WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump on Thursday called on Syria to release freelance journalist Austin Tice, who worked for McClatchy and other news organizations and has been missing since 2012.
"We hope the Syrian government will do that. We are counting on them to do that. We've written a letter just recently," Trump said at the start of a news briefing on the coronavirus pandemic.
"He's been there for a long time. And he was captured long ago. Austin Tice's mother is probably watching, and she's a great lady. And we're doing the best we can," he said.
Tice was reporting on the war in Syria when he went missing in 2012. His parents have been relentless in asking the U.S. government to help bring him home.
"I want to let everyone know that recovering Americans held captive and imprisoned abroad continues to be a top priority for my administration," Trump said.
He said his administration has been "working very hard with Syria to get him out" and praised Robert O'Brien, who was previously a chief hostage negotiator and is now the national security adviser, for his work.
"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 for Syria. We've done a lot for Syria," Trump said.
"We have to see if they're going to do this. So it would be very much appreciated if they would let Austin Tice out immediately," he said.
Tice has been missing since August 2012. The United States government is offering a $1 million reward for information that leads directly to his return.
"This administration is pressing it much more diligently than the previous administration," Debra Tice told McClatchy in a January interview. "There is a deliberate, concerted effort to make this happen."
In a statement after the president's remarks on Thursday, she said the Tice family is grateful to O'Brien and Trump for their advocacy of her son's release. "The President has our deepest appreciation," Tice wrote.
"At this very disturbing time for our nation and the world, it is more important than ever to get Austin safely home. As President Trump said, we ask the Syrian government to do all they can to locate and safely return Austin to our family. May it be soon!" she said.
