Washington D.C. – Houston Public Media, Aug. 14, 2026
Tice, a freelance journalist and U.S. Marine Corps veteran, disappeared near a checkpoint in Damascus on Aug. 14, 2012, while reporting on the Syrian Civil War.
Friday marks 14 years since freelance journalist and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Austin Tice disappeared from a checkpoint near Damascus while reporting on the Syrian civil war. His family in Houston is still holding out hope that he is alive and being held somewhere in the Middle East.
Tice’s sister, Naomi Tice, and his mother, Debra Tice, both say the United States’ war with Iran, which began earlier this year, has complicated efforts to locate Austin and secure his return.
“He was in prison in Syria, and now, you know, it’s difficult,” Debra Tice said. “The Middle East is always difficult for the United States, but now to be trying to find him somewhere in the Middle East … Is he on the coast? Is he in Iran? Is he in North Syria? Is he in the Beqaa [Valley of Lebanon]?”
Debra Tice said the family is pushing for three possible developments that could help them in their aim to bring Austin home. First, they’re seeking to secure a meeting with recently confirmed U.S. Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, “and to share with him how important his role is in getting Austin home,” Debra Tice said, “because [former DNI] Tulsi Gabbard really opened the gate for us, and so we were really hoping that that happens again with Jay Clayton.”
Houston Public Media reached out to Clayton’s office for comment and did not immediately receive a response.
Debra Tice said the family is also seeking to connect with Israel’s coordinator for the hostages and the missing, who plays a role similar to that of the U.S. Special Presidential Envoy Hostage Affairs Dustin Stewart. Finally, and most importantly, she said, the Tice family is pushing for the U.S. government to seek information directly from the Iranian government about Austin as the two states seek to negotiate an end to their months long war.
