The United States has been collecting tips about the disappearance of American journalist Austin Tice in Syria since 2012. With the collapse of the Assad government, NGOs and journalists are searching prisons and secret sites for signs of Tice, but potential clues remain untouched or destroyed. The rebels now in control of Syria have promised to help find Tice, but former Syrian officials possibly involved in his abduction have fled. President Biden has pledged to bring Tice home and is in contact with the Syrian rebel group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The US cut off diplomatic relations with Syria in 2012 and designated Hayat Tahrir al-Sham a terrorist organization in 2014.