AMERICAN journalist Austin Tice escaped from a Syrian hellhole prison in 2013 before he was snatched back by Assad’s henchmen, US officials have revealed.
Dressed in ragged clothing, Tice is said to have dodged between houses in the streets of Damascus in a bid to seek protection from a local after escaping captivity.
Austin Tice escaped prison in 2013
CBSThe US journalist went to report in Syria in 2013[/caption]
It was the first public sighting of the American after he was captured during a reporting trip to Syria in 2012.
The former Marine had managed to slip out of his cell, one current and three former US officials and a person with knowledge of the event told Reuters.
Tice is now the focus of a massive manhunt following the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad this week after 13 years of civil war.
The American has not yet been found and there are no credible hints of his whereabouts.
There is also no clear evidence that he is dead.
US officials believe it is likely that Tice was taken after his escape by forces who answered directly to Assad.
One person with knowledge of the escape said Tice was potentially passed back and forth between several different government intelligence agencies in the following years.
US officials suggest that his escape from prison, where he was believed to have been held by a pro-government militia, is the strongest evidence the American government has to suggest that forces loyal to Assad held Tice.
When Tice escaped, he was spotted by people living in the Mazzeh neighborhood, wandering the street.
He entered the house of a well-known Syrian family, the name of which is being withheld for security reasons, a person familiar with the escape said.
Tice was recaptured soon after his escape, one current and one former U.S. official said.
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