The U.S. State Department hassaid it believes American journalist Austin Tice, whodisappeared in Syria in August, is alive and being held by theSyrian government.
A shaky, 47-second video surfaced on Monday that appeared toshow Tice, blindfolded and being led by a group of masked men upa rocky pathway. At one point he is pushed to his knees andcries out, “Oh Jesus, oh Jesus.”
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland toldreporters on Monday the department had seen the video but couldnot confirm it was Tice, or whether the scene was authentic orhad been staged.
“There’s a lot of reason for the Syrian government to duckresponsibility, but we continue to believe that, to the best ofour knowledge, we think he is in Syrian government custody,“Nuland said.
Tice, 31, is a freelance journalist whose work has appearedin the Washington Post and other U.S. newspapers. According toTice’s Twitter profile, he is also a former U.S. Marine Corpsinfantry officer.
In a statement published by the McClatchy Companynewspapers, Tice’s parents, Marc and Debra Tice said: “KnowingAustin is alive and well is comforting to our family.”
“Though it is difficult to see our son in such a setting andsituation as that depicted in the video, it is reassuring thathe appears to be unharmed.”