I'm Ayesha Roscoe, and you're listening to The Sunday Story.
Under the regime of Bashar al-Assad, Syria had the highest number of journalists held hostage,
according to a report from the nonprofit organization Reporters Without Borders.
And one of the most famous hostages in Syria is American journalist Austin Tice.
Tice's disappearance in Syria 14 years ago is considered one of the biggest unsolved missing person cases of our time.
Despite the efforts of Austin Tice's family and world leaders calling for his release,
little is known about what happened to him or where he might be.
Over the last few years, BBC investigative journalists Josh Baker and Sarah Obadot have been following Tice's trail.
During their investigation, they've discovered a complicated story of power struggles, secret documents,
and people who do not want this story to be told.
Today on The Sunday Story, we bring you the first episode of a new series from NPR's Embedded
that details Josh and Sarah's years-long journey to find answers about what happened to Austin Tice.
Many of the discoveries they make in the series have never been made public before,
but they help paint a picture of how the journalist disappeared and where he may have been taken.
Also, just a note, throughout the reporting and publishing of this investigation into an ongoing missing person case,
Josh and his team have maintained regular contact
with the Tice family and kept them informed of their discoveries along the way.
Today, I'm handing the show over to Josh Baker and Sarah Obadot as they try to answer the question, where's Austin Tice?
Their story starts back in August of 2024. It was the first time Josh met Tice's mother.
I need 13, please.