A man freed from a Syrian prison on Thursday after monthslong imprisonment identified himself as Travis Timmerman, an American reported missing by law enforcement earlier this year after traveling to Hungary.

Travis Timmerman, a missing American from Missouri, was freed from a Syrian prison and found Thursday outside of Damascus trying to make his way out of the country on foot. Timmerman was held for seven months after entering Syria illegally,

The 29-year-old said he was detained earlier this year after crossing into Syria on foot from Lebanon and held in prison until the fall of Assad. Timmerman's family called it a "Christmas miracle."