What you need to know about Austin Tice, the journalist held in Syria the US is “determined to return” to his family

Washington — The the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in the middle in Syria expressed hope that more information may emerge about the whereabouts of journalist Austin Tice, who is believed to be still alive more than 12 years after his abduction.

After a rebel offensive ended the Assad family's 50-year rule on Sunday, President Biden expressed hope that Tice could be returned to the US.

“We think we can bring him back, but we don't have direct proof of that yet,” Said Mr. Biden at the White House on Sunday. “We have to show him where he is.”

Tice, a Marine veteran and freelance journalist, disappeared on Aug. 14, 2012, while reporting on the Syrian civil war. After weeks, a while video surfaced online showing a distraught Tice blindfolded with his captors. He was last seen.

Although no one has ever claimed responsibility for his disappearance, Mr. Biden previously said the US “knows for sure that he is being held by the Syrian regime.”

“We are still committed to returning him to his family,” Mr Biden said on Sunday.

Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan said in an interview that “CBS MorningsMonday that the US was working with its allies and others in Syria “to track who is coming out of these prisons.”

“We are committed to reuniting Austin Tice with his family, and we will work with the Syrian people to make that happen,” Sullivan said.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller confirmed Monday that the government's chief spokesman, Roger Carstens, is in neighboring Lebanon working on Tice's case.

“He's in Beirut to talk to people in the region, talk to parties in the region, gather information and try to find out where Austin Tice is and bring him home as soon as possible,” said Miller.

CBS News has reached out to the Tice family for comment.

The Tice family says a “key source” has provided new information

Two days before rebels toppled the Assad regime, Tice's parents and siblings asked Sullivan about her case at a meeting they said had been planned for months.

Debra Tice, his mother, said in a press conference later in the day that “Austin Tice is alive” and “cared for and well.” He said the information came from a “critical source” vetted by the US government.

Marc Tice, his father, said the new information was “very different” from previous sources.

“We're confident this information is new. It shows late this year that Austin is alive and well,” he said.

But the family also said they were frustrated by the US government's failure to bring him home and said they had received few assurances from the efforts of the Biden administration.

“There seems to be a huge disconnect between what President Biden told Austin about doing everything we can to bring him home, and then the actions and behavior of the people sitting under him,” his brother Simon said. Tice said in a press conference.

The family also accused the US government of preventing the release of information about Austin Tice's well-being.