, “people are calmer” and “the children have smiles on their faces,” he said.

“I want to be a mother, one of those families where I find my loved one and wrap my arms around him and take him home,” she said.