Current:Home > reviewsSafeX Pro:Man identifying himself as American Travis Timmerman found in Syria after being freed from prison -ProfitQuest Academy
SafeX Pro:Man identifying himself as American Travis Timmerman found in Syria after being freed from prison
Ethermac View
Date:2025-04-10 07:13:21
A man identifying himself as an American from Missouri,SafeX Pro Travis Timmerman, was found Thursday in Syria after he said he was freed from a prison earlier in the week, when longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad was forced from powerby a shock rebel offensive.
Timmerman told CBS News senior foreign correspondent Elizabeth Palmer that he had been trying to make his own way out of the country after walking out of the prison where he'd been held for more than half of a year. He said he was detained upon entering Syria without permission seven months ago after spending a month in neighboring Lebanon.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking to reporters in Aqaba, Jordan, briefly addressed the discovery of Timmerman.
"In terms of an American citizen who was found just today, I can't give you any details on exactly what's going to happen except to say that we're working to bring them home, to bring them out of Syria and to bring them home," Blinken said. "But for privacy reasons, I can't share any more detail than that at this point."
A U.S. official previously told CBS News the government was aware of the reports that an American had been found outside Damascus and that it was seeking to provide support, but the official declined to provide any further detail out of respect for his privacy.
Timmerman said two men armed with AK-47s broke his prison door down Monday with a hammer.
"My door was busted down, it woke me up," Timmerman said. "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 said he had gone to Syria for Christian "spiritual purposes" and that his experience in prison "wasn't too bad."
"I was never beaten. The only really bad part was that I couldn't go to the bathroom when I wanted to. I was only let out three times a day to go to the bathroom," he said.
Timmerman said he left the prison with a large group and started walking away. He said he had been trying to head toward Jordan.
He said he "had a few moments of fear," when he left the prison, and hadn't really processed that he was free.
"I still haven't really thought about that. I've been more worried about finding a place to sleep each night since then," he told CBS News. "So I've been working, really."
Timmerman said he hadn't been afraid to approach people to ask for help or a place to sleep at night on his journey.
"They were coming to me, mostly," Timmerman said, adding that he'd spoken with his family three weeks ago, through a phone that he had while in prison. He said he had been allowed to use it.
"I'm feeling well. I've been fed and I've been watered, so I'm feeling well," Timmerman said.
Timmerman was named as "Travis Pete Timmerman" on a missing person's bulletin published by Hungarian police in August, which said he had been last seen at a church in the country.
A missing person's bulletin published by the Missouri State Highway Patrol said that Timmerman, whose first name was listed as Pete, had been last seen in Budapest. The bulletin said the date of his last contact had been June 2, 2024, and that he was 29 years old when he went missing.
Camilla Schickand Joanne Stockercontributed to this report.
- In:
- Bashar al-Assad
- Breaking News
- Syria
Haley Ott is the CBS News Digital international reporter, based in the CBS News London bureau.
Twitter InstagramDisclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
veryGood! (8854)
Related
- San Francisco names street for Associated Press photographer who captured the iconic Iwo Jima photo
- How Nick Cannon Honored Late Son Zen on What Would've Been His 2nd Birthday
- In Pennsylvania’s Primary Election, Little Enthusiasm for the Northeast’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
- Turning Trash to Natural Gas: Utilities Fight for Their Future Amid Climate Change
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- The White House is avoiding one word when it comes to Silicon Valley Bank: bailout
- China Provided Abundant Snow for the Winter Olympics, but at What Cost to the Environment?
- Save 44% on the It Cosmetics Waterproof, Blendable, Long-Lasting Eyeshadow Sticks
- Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
- White House targets junk fees in apartment rentals, promises anti-price gouging help
Ranking
- 2 killed, 3 injured in shooting at makeshift club in Houston
- Climate Activists Target a Retrofitted ‘Peaker Plant’ in Queens, Decrying New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure
- Tyson will close poultry plants in Virginia and Arkansas that employ more than 1,600
- Despite One Big Dissent, Minnesota Utilities Approve of Coal Plant Sale. But Obstacles Remain
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- YouTuber MrBeast Says He Declined Invitation to Join Titanic Sub Trip
- What to know about the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, takeover and fallout
- Beavers Are Flooding the Warming Alaskan Arctic, Threatening Fish, Water and Indigenous Traditions
Recommendation
Paige Bueckers vs. Hannah Hidalgo highlights women's basketball games to watch
Warming Trends: Extracting Data From Pictures, Paying Attention to the ‘Twilight Zone,’ and Making Climate Change Movies With Edge
Video: Carolina Tribe Fighting Big Poultry Joined Activists Pushing Administration to Act on Climate and Justice
Proposal before Maine lawmakers would jumpstart offshore wind projects
What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
Fossil Fuel Companies Are Quietly Scoring Big Money for Their Preferred Climate Solution: Carbon Capture and Storage
Louisiana university bars a graduate student from teaching after a profane phone call to a lawmaker
It's Equal Pay Day. The gender pay gap has hardly budged in 20 years. What gives?