WASHINGTON
The mother of Austin Tice, an American journalist who disappeared in Syria more than a decade ago, said Friday that her son is alive, citing a source vetted by the US government.
“We have from a significant source that has been already been vetted all over our government: Austin Tice is alive. Austin Tice is treated well, and there is no doubt about that,” Debra Tice said in remarks at the National Press Club.
Earlier Friday, she met US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at the White House, spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre confirmed.
Jean-Pierre said, however, that she does not have “anything to share about conversation”.
“Jake Sullivan has regularly met with the families of wrongfully detained Americans, so this is in line of what he has been able to do,” Jean-Pierre told reporters.
“With partnership with our allies, we negotiate the release of Americans. I don’t have anything to say about that particular statement,” she said when asked about Tice’s remarks.
Anadolu reached out to the State Department for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Austin Tice, a freelance journalist for outlets including McClatchy, CBS and The Washington Post, disappeared Aug. 14, 2012, shortly after his 31st birthday. He was reportedly stopped at a checkpoint in a Damascus suburb while reporting on Syria’s civil war.
A video released weeks after his disappearance showed Tice blindfolded and held by armed men. He has yet to be released and returned to his hometown of Houston, Texas.
