Washington (AP) – President Joe Biden said Sunday that the U.S. government believes American journalist Austin Tice, who went missing 12 years ago near the Syrian capital, is still alive and that Washington is committed to bringing him home after Bashar al-Assad is ousted from power.
“We think we can get him back,” Biden told reporters at the White House, while acknowledging that “we don’t have direct evidence” of his condition. “Assad should be held accountable.”
Biden said officials still must find out the exact whereabouts of Tice, who disappeared in August 2012 at a checkpoint in a disputed area west of Damascus, Syria.
“We are always focused on getting him back to his family,” he said.
Theis, who is from Houston, has had his work published in The Washington Post, McClatchy Newspapers and other media.
A video released weeks after Tice’s disappearance showed him blindfolded and being held by armed men, saying “Oh my God.” He hasn’t been heard from since. Syria has publicly denied holding him.
According to a U.S. official, the United States has no new evidence that Tice is still alive, but is still acting on that assumption. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity and was not authorized to comment publicly, said the United States would continue to work to determine his whereabouts and try to bring him home.
His mother, Debra, said at a news conference in Washington on Friday that the family had information from a “significant source” that confirmed her son was alive, but she did not identify the source.
“We know that he is receiving treatment and is doing well,” she said.
The Theis family met with officials from the State Department and the White House last week.
“Everyone in Syria has heard the news and please remind everyone that we are waiting for Austin,” Debra Tice said in comments posted on social media by the hostage advocacy group on Sunday. “We know that when he comes out he will be fairly dazed and will need a lot of care and guidance. Please take him to his family.”