Missing American found wandering barefoot after months in Syrian prison
Travis Timmerman, a United States citizen who went missing seven months ago, was discovered in the village of Thihabiyeh near Damascus, Syria. Timmerman had entered Syria from Lebanon on a Christian pilgrimage and was arrested soon after crossing the border. He was discovered by locals wandering barefoot in the early hours of Thursday. The discovery comes as rebels say they plan to close Bashar al-Assad's notoriously harsh prisons and pursue those responsible for torturing or killing inmates.
Family's reaction and US government's repatriation efforts
On Monday, a day after rebels took control of Damascus and ousted Assad, Timmerman said two men armed with hammers forced open his jail door. It was "busted down, it woke me up," he said. It was "busted down, it woke me up," he explained. "I thought the guards were still there, so I thought the warfare could have been more active than it ended up being... Once we got out, there was no resistance, there was no real fighting."
Timmerman's detention and discovery in Syria
Speaking to Al-Arabiya, he described his detention conditions as "tolerable," adding, "I was fed. I was watered." He also disclosed that he was kept in isolation but could hear others being tortured. Timmerman's disappearance was first reported by Hungarian police after he was last seen in Budapest in early June. His family had remained unaware of his whereabouts until news broke of his discovery. His mother, Stacey Collins Gardiner, expressed relief upon learning her son was alive.
Timmerman's journey and life before disappearance
The US government is now working to bring Timmerman back home, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirming efforts to repatriate him. Timmerman had worked at a Chicago law firm before returning to Missouri to write about nature and his Christian faith. He told fellow NBC that he had climbed the mountains between Lebanon and Syria on a "pilgrimage" and had "been reading the scripture a lot." He denied the opportunity to communicate with American officials.
