#DC-0222
Austin Tice
Missing person
last updated 4 November 2026 · 9 sources
Confirmed facts
12
Open questions
5
Missing since
2012
Stage
Missing
This case is still developing. Get an email when the file updates.
Timeline of what's confirmed12 entries
13 August 2012
Austin Tice, a freelance journalist and former Marine, was abducted near Damascus while reporting on Syria's civil war.
Washington Post
13 August 2012
The Washington Post reported that a satellite-phone record reviewed by Tyler Seibel showed Tice's device last active at 11:37 UTC, midafternoon in Syria.
Washington Post
September 2012
AP reported that a video released weeks after Tice went missing showed him blindfolded and held by armed men; AP reported he has not been heard from since.
AP
8 December 2024
President Joe Biden said the U.S. government believed Tice was alive and was committed to bringing him home, while acknowledging that officials had no direct evidence of his status.
AP
9 December 2024
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said U.S. hostage envoy Roger Carstens was in Beirut seeking information on Tice's whereabouts and trying to get him home.
AP
20 December 2024
AP reported that a U.S. diplomatic delegation's visit to Damascus was aimed partly at seeking information on Tice's whereabouts.
AP
18 January 2025
Nizar Zakka of Hostage Aid Worldwide told AP that Debra Tice arrived in Damascus to continue the search and meet Syrian officials.
AP
20 January 2025
Debra Tice said in Damascus that the Trump administration had offered support to help find her son; AP reported she presented no new findings.
AP
20 January 2025
Debra Tice said she had met Ahmad al-Sharaa and described him as dedicated and determined to bring back Austin Tice and others missing in Syria.
AP
April 2025
The Trump administration allowed Debra and Marc Tice to review declassified intelligence; the ODNI described it to the Washington Post as a special briefing and said the records were not cleared for public release.
Washington Post
April 2025
The Washington Post reported that Bassam Hassan told CIA officers and FBI agents in Beirut that Bashar al-Assad ordered Tice killed in 2013; U.S. officials had not corroborated the account.
Washington Post
13 August 2025
The FBI declined to comment to the Washington Post and said its investigation remained ongoing.
Washington Post
Open questionsunconfirmed · not conclusions
Where is Austin Tice now?unconfirmed; AP reported U.S. belief that he was alive but no direct evidence · unconfirmed
What happened to Tice after the 2012 video?unconfirmed; AP reported he has not been heard from since · unconfirmed
Which, if any, of the competing accounts of his fate is supported by verifiable evidence?unconfirmed; BBC described competing accounts · unconfirmed
Are the claims attributed to Bassam Hassan accurate?uncorroborated; Washington Post reported U.S. officials had not corroborated them · unconfirmed
What information is contained in the declassified intelligence reviewed by Tice's parents?not public; Washington Post reported the records were not cleared for public release · unconfirmed
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