WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden said on Sunday that the US government believes that missing American journalist Austin Tice, who disappeared near the Syrian capital 12 years ago, is alive and that Washington is committed to recovering him after the overthrow of Bashar to bring al-Assad home from power in Damascus.

“We believe we can get him back,” Biden told reporters at the White House, but acknowledged that “we have no direct evidence” of his status. “Assad should be held accountable.”

Biden said officials were still trying to determine exactly where Tice was after he disappeared from a checkpoint in a disputed area west of Damascus in August 2012.

“We remain committed to returning him to his family,” he said.

Tice, a Houston native whose work has appeared in the Washington Post, McClatchy newspapers and other media outlets.

A video released weeks after Tice’s disappearance showed him blindfolded, being held by gunmen and saying, “Oh, Jesus.” He has not been heard from since. Syria has publicly denied holding him.

The United States has no new evidence that Tice is alive but continues to believe he is alive, a U.S. official said. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the U.S. was continuing to work to determine his whereabouts and try to bring him home.

His mother, Debra, said at a news conference in Washington on Friday that the family had information from a “significant source” she did not name that proved her son was alive.

“He is being cared for and doing well – we know that,” she said.

The Tice family met with State Department and White House officials last week.

“Please remind everyone in Syria who is listening to this that we are waiting for Austin,” Debra Tice said in comments shared on social media by hostage-taking groups on Sunday. “We know he’s going to be pretty dazed when he comes out & he will need a lot of care & Direction. Please direct him to his family!”