New info bolsters hope U.S. journalist is alive

BEIRUT » The parents of missing American journalist Austin Tice on Tuesday said they have new information that bolsters their confidence that their son is alive and appealed to the U.S. and Syrian governments to work together directly to secure his release.

Debra and Marc Tice were speaking during their eighth visit to Lebanon to raise publicity about their son, who has been missing since being detained at a checkpoint in neighboring Syria over six years ago. He was working as a freelance journalist in a rebelheld area outside Damascus at the time.

With the war in Syria winding down and President Donald Trump taking an active interest in this case, there is more reason than ever to believe that conditions are ripe for their son to be freed by whoever is holding him, the Tices said at a news conference in Beirut.

They said they have always been confident that Austin is alive, but especially now. A $1 million reward offered by the FBI, which has since been matched by a coalition of media organizations, has prompted several new sources of information to come forward, said Marc Tice. He declined to specify the new information.

“It’s not just the feeling in our hearts that Austin is alive. It’s the consensus of all those working on his case,” he said.

The best hope lies in direct talks between Washington and Damascus for his release, Marc Tice said, “because Austin is American and because he is detained in Syria.”

The father stopped short of blaming the Syrian government for his son’s continued detention. “We do not have 100 percent confidence of that,” Marc Tice said. The Syrian government has promised to do all it can to find Austin, the father said, but has provided no information as to his whereabouts or well-being.

The Tices had been hoping to travel to Damascus to appeal directly to the Syrian government but have not been granted a visa.