One year later, James Foley still missing in Syria

Last Nov. 22 was Thanksgiving Day here in America. Nearly 6,000 miles away, Jim Foley was headed toward the Turkish border after completing several weeks of reporting inside northern Syria. The car in which Jim was riding was stopped by four armed men about 10 kilometers from the border near the small town of Taftanaz, a region that even then was the scene of very active conflict between rebel and government forces. From that day to this we have had no direct contact with Jim and no communication with his kidnappers, nor has any ransom demand been received.

Read more about James Foley's kidnapping

As I write, it is still very hard to believe that an entire year has passed since Jim went missing. It’s been an agony for his family, especially his brave parents John and Diane Foley. For GlobalPost, it’s been a severe test of our endurance and our resources. Our investigation of Jim’s kidnapping has ranged across the Middle East and Europe. In order to preserve the security of our investigation, we’ve been unable to share much detailed information with the public or even with the GlobalPost family. But please know that our search for Jim has not slowed and that there are important leads being actively pursued even at this moment.

Despite the complexities and terrible violence of the civil war in Syria, we remain very hopeful that we will succeed in finding Jim. We will continue on this course no matter how long it takes. On this, the one year anniversary of the kidnapping, I encourage your thoughts and prayers for Jim and for the Foley family. And as we approach another Thanksgiving holiday, we can all reflect on the incredible blessings of freedom that we enjoy here in America, and of course in most other countries, but which are denied to so many others in this world.