Austin Tice’s mother, Debra Tice, expressed optimism on Sunday that the Syrian upheaval could lead to her son’s release. The news of Travis Timmerman’s release from a Syrian prison by rebels, initially mistaken for her son, felt to her like a “rehearsal” for Austin’s eventual freedom, she said after her children alerted her to the social media images.

While acknowledging the initial misidentification of Timmerman as her son, Debra Tice described it as a joyous moment rather than false hope. Timmerman reportedly entered Syria for a spiritual mission earlier this year and was arrested for illegal entry.

“It was almost like having a rehearsal … an inkling of what it’s really going to feel like when it is Austin walking free,” she stated on NBC’s “Meet the Press”.

Tice’s case has become a major focus following the recent ouster of Syrian President Assad after thirteen years of civil war. Rebels, led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, have freed numerous prisoners from Damascus jails, including political opponents, civilians, and foreigners.

A week after Assad’s departure, some U.S. officials harbor concerns that Tice may have been killed in recent Israeli airstrikes or that he may have suffocated due to power outages in Damascus prisons that cut off ventilation before Assad’s escape.

Regarding ground searches for Tice, Debra Tice expressed gratitude for the efforts of journalists and civilians, including Hostage Aid Worldwide, but noted the U.S. government’s decision against entering Damascus. She stated, “The U.S. government has made the decision that they’re not going into Damascus. So, my feeling is, if they don’t want to be there, they shouldn’t be there. And the people that are there are the people that are determined,”

Tice, a freelance reporter for the Washington Post and McClatchy, was among the first U.S. journalists to enter Syria at the start of the civil war. He was captured in Aleppo in August 2012 during fighting.

Weeks later, a video surfaced on YouTube showing a blindfolded and bound Tice being led by armed men, seemingly attempting to implicate Islamist rebels, though the video only gained traction after appearing on a pro-Assad Facebook page.

Reuters reported on Friday that in 2013, Tice, a former Marine, briefly escaped his cell and was sighted moving between houses in Damascus’ Mazzeh district.