According to two U.S. defense officials and his family, Travis Timmerman, the missing Missouri man who was unexpectedly discovered in Syria after claiming to have entered the country on a “pilgrimage,” was transported to Jordan by the U.S. military on Friday.
The 29-year-old Timmerman’s family said they had not heard from him in months before seeing him on the news on Thursday when footage from Syria caused some to mistake him for missing American journalist Austin Tice, 43.
“It feels fantastic! “Grate God!” Pixie Rogers, Timmerman’s sister, remarked after hearing that he was getting closer to returning home. “I would like for him to know that my whole family and I love him so much and that we are happy to know that we are going to see him soon.”
In a Telegram post, Syria’s Department of Political Affairs verified the transfer. Timmerman was transported by U.S. military chopper from Syria.
Timmerman told news reporters that he had been imprisoned for “been reading the scripture a lot” prior to choosing to cross the mountains from Lebanon into Syria. Timmerman is from Urbana, Missouri, a tiny town north of Springfield.
Locals and journalists were shocked to learn of his finding, as thousands of prisoners were released from prisons following President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster over the weekend.
Although Timmerman’s family was aware that he had visited Eastern European countries, such as the Czech Republic and Hungary, to write and study more about God and religion, they became concerned that his laptop and cell phone might have been taken after May.
According to Rogers, the family only found out that Timmerman was in Lebanon in the last several weeks, following Missouri law enforcement’s successful communication with U.S. Embassy representatives in Hungary.
However, his family was unaware that he had traveled to Syria.
Regarding her brother traveling to a war-torn nation, Rogers remarked on Thursday, “I don’t know what his thinking was in that.” That is not what I would expect him to do.
A guy named Pete Timmerman was reported missing by authorities in Missouri and Budapest, the capital of Hungary. Hungarian police identified him as Travis Pete Timmerman.
Timmerman vanished from Budapest on May 28, according to a public awareness notice from the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Timmerman told reporters that he entered Syria illegally on foot earlier this year and was stopped by Syrian authorities.
“I was in prison for seven months,” Timmerman told NBC News while at a facility outside of Damascus. However, everything has been alright. I got arrested while I was on a trip.
He went on to say that he was questioned by Syrian authorities to see if he was a “political actor,” but that he was eventually exonerated.
“Then I was just held in prison,” described Timmerman. “I wasn’t beaten or anything like that.”
On Monday, Timmerman was released from detention as rebel forces overran Damascus and forced Assad to escape to Russia, his ally. A civil war had broken out in Syria following the 2011 Arab Spring demonstrations.
Timmerman claimed that after being freed, he was sleeping outside, barefoot, and temporarily staying with “a friend” and in an unoccupied apartment.
According to Don Kelderhouse, Timmerman’s pastor in Missouri, he was excited to express his beliefs after being baptized in the church approximately a year and a half ago. His recuperation in Syria was unexpected.
According to Kelderhouse, “It’s a miracle,” on Thursday. “The fact that we think that he hasn’t been abused, that’s another miracle.”
Stacey Collins Gardiner, Timmerman’s mother, told Kansas City’s NBC affiliate KSHB that the March trip abroad was his first time traveling abroad and that at first she was unaware of any specifics of his schedule. Prior to going off the radar in May, he had been making calls roughly three times a week.
Gardiner claimed that not hearing from her son, one of her four children, over the past few months had devastated her.
When she found out he was still alive on Thursday, she said, “I shed happy tears.”
Finding out he was still alive was a comfort, she continued, “because he’s my baby.”
Note: Every piece of content is rigorously reviewed by our team of experienced writers and editors to ensure its accuracy. Our writers use credible sources and adhere to strict fact-checking protocols to verify all claims and data before publication. If an error is identified, we promptly correct it and strive for transparency in all updates, feel free to reach out to us via email. We appreciate your trust and support!