Hickory County man found in Syria heading back to the U.S.

UPDATE 12/13/2024 — A man who was found in Syria after being missing for months is on his way back to the United States.

Pete Travis Timmerman's sister Pixie Rogers could not provide an estimated date for his return, but said she had received word that Timmerman is "in government hands right now" and was en route to a military base in Jordan.

Original story (12/12/24):

URBANA, Mo. — A man with connections to Hickory County was found in Syria today, saying he had been freed from seven months in prison after the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP), 29-year-old Pete Travis Timmerman (also identified as Travis Timmerman) was reported missing from Budapest, Hungary in June 2024. Hungarian authorities issued a missing person report for Timmerman in August.

Timmerman lived near Urbana, Missouri, where his mother and stepfather still reside, and graduated from Skyline High School and Missouri State University (MSU). He had been on a Christian pilgrimage when he was detained in Syria, according to the Associated Press (AP).

He appears to have been among thousands of people released from prison after rebels reached Damascus, overthrowing Assad, the AP reports.

The AP says when video showed up online, Timmerman was initially mistaken by some as American journalist Austin Tice, who has been missing from Syria for 12 years.

The video showed Timmerman lying on a mattress under a blanket in what appeared to be a private house, the AP said. Timmerman later gave an interview with the Al-Arabiya TV network, saying he had been treated well in detention.

The AP says there has not been comment from U.S. officials traveling with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Aqaba, Jordan.

This is a developing story, and OzarksFirst will update as more information becomes available.