US Envoy Visiting Syria to Try to Bring Missing Journalist Austin Tice Home

The freelancer was taken captive in Syria in 2012. A video that year shows him in captivity. The Assad government denied keeping him in captivity.

American freelance journalist Austin Tice, who had been reporting for American news organizations in Syria until his disappearance in August 2012, prays in Arabic and English while blindfolded in the presence of gunmen, in a still from undated video posted to YouTube. AP Photo

WASHINGTON—U.S. Special Envoy Roger Carstens is currently in Syria in an effort to bring home journalist Austin Tice after 12 years in captivity, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on Dec. 9, saying that “intensive efforts are underway.”

This comes following the collapse of the regime of Bashar al-Assad over the weekend. Tice’s mother, Debra Tice, said that her son is alive, citing a “significant source.”