https://arab.news/5ts2v
WASHINGTON: The mother of Austin Tice, a US journalist captured over 12 years ago in Syria, said on Friday that her family had information that he is still alive.
鈥淲e have from a significant source that has been vetted all over our government: Austin Tice is alive,鈥� Debra Tice told journalists at the National Press Club on Friday, before going to the White House for a meeting.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met with Tice鈥檚 family in the afternoon, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.
鈥淛ake Sullivan did have a meeting with Austin Tice鈥檚 family this afternoon, and ... Jake Sullivan has regularly met with the families of wrongfully detained Americans,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to continue to make sure that we get Americans who are wrongfully detained or Americans home to their families.鈥�
Tice, a former US Marine and a freelance journalist, was abducted in 2012 while reporting in Damascus on the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad. He was 31 at the time. There has been no claim of responsibility for his abduction.