The man who Islamic State terrorists claim will be the next to be beheaded if President Obama doesn’t end airstrikes against the organization is a Miami native and freelance journalist for publications such as Time magazine and Foreign Policy.
Steven Joel Sotloff, 31, who once attended the University of Central Florida, is believed to have been kidnapped Aug. 4, just after crossing into Syria, a source told The Washington Post.
A masked executioner threatened to kill Sotloff in the same horrific video that showed journalist James Foley being murdered.
As a freelance reporter, Sotloff had been writing stories on the Middle East for several years.
“I met with the Sotloff family in Miami and have spoken to them over the phone while in DC regarding their son Steven’s situation,” Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) said Wednesday.
“My office has contacted the relevant agencies, departments and even organizations with connections on the ground in Syria to try to get answers.”
An online petition published Tuesday begs Obama to “take immediate action.”
“Do everything possible to free American reporter Steven Sotloff from [the Islamic State] in Syria and save his life,” the petition reads.
The boyfriend of Sotloff’s sister, Lauren, told reporters outside the family’s home Wednesday to “pray, sign and share,” referring to the White House petition.