Austin Tice's mother returns to Syria, says Trump officials 'have already reached out'

The mother of U.S. journalist Austin Tice says she has been in contact with incoming Trump administration officials about locating her son, who has been missing in Syria since 2012.

“I have great hope that the Trump administration will sincerely engage in diligent work to bring Austin home,” Debra Tice said during a Monday news conference in Damascus, according to NBC News. “His people have already reached out to me. I haven’t experienced that for the last four years.”

Biden administration officials late last year said Tice, a freelance journalist who disappeared near Damascus in August 2012, is alive, though officials have not produced any direct evidence to support that claim.

Tice's mother also did not produce new evidence regarding her son's location or well being, NBC News noted.

Debra Tice had previously told the outlet she had received an intelligence briefing suggesting her son was alive.

The FBI has kept a $1 million reward for information related to the “safe location, recovery, and return,” of the former U.S. Marine who had been reporting on the Syrian civil war when he went missing.

During her visit to Syria, which came as President Trump was inaugurated in Washington, Tice met with Ahmed al-Sharaa, the head of the rebel faction that ended the reign of dictator Bashar al-Assad and now the de factor ruler of the country.

“During my time in Damascus, I have been privileged to meet with the new leadership of Syria. It was so wonderful to learn that they are dedicated and determined to bring home my son,” she reportedly said.

“He came here as a journalist to tell the story of the Syrian people to the world, and in the process, fell in love with this beautiful country,” she added.

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