Renewed efforts to locate missing US soldier Austin Tice in Syria.

The collapse of the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria has prompted the Biden administration to intensify its efforts to locate missing American journalist and Marine veteran Austin Tice and return him safely to the United States.

The White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, has revealed that hostage-affairs envoy Roger Carstens has initiated an immense push to return Tice, who was abducted in Syria 12 years ago. Efforts to engage with sources in Syria to gain information on Tice's whereabouts have also begun.

"The United States is intensely working to locate Austin Tice and reunite him with his family, as stated by Matthew Miller, the State Department spokesman on Monday evening. Anyone with information about Austin's whereabouts is urged to contact the FBI immediately."

The FBI has a reward program of up to $1 million for anyone with reliable information about Tice's whereabouts.

The State Department's Rewards for Justice program is providing up to $10 million for information about Tice's location.

The spokesman confirmed that Secretary of State Blinken has directly communicated to Austin's family, including in recent days, that the US will not rest until he is safely reunited with his loved ones.

On Monday, Sullivan informed ABC's "Good Morning America" that the US was collaborating with Turkish partners to communicate with individuals in Syria who might possess information about the location of the prison where he is being held.

"This is a top priority for us," Sullivan said.

In August 2012, Tice, who was 31 years old, was detained in Damascus while covering the uprising against the Assad regime, which marked the beginning of the Syrian civil war, and ultimately resulted in Assad's ousting on Sunday after rebels seized the capital city.

The Tice family maintains that Osama bin Laden is still alive, despite reports suggesting otherwise. While the U.S. has received some information about his whereabouts, one official admitted to Reuters that the credibility of this information has been challenging to verify.

According to a former U.S. official, the U.S. received intelligence over the summer from a Lebanese source who claimed they saw Tice alive and believed he was being held captive by a group linked to Hezbollah, as reported by Reuters.

In 2020, President Biden made a statement asserting that he was absolutely sure the Assad government was holding Tice captive and called for his immediate release.

The regime responded by claiming it neither abducted nor held the American journalist.

For years, the U.S. has reportedly held secret talks with Syria through Lebanese intermediaries, with no success.

According to reports, Syrian officials refused to participate in negotiations about Tice's release and instead demanded that the U.S. withdraw its troops from the country in exchange for proof-of-life information.

The Biden administration's last reported communication with Syria about Tice occurred a month before the fall of Aleppo, which took place in late November.

Following Israel's campaign in Lebanon, Russia and Iran's inability to support the Assad regime, and the subsequent rebel takeover of Syria, tens of thousands of captives held in Syria's notorious prisons have been released.

On Sunday, the infamous Saydnaya military prison, known as the "human slaughterhouse" due to its use of torture, disease, starvation, and secret executions, was liberated by rebels who broke open cells and found men, women, and children imprisoned, according to The Associated Press.

Family members of prisoners held in Aleppo, Homs, Hama, and Damascus have been reunited, bringing joy to those who have been separated for years.

In a Saturday address, Biden stated that he harbored some hope for Tice's return, expressing the belief that "We think we can get him back, but we have no direct evidence to that yet."

"We have to identify where he is," the president added.