"Journalists like Austin from all over the world risk their lives every day to cover the news. Austin’s reporting on the events in Syria has been particularly powerful and revealing – and a reminder of why this work is so vital,” Anders Gyllenhaal, McClatchy Newspapers vice president for news, said in a statement.

He added that the company was “deeply concerned about Austin’s safety” and was working with other news organizations and the State Department to find him. Anyone with information on Tice, he said, should contact Mark Seibel, McClatchy chief of correspondents.

Washington Post Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli said in a statement that the paper was “focused intensively” on bringing about Tice’s safe return.

“Austin is a talented and courageous journalist whose work has helped to shape the world’s understanding of this humanitarian and political crisis,” Brauchli said.

CPJ executive director Joel Simon said in a statement that the group is troubled by the lack of information about Tice’s whereabouts.

"His work is protected by international law, which guarantees the right to seek and receive information," the statement said. "As a journalist, he is a civilian and must be protected from harm."

The State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement that the United States was working through the Czech embassy in Damascus to learn more of Tice’s “welfare and whereabouts.”

“We strongly urge all sides to ensure the safety of journalists in Syria.

Tice was well aware of the dangers of reporting in Syria, and even took to his Facebook page to beseech his friends and relatives to “please quit telling me to be safe.” He then launched into an impassioned defense of his presence in Syria, which he acknowledged was “in the middle of a brutal and still uncertain civil war.” However, he continued, he found inspiration from the Syrians he encountered.

“I’m living, in a place, at a time and with a people where life means more than anywhere I’ve ever been – because every single day people here lay down their own (lives) for the sake of others,” Tice wrote. “Coming here to Syria is the greatest thing I’ve ever done, and it’s the greatest feeling of my life.”