Austin Tice Bio
Austin Bennett Tice is an American award-winning freelance journalist and a veteran U.S. Marine Corps officer who is believed to be imprisoned by militants in Syria since 2012. He traveled to Syria to document the nation’s then-young civil war as a freelance reporter.
Austin Tice Age
Austin is 38 years old as of March 2020; he was born on August 11, 1981 in Plano, Texas, U.S.
Austin Tice Education
Austin attended the University of Houston for one year before transferring to and graduated from the Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service in 2002. He later joined Georgetown University Law Center where he completed two years of study.
Austin Tice Family – Austin Tice Parents
Tice is the son of Marc and Debra Tice. Since his disappearance his parents continue to fight for his release. They stay in contact with the Syrian government and making frequent trips to the Middle East.
“It’s important for those that are in authority over Austin’s release to know that no one is benefiting from his detention. But when he is released, there will be great benefit and sincere appreciation from the United States government,” Debra told NBC News.
Austin Tice Siblings
Austin is the eldest of seven siblings.
Austin Tice Wife
Austin was not married during his time of the abduction.
Austin Tice Syria
Austin went to Syria in May 2012 and traveled through central Syria. He was one of only a few foreign journalists to report from inside Syria during intensification of the civil war.
He was one of the first American correspondents to witness Syrian-rebel confrontations. His coverage was cited as contributing to McClatchy winning a George Polk Award for war reporting for its coverage of Syria’s civil war.
Austin Tice Captive in Syria
Austin traveled to Syria in the spring of 2012 to document the nation’s then-young civil war as a freelance reporter before starting his final year at Georgetown Law School. He went to the south of Damascus to write his final pieces. He planned to depart for Lebanon on August 14, three days after his 31st birthday. He got into a car in the Damascus suburb of Darayya to make the trip, but shortly after leaving was detained at a checkpoint. No one has claimed responsibility for his capture nor what is required to secure his safe release.
One of his last messages came on Aug. 11, 2012, to a friend. He wrote, “I’m outside Damascus — government is jamming the Internet for most of the day. Today’s my birthday. I had a pool party with the (rebels). No joke.”
In September 2012 a 47-second video of Tice blindfolded and bound was released. A U.S. spokesperson said it believed, based on the limited information it had, that Tice was in the custody of the Syrian government.
Austin Tice Update
On April 19, 2020 during a live coronavirus task force press conference, President Donald Trump said that the government was working hard to get him out of Syria.
“I want to let everyone know that recovering Americans held captive and imprisoned abroad continues to be a top priority for my administration.
“We have one young gentleman, Austin Tice, and we’re working very hard with Syria to get him out. We hope the Syrian government will do that, we’re counting on them to do that. We have written a letter just recently — because he’s been there a long time, he was captured long ago.
Austin Tice, his mother’s probably watching — and she’s a great lady — and we’re doing the best we can, so, Syria, please work with us and we would appreciate you letting him out. If you think about what we’ve done, we’ve gotten rid of the ISIS caliphate in Syria, we’ve done a lot for Syria. We have to see if they’re going to do this, so it would be very appreciated if they let Austin Tice out immediately.”
Austin Tice Alive – Austin Tice Dead
In November 2018 U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Robert O’Brien said they believed Austin was still alive. “I want to make it very clear that the United States government believes Austin Tice is alive. We are deeply concerned about his well-being after six years of captivity.”
In December 2018 during a press conference, his parents said that they had received new information that indicated their son was still alive without elaborating further.
On May 19, 2020 President Donald Trump said he was not confirming that Austin was alive, but that if he is, his administration is working to bring him home.