In the 12 years since Austin Tice was abducted in Syria, his family and his coworkers at McClatchy have grieved at his absence, despaired at silence from the Syrian government and prayed that

To my colleagues in the press,” Hunter wrote recently, asking for support, “do not let Austin Tice be forgotten. Keep asking tough questions and demanding answers until the administration takes action and makes his release a priority.

The mother of Austin Tice, who was taken captive in Syria in 2012, voiced hope that upheaval in the country will lead to freedom for her son.

The high-level delegation arrived to engage in talks with Syria's interim leadership, the State Department confirmed early Friday.

Assad militia in 2012 after he travelled to Syria as a freelance journalist to cover the civil war. Though a former prisoner has claimed that he saw Tice alive in July 2022, the former marine has not been seen in public since he escaped prison in 2013 and was recaptured.

At his end-of-year news conference, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would ask Bashar al-Assad, Syria's deposed president, about Austin Tice, the American journalist missing in Syria for more than 12 years.