Mother of journalist Austin Tice urges US government to negotiate his release from Syria

HOUSTON, Texas – Austin Tice was abducted near Damascus, Syria on August 14, 2012, while covering the country’s civil war as a freelance journalist for multiple US news organizations.

Almost 10 years later, he has yet to be released and returned to his hometown of Houston, Texas.

“He was only there 83 days before he was detained,” said Austin’s mom, Debra Tice.

“He has not been allowed to communicate since the day he was detained,” she explained. “We know he’s there. We just don’t know where he is.”

On September 26, 2012, nearly six weeks after his abduction, a video emerged showing Tice blindfolded and detained by a group of unidentified armed men. To this day, however, no one has claimed responsibility for his capture.

“We may always have to wonder, right?” said Debra. “But I really believe that he will come back.”

She and her husband, Marc, have worked tirelessly with the US government over the years to try and have their son released. However, since the American Embassy in Damascus closed in 2012, there have been no formal diplomatic relations between the US and Syria.

Tice says she traveled to Syria in March 2014 for 83 days – the same amount of time Austin was in the country before his abduction – to try and secure the release of her son.

​​​​​​​“When I was there, I was given a message from the Syrian government that they will not meet with the mother to discuss the transfer of possession of Austin Tice,” explaining she was told, “Send me a United States official with a government title.”

“So we have been begging a United States official with a government title to go and talk to them,” she said.

The Tice family continues to be briefed by the US State Department on a regular basis. As frustrating as this painstaking process is, they are still grateful for any efforts being made to bring Austin home.

“My communication with Washington, D.C. is constant,” said Tice.

On Wednesday, Austin Tice was awarded the James A. Baker III Prize for Excellence in Leadership presented at Rice University. This is only the eighth time the award has been handed out over the Baker Institute’s 28-year history.

Marc and Debra accepted the award on behalf of their son.

“I was just so ecstatic,” said Tice, “He truly, truly deserves this award. He has received many awards, especially for his journalism, for which he did shine.”

She says it’s even more special to be receiving the award from former US Secretary of State James Baker, whom the family has had a personal relationship with from the beginning when Austin was captured.

“Secretary Baker is one of the very first people we spoke to looking for advice, and the fact that he is the one who decides who is going to get this prize is very special,” said Tice. “He’s been with us for almost 10 years now.”

As much as Tice remains optimistic about her son’s eventual release, she admits she never thought it would take this long.

“In those first days, those very first days, we thought Austin was going to come home tomorrow,” she said.

In fact, Tice says the realization of Austin’s detainment didn’t sink in until four and a half months after his capture.

“When I had to take down the 2012 calendar and hang up the 2013 calendar, I told a friend of mine it was like trying to lift an elephant,” she continued. “That’s when it just felt like they didn’t even let him come home for the holidays…this could drag out.”

Tice clings to all the important memories of Austin which keep her spirit moving forward on a daily basis.

Austin is the big brother and first of her seven children. He is a successful law school student at Georgetown University. He is a veteran captain of the US Marine Corps who served tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has won numerous awards for his work as a journalist.

But there’s one memory that stands out most.

“We spoke on Aug. 11th on his (31st) birthday,” Tice recalled of her phone call with Austin three days before he was abducted in 2012.

She was headed for a camping trip to the Boundary Waters in Minnesota, where 17 years prior, she and Austin had gone on their first trip together on his 14th birthday.

“We talked about the beauty and magic of the Northern Lights and the full moon,” she said. “It was a wonderful, wonderful conversation of shared memories, and what a treasure for me, not just the usual, ‘How are you? What have you been doing?’ It was just talking about each other and celebrating the day he was born and how happy I was to be a mommy. I was 20 years old when I had Austin. I had been waiting forever for this baby.”

“I’m really happy that was what our most recent conversation was like,” emphasized Tice.

But the task at hand remains for Tice and her family. She continues to press the US government to engage in diplomatic relations to free her son, despite the red tape involved in negotiations with Syria.

“We need to have people who are willing to talk openly,” she said. “We need a diplomatic corps. If there was a focused and sincere engagement, this would not take long at all. And I do believe that if we engaged diplomatically, it would happen in a week or less.”

The 10-year anniversary of Austin’s capture will take place in just a few months. Tice prays she never reaches that daunting date.

“My ultimate hope is that Austin will walk free,” she said. “I would like to see that happen before August 14, 2022.”​​​​​​​

The US government is offering a reward of up to $1 million for information leading directly to Austin’s safe location, recovery, and return. Anyone with details about Austin’s whereabouts is asked to contact the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at tips.fbi.gov.