BEIRUT — The family of an American freelance journalist who has been missing in Syria since mid-August says they still don't know who is holding him or where he is.

The parents of Austin Tice told reporters in the Lebanese capital Monday that they are in Beirut in hopes of learning their son's whereabouts and what they can do to bring him home.

The 31-year-old Tice is a former Marine who had been reporting on Syria's civil war for The Washington Post, McClatchy Newspapers and others.

Tice's parents say he entered Syria in May from Turkey. They last heard from him August 12, a day before he disappeared.

The only sign of Tice since then was a video clip posted online in October. It showed him alive and being held by gunmen.