Initial reports speculated that person found may be journalist, but Tice’s mother said she knew it was not him

The mother of journalist Austin Tice – who was detained in Syria in 2012 – told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday that seeing another missing American, Travis Timmerman, found in Damascus recently felt “almost like having a rehearsal … of what it’s going to really feel like when it is Austin walking free”.

Initial reports on Wednesday speculated that the American found might be Austin Tice – but Debra Tice said she knew immediately it wasn’t her son.