HOUSTON – It’s been over 12 years since freelance journalist and Texas native, Austin Tice was kidnapped in Damascus Syria. The FBI is ramping up efforts to help bring him back home by offering a reward of up to $1 million for any information that can help do so.
MORE: US hostage envoy in Beirut to seek information on missing journalist Austin Tice
Recommended Videos
Tice, who is from Houston, has had his work published by The Washington Post, McClatchy newspapers, and other outlets.
A video released weeks after Tice went missing showed him blindfolded and held by armed men and saying, “Oh, Jesus.” He has not been heard from since. Syria has publicly denied that it was holding him.
RELATED: The US believes journalist Austin Tice is alive after disappearing in Syria in 2012, Biden says
On Sunday, President Joe Biden said the U.S. government believes Tice is alive and that Washington is committed to bringing him home after Bashar Assad’s ouster from power in Damascus.
“We think we can get him back,” Biden told reporters at the White House while acknowledging that “we have no direct evidence” of his status. “Assad should be held accountable.”
SEE ALSO: Mother of Austin Tice, journalist missing in Syria, says new information proves her son is alive
The United States has no new evidence that Tice is alive, but continues to operate under that assumption, according to a U.S. official. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, said the U.S. will continue to work to identify where he is and to try to bring him home.
If you have any information on Tice that can help directly lead to his safe location, recovery, and return, you’re asked to call the FBI tip line at tips.fbi.gov or via email at findaustintice@fbi.gov You may also contact your local FBI office, or nearest American Embassy or Consulate.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.