Outside Damascus there is a barefoot American who is missing

Pete Travis Timmerman, a 21-year-old American man in Damascus, Syria, told the NPR crew

DAMASCUS, Syria — An American man who identified himself as Pete Travis Timmerman was found in a suburb of the Syrian capital Damascus by local residents on Thursday.

NPR was part of a convoy that broughtTimmerman from Damascus to southern Syria near a U.S. base. Over breakfast before the convoy departed, Timmerman spoke with NPR about his time in prison, his Christian faith — and what drove him to Syria.

A video circulated earlier Thursday showed Timmerman lying on a mattress under a blanket. A group of men surrounding him said he would be taken care of and sent home safely.

Timmerman received degrees in finance and law at Missouri State University, before working for a few years as a lawyer in Chicago, according to his mother.

He came back home and said he wanted to write about his faith and nature. 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 warned her that his travels might be hard to communicate with.

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.

It was unclear if it was a scam or not. She said that her daughter saw him on the news. “Not him, but they were talking about him.” and I was so surprised. I was so happy, I cried too — happy tears.”

Timmerman, an American citizen in Syria, told the AFP/Syria Monitor in a Crowded Space Camp

At the time of the interview, she didn’t know if her son or anyone from the government had found anything in Syria.

I will hug him. And then I probably won’t let him go,” she said, laughing. “I’ll say, well, thank God you’re still alive. And I’m very happy. Our prayers were answered.

Tice was in Syria reporting on the conflict. His parents have led a yearslong fight to free their son and the overthrowing of the Assad regime increased hope that Tice may be found. According to Tice’s siblings, they have gotten word that his brother is alive.

A young Missouri man freed from a Syrian prison after the regime fell this month began his journey by going on a pilgrimage along 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 he did not want to give formal interviews or have his voice recorded because it did not fit with the spiritual modesty he worked to cultivate. He allowed photos to be taken. He said he spent much of his time in prison meditating, achieving a spiritual clarity that he had never had.

In the Syrian prison, he said, he reflected on his life before his arrest. He had a law practice in Chicago and had written a novel. He said he wouldn’t publish the novel because he wasn’t interested in commercial ventures.

The New Syrian Government is Acting in Good Faith – Telling Timmerman he’s sorry I am going to Damascus

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 all the time. I’ve been a nervous wreck, it’s just been crazy for me.”

When the American was located, the Syrian American activist brought him to Syria’s foreign ministry and contacted U.S. officials. There was a shower for Timmerman in seven months. Foreign ministry staff bought him new clothes and shoes.

“The new government in Damascus is acting in good faith,” said Moustafa, director of the Syrian Emergency Task Force. This shows why there are 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.