Washington D.C. – VOA, December 08, 2024
The fall of the Assad government in Syria is cause for cautious optimism in the case of Austin Tice, an American journalist held captive there, according to his mother Debra Tice.
“We hope that this is the day that we have been hoping and praying for,” Debra Tice told VOA on Sunday morning.
In remarks at the White House on Sunday afternoon, President Joe Biden said, “We remain committed to returning him [Tice] to his family.”
“We believe he is alive. We think we can get him back, but we have no direct evidence of that yet,” Biden later added.
In response to a question about a potential rescue operation to retrieve Tice, Biden said the United States first must identify where he is located.
A Texas native and former U.S. Marine, Austin Tice has been held in Syria for more than 12 years. He was detained at a checkpoint in Damascus in August 2012, and aside from a brief video after his capture, little has been heard or seen of him since.
