On the one-year anniversary of the fall of the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad earlier this month, Debra Tice said the United States must redouble its resolve to secure the release of her son, Austin Tice, an American correspondent abducted in Syria more than 13 years ago.
“My son is alive, and he must be returned,” she said at a Dec. 9 press conference at the National Press Club. “Each day that slips away is another day of torment. We cannot linger, waiting for ideal circumstances. We need decisive action now.”
When the previous government of Syria collapsed and the country’s prisons opened, Tice had hopes that Austin would soon be freed. Now, she said, she feels as if she’s back to the beginning of trying to find Austin.
The press conference, convened by the Club’s Press Freedom Center, highlighted the family’s determination to keep Austin’s plight in the public consciousness. Tice has worked with the Club for a number of years on this effort, which
includes the founding of the Run for Austin virtual 5K, which had its five-year anniversary with the 2025 event in November.
Austin's sister Naomi Tice, in the lead-up to the Nov. 8 virtual 5K, said: “We know from some of the information that the U.S. government has finally shared with our family that there is documented evidence of Austin’s detainment, intel, up until December 2024. We do still know that Austin is alive. We are still hoping that he will walk free at any moment.”
At the Dec. 9 press conference, Debra Tice pointed to what she described as “encouraging developments” in recent months, including indications of heightened U.S. engagement with Syrian interlocutors.
Tice said she has discerned signs of greater seriousness from U.S. officials. She cited recent consultations and a shift in tone that suggested a willingness to pursue direct engagement.
“I am thankful for the gestures that have been made,” she said. “But gratitude alone is insufficient. We need tangible results. We need Austin home.”
Successive administrations have affirmed their belief that Tice remains alive. Yet progress has been halting, often veiled by the secrecy inherent in delicate negotiations. Tice told a Press Club audience May 1 that classified files to which she had been granted access by the federal government indicate that the U.S. concealed knowledge of her son’s exact whereabouts for over 12 years.
Last week, she said other countries in the Middle East are willing to assist in the effort to release her son, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan and Lebanon.
The U.S. government should “give a green light to Middle East countries who want to help,” she said. “That is more than anything what I want. We don’t need to remake the wheel. Let’s get on the wagon and roll.”
A former U.S. Marine and Georgetown University law student, Austin Tice ventured into Syria in 2012 to chronicle the country's civil war. He was last seen near Damascus and is believed to have been detained by forces loyal to the Syrian regime. His disappearance has become one of the longest unresolved cases involving an American journalist.
More than a decade of uncertainty has taken a toll on Debra Tice.
“No mother should be consigned to this fate,” she said. “I rise each morning hoping it will be the day I hear his voice. I retire each night praying tomorrow will bring word.”
She advocated for press freedom.
“Austin was fulfilling his duty — illuminating the truth of Syria’s conflict,” she said. “For that, he was seized. Journalists must not be silenced, and governments must not permit them to vanish.”
Her appeal comes amid shifting dynamics in the Middle East, where diplomatic pathways to Syria remain constricted. Analysts caution that any breakthrough will require delicate maneuvering, but families like the Tices insist the human cost demands immediacy.
“My son is not a bargaining chip. He is flesh and blood. He is an American. And he deserves to come home,” Tice said.
For her, the matter is no longer about diplomatic subtlety or political calculation. It is about a son who has been absent far too long, and a mother who refuses to let his story fade. Her closing words were less a statement than a vow: that she will continue to press, to prod, and to remind the nation until Austin is finally returned.
