Travis Timmerman: Missing American found in Syria says he was kept in prison after entering country as pilgrim

CNN-

A missing American man has been found in Syria, where he says he was detained for months after entering the country as a pilgrim.

Travis Timmerman spoke to several media outlets on Thursday after residents saw him walking barefoot in the streets of southern Damascus.

Thousands of people were released from Syrian prisons this week after rebels overthrew former President Bashar al-Assad.

Speaking to CBS News, Timmerman said he had been held in a Syrian prison for several months after entering the country without permission, having crossed the border into Lebanon.

He had decided to go to Syria for spiritual purposes, he told the channel.

He said his cell door was broken down Monday by two men armed with AK-47s, CBS News reported, and that he left the prison with a large group to try to reach Jordan.

Timmerman's time in the Syrian prison wasn't too bad, he said, according to CBS News.

I have never been beaten. The only downside was that I couldn't go to the bathroom whenever I wanted. I was only allowed out three times a day to go to the toilet, he said.

Timmerman made similar comments Thursday on NBC and Al-Arabiya TV.

Timmerman's parents said they were relieved he was safe after a difficult seven months.

The tears started, it was so emotional, Timmerman's stepfather, Richard Gardiner, told CNN affiliate KYTV. I think the worst, after seven months you think he's gone.

Gardiner said he called Timmerman's mother, Stacey Timmerman, to tell her the news. I called her and said, “It’s him, and he’s alive!” So we both cried on the phone, Gardiner said.

An alert reporting Timmerman's disappearance was issued by Hungarian police in August, although a Facebook post by a family friend indicated he had been missing since June. He was last seen in Budapest in late May, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said in a public awareness bulletin.

Timmerman worked for the Chicago, Illinois-based law firm Goldberg Law Group for about a year between 2020 and 2021, the firm's managing partner Michael Goldberg told CNN on Thursday.

He was a super nice guy who had moved to Chicago for work, Goldberg said, also describing him as pretty smart.

When Timmerman was found, those on the ground were also searching for missing American journalist Austin Tice, detained in Syria since 2012. Although he has not yet been found, the interim Syrian government said in a statement Thursday that the Efforts to locate ICTs are underway.

The Syrian government also confirmed Timmerman's release.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that the United States was working to return to the United States a US citizen found today.

I can't give you any details on exactly what's going to happen except to say we're working to get him home, get him out of Syria and get him back home, Blinken said at a news conference in Jordan.

CNN has reached out to Timmerman's family and friends for comment.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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