American Kevin Dawes Released From Syrian Detention, US Officials Say

Kevin Dawes was freed from Syrian detention in recent days, officials said.

ByABC News
April 8, 2016, 4:21 PM
Kevin Patrick Dawes was freed from a prison in Syria.
Kevin Patrick Dawes was freed from a prison in Syria.
FBI

— -- Syrian authorities released a long-held American citizen from captivity in recent days, the U.S. State Department announced today.

Kevin Patrick Dawes is no longer inside Syria and was released from detention with the help of officials from Russia, which has close ties with the Syrian regime, and the Czech Republic, which represents U.S. interests inside Syria, U.S. officials said.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement claiming Dawes had been flown on a Russian military transport to Moscow, where he was handed over to officials at the U.S. Embassy. Dawes left Russia shortly thereafter, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Dawes had been missing since 2012, according to the FBI's kidnapped and missing person website. His name was removed from the page just this morning.

Due to requests for privacy, the State Department offered very little about Dawson's case or the reasons for his detention. The FBI described him as a photojournalist, but multiple media profiles of Dawes draw that label into question.

PHOTO: American freelance photographer Kevin Patrick Dawes, who went missing in Syria in Oct. 2012. The Syrian government has released Dawes who was captured after entering the country about four years ago, the State Department said, Apirl 8, 2016.
FILE - This 2012 missing person poster released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows American freelance photographer Kevin Patrick Dawes, who went missing in Syria in Oct. 2012. The Syrian government has released Dawes who was captured after entering the country about four years ago, the State Department said Friday, April 8. (FBI via AP, File)

Stories that appeared in both Salon.com and GQ describe Dawes as a loner, fixated on providing aid to war-torn regions of the world. Both articles claimed people who knew him through internet messaging boards believed he was in a fragile mental state.

The State Department said it continues to work though Czech officials to get information on the welfare and whereabouts of other U.S. citizens missing and detained in Syria, including former U.S. Marine and freelance journalist Austin Tice.