A young American man was found in Syria and is now with U.S. forces
Pete Timmerman, an Al-Assad Detainee, and His Friends, Gardiner, and a Syrian, Living in a Slumber
The man who identified himself as Pete Timmerman was found by the local residents in the suburb of Damascus.
After his release along with other detainees when the regime of Bashar al-Assad fell, Timmerman was found walking barefoot in a Damascus suburb. The family of a Syrian woman who was also freed took him to their home and gave him tea and oranges.
Timmerman was seen lying under a blanket in a video. A group of men surrounded him said he would be taken care of and sent home safely.
Timmerman received a degree in finance at Missouri State University in 2017, followed by a law degree, and then worked in Chicago for a couple of years, said Gardiner, his mother.
He came back home, saying he wanted to write a book about his faith and nature. He went to church frequently after returning to their hometown of Urbana, Mo., she said.
He went to Hungary to help people, even though he didn’t have a lot of money. He warned her that his travels would be difficult to communicate with.
News outlets started calling Gardiner and her husband around 4:30 a.m. local time, she said. They didn’t know if the man they were looking for was actually the one they found.
I was hoping it was him, but we were not sure if it was a scam or not. She mentioned that her daughter saw him on the news. “Not him but they were talking about the man,” said the person. and I was so surprised. I was so happy, I cried too — happy tears.”
Timmerman, a Missouri man in Syria, when he was captured and turned over to the U.S. during a desert pilgrimage
At the time NPR spoke with Gardiner Thursday morning, she said she hadn’t spoken to her son or anyone from the government about his apparent discovery in Syria.
“I will hug him. … And then I probably won’t let him go,” she said, laughing. Thank you, God, you are alive, I’ll say. And I’m so happy. Our prayers came true.”
Tice was captured in Syria while reporting on the conflict there. His parents have spent years trying to get their son released and the overthrow of the Assad regime boosted hope that Tice might be found. The Tice’s siblings told NPR that they’ve received information that their brother is alive.
ALONG THE M2 HIGHWAY in southern Syria — The journey of a young Missouri man freed from a Syrian prison when the regime fell earlier this month began with a wilderness religious pilgrimage earlier this year and ended on a remote desert highway. He was turned over to the U.S. on Friday.
A U.S. fighter jet flew overhead as the American man walked with an official from Syria’s interim government to meet U.S. special forces positioned in front of MRAP armored vehicles on the deserted highway.
Timmerman, the Syrian official, and some of the Syrian fighters who had taken care of him were escorted into one of the American armored vehicles and drove away.
Timmerman said he didn’t want to give formal interviews because it wouldn’t fit with the way he wanted to practice spiritual modesty. He allowed photos to be taken. He said that he was able to get a spiritual clarity during his time in prison.
He was in a Syrian prison where he reflected on his life before his arrest. He was a lawyer in Chicago and wrote a novel about coming-of-age. He said he does not plan to publish the novel because he is not interested in commercial ventures.
The U.S. Embassy in Damascus, Syria: An American Activist Tells the Syrian People that he is Missing
When NPR contacted Timmerman’s mother, Stacey Collins Gardiner, she said: “Tell him I love him very, very much I have been crying for him all day. I’ve been crazy and nervous for the past few weeks.
When Mouaz Moustafa, a Syrian American activist, learned that an American had been found, he contacted U.S. officials and brought Travis to Syria’s foreign ministry. There Timmerman had his first shower in seven months. Foreign ministry staff bought him running shoes and new clothes.
“The new government in Damascus is acting in good faith,” said Moustafa, director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force. This shows the importance of official delegations to Damascus.
The U.S. has no direct diplomatic presence in Syria. Moustafa said he knows of at least six other Americans missing in Syria. He believes that others, not imprisoned, have never been formally reported as missing.
Travis Timmerman, a 26-year-old US man who was kidnapped in Syria, was reunited with his family on Wednesday after he was freed by the new Syrian government. “Tell him I love him very, very much I’ve been crying for him all day. When Mouaz Moustafa… learned that an American had been found, he contacted US officials,” his mother said.