DAMASCUS: The mother of American journalist Austin Tice, who was taken captive during a reporting trip to Syria in August 2012, arrived in Damascus on Saturday to step up the search for her son and said she hopes she can take him home with her.

Tice, who worked as a freelance reporter for the Washington Post and McClatchy, was one of the first US journalists to make it into Syria after the outbreak of the civil war.

His mother, Debra Tice, drove into the Syrian capital from Lebanon with Nizar Zakka, the head of Hostage Aid Worldwide, an organization which is searching for Austin and believes he is still in Syria.

鈥淚t鈥檇 be lovely to put my arms around Austin while I鈥檓 here. It鈥檇 be the best,鈥� Debra Tice told Reuters in the Syrian capital, which she last visited in 2015 to meet with Syrian authorities about her son, before they stopped granting her visas.

The overthrow of Bashar Assad鈥檚 regime in December by Syrian militants has allowed her to visit again from her home in Texas.

鈥淚 feel very strongly that Austin鈥檚 here, and I think he knows I鈥檓 here... I鈥檓 here,鈥� she said.

Debra Tice and Zakka are hoping to meet with Syria鈥檚 new authorities, including the head of its new administration Ahmed Al-Sharaa, to push for information about Austin. They are also optimistic that US President-elect Donald Trump, who will be inaugurated on Monday, will take up the cause.

鈥淚 am hoping to get some answers. And of course, you know, we have inauguration on Monday, and I think that should be a huge change,鈥� she said.

鈥淚 know that President Trump is quite a negotiator, so I have a lot of confidence there. But now we have an unknown on this (Syrian) side. It鈥檚 difficult to know, if those that are coming in even have the information about him,鈥� she said.

Her son, now 43, was taken captive in August 2012, while travelling through the Damascus suburb of Daraya.

Reuters was first to report in December that in 2013 Tice, a former US Marine, managed to slip out of his cell and was seen moving between houses in the streets of Damascus鈥� upscale Mazzeh neighborhood.

He was recaptured soon after his escape, likely by forces who answered directly to Assad, current and former US officials said.

Debra Tice came to Syria in 2012 and 2015 to meet with Syrian authorities, who never confirmed that Tice was in their custody, both she and Zakka said.

She criticized outgoing US President Joe Biden鈥檚 administration, saying they did not negotiate hard enough for her son鈥檚 release, even in recent months.

鈥淲e certainly felt like President Biden was very well positioned to do everything possible to bring Austin home, right? I mean, this was the end of his career. This would be a wonderful thing for him to do. So we had an expectation. He pardoned his own son, right? So, where鈥檚 my son?鈥�

Debra Tice said her 鈥渕ind was just spinning鈥� as she drove across the Lebanese border into Syria and teared up as she spoke about the tens of thousands whose loved ones were held in Assad鈥檚 notorious prison system and whose fate remains unknown.

鈥淚 have a lot in common with a lot of Syrian mothers and families, and just thinking about how this is affecting them 鈥� do they have the same hope that I do, that they鈥檙e going to open a door, that they鈥檙e going to see their loved one?鈥�