A man identified as Pete Timmerman was last seen on a pilgrimage in Damascus, Syria, two years after his immigration to the United States
A man who identified himself as Pete Timmerman was found in a suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday.
Timmerman was last seen in Budapest, Hungary, in early June. On Thursday, he told reporters in Damascus that he had been on a pilgrimage and was detained earlier this year after crossing into Syria on foot from Lebanon.
A video circulated earlier Thursday showed Timmerman lying on a mattress under a blanket. A group of men around him said he would be treated well and sent home safely.
After graduating from Missouri State University in 2017, Timmerman worked in finance in Chicago for a couple of years before returning to school to earn a law degree, according to his mother.
But then he came back home, saying he wanted to write — about nature and especially his Christian faith. He went to church frequently after returning to their hometown of Urbana, Mo., she said.
Though he didn’t have much money, Travis went to Budapest to work on his writing and to help people, Gardiner said. He fell out of touch after warning her that his travels might make communication difficult.
News outlets started calling around 4:30 a.m. local time, she said. For hours, they remained unsure if the man found in Syria was actually Travis.
I was hoping it was him, but I didn’t know if it was a scam or not. And then my daughter saw him on the news,” she said. They were talking about who they were talking about. and I was so surprised. I cried too, because I was so happy.
A Missouri lawyer in Syria and the fate of his young brother, Timmerman, when he was released from the Syrian prison: a coming-of-age novel
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. She said that she probably wouldn’t let him go. I’ll say thanks, God you’re still alive. And I’m very happy. Our prayers came true.”
Tice was captured in Syria while reporting on the conflict there. His parents have fought hard for years to get their son out and the recent overthrow of the Assad regime increased hope that he may be found. Tice’s siblings told NPR this week that they have received information that their brother was 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. That is where he was handed over to U.S. custody 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.
After hugging a Syrian American activist, the Syrian official and some of the Syrian fighters who had been taking care of him, Timmerman was escorted into one of the American armored vehicles and driven away.
Timmerman said that he didn’t want his voice to be recorded or for formal interviews to take place because they wouldn’t fit with his spiritual modesty. He agreed to have photos taken. He said that he spent most of his time in prison meditating to achieve a spiritual clarity that he had never had before.
He said he was in the Syrian prison reflecting on his life before his arrest. He had been a lawyer in Chicago, practicing family law and writing what he described as a coming-of-age novel. He said he does not plan to publish the novel because he is not interested in commercial ventures.
Timmerman’s Mother, the New U.S. Embassy in Damascus: The Case for a American Missing in Syria
When NPR contacted Timmerman’s mother, Stacey Collins Gardiner, she said: “Tell him I love him very, very much I’ve been crying for him every day for the last few months. I’ve been crazy, I’ve been a nervous wreck.
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. Timmerman had a shower for the first time in seven months. The foreign ministry bought him new shoes and clothes.
The new government in Damascus is acting in good faith according to the director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force. “But this illustrates the importance that there need to be 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.