The body of American journalist Austin Tice has reportedly been found in Syria a decade after he was kidnapped while reporting on the Syrian Civil War. There had been hope that he would be found alive after the Assad regime fell late last year. 

Sky News Arabia reported on Sunday that Tice’s body was found in a cemetery in northern Syria. He disappeared in August 2012 while working as a freelance foreign correspondent for various news outlets, including CBS News, McClatchy, and the Washington Post. 

Growing up, Tice had wanted to work as a journalist, though he first ended up joining the Marines, where he served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan during the Global War on Terror. He then went on to Georgetown Law School, and made the decision to work as a freelancer in Syria ahead of his final year at the university. 

The Syrian government has always denied that it was responsible for Tice’s disappearance, though American officials during the first Trump administration confirmed that they were having talks with both the Syrians and the Russians about locating Tice and returning him to his family. 

After President Assad was forced from power in December, Tice’s mother, Debora Tice, said that she hoped her son would be found in one of the many prisons controlled by the regime emptied when rebels overthrew the government. 

In an interview with PBS News after the Assad government fell, Ms. Tice criticized the Biden administration for not sending American officials to look for her son, even as political prisoners were being freed. 

“Well, I mean, one of the things that seems so odd to me is that they’re not going into Damascus,” Ms. Tice said at the time. She said seeing political prisoners being freed on television gave her and others a “contagious” sense of hope that her son would be found. 

She also praised a non-profit group which had been advocating on behalf of her family. 

“Hostage Aid Worldwide is the NGO that we have been working with. And they are on the ground there looking for Austin. So we do have that kind of support,” Ms. Tice said. 

In a statement on Sunday, Hostage Aid Worldwide said any official comment from the Tice family on the fate of their loved one would come from the organization. 

“We would like to clarify that only the Tice family will issue official comments or statements regarding any ongoing developments. These statements will be made either directly by the family or through Hostage Aid, and only once information has been verified and confirmed,” they said. 

“We respectfully ask all media outlets and members of the public to refrain from speculation — particularly during this Mother’s Day weekend — and to allow the family the space and privacy they deserve until an official statement is released,” Hostage Aid Worldwide added.