OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KGTV) - Family members of hostage and Camp Pendleton-trained Marine veteran Austin Tice are keeping vigil, as the search intensifies in Syria, after the fall of the Assad regime.
“The situation is extremely urgent,” said Naomi Tice.
Naomi Tice spoke to me via Zoom about the search for her brother Austin, after the fall of the Assad regime this past weekend.
“There are a lot of emotions. There is hope and anticipation,” said Naomi.
For family members, the anticipation of reuniting with Austin has never been higher.
In 2012, Austin, a freelance journalist and former Marine captain who trained at Camp Pendleton, was abducted while reporting in Syria on an uprising against Assad.
I first spoke with Austin's mother Debra in 2022.
“All the holidays, big weekends, we never miss him less,” said Debra in that interview.
A video released soon after his abduction, showed a blindfolded Tice held by armed men.
It's believed Austin is alive and was behind held in Damascus by Syria, though Assad's regime denied it.
With the fall of the regime, the rebels are now reportedly freeing prisoners.
On Thursday, American Travis Timmerman was found wandering outside Damascus, after he had been freed. He has said he wasn't treated badly in the more than six months he was in prison.
In interviews, Timmerman says he was in Syria without permission while on a spiritual pilgrimage.
"Austin's situation is similar. It really gives us hope when he's found he will be healthy and treated the same,” said Naomi.
Naomi says several rescue groups are on the ground looking for Austin. Some rescue groups have voiced concern that Austin may be in a hidden facility, and could be without food or water.
The FBI just released an age-progression photo of Austin, after announcing a $1 million reward for tips leading to his safe return.
Naomi is hopeful her family's long-held dream of seeing Austin again will soon come true.
“I think it's just gonna be so full of love, and we just want to be able to fully embrace him, and there’s also a recognition, really wanting to make sure that we understand what he needs and how to help him integrate back into a world that is very different than the one he was detained in,” said Naomi.
Naomi is urging US officials to do more to find Austin, including reaching out to Assad to ask him for information about her brother's whereabouts.
