Frerichs is a director of International Logistical Support whose work had led him to visit Afghanistan multiple times since 2012.[5] He served in the United States Navy as a diver.[7]
Frerichs disappeared in Kabul, Afghanistan, on January 31, 2020. The Associated Press reported that US intelligence officials tracked Frerichs's cell phone and raided a village near where he disappeared, approximately a week after his disappearance. Although they rounded up individuals from that village, the raid proved unproductive.[7] The next month, Newsweek magazine reported that officials had confirmed that Frerichs had been taken captive by the Haqqani network, a group closely aligned with the Taliban.[5]
Frerichs's sister, Charlene Cakora, questioned why the US government "signed a peace deal" with the Taliban in early February 2020 that did not include a provision for releasing her brother.[7] The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the lead agency of the Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell, issued a statement saying the cell was working to ensure "that Mark Frerichs and all Americans held hostage abroad are returned home."
On May 10, 2020, the FBI offered a $1-million reward for information that helps lead to Frerichs's release or rescue.[4] In addition, the Rewards for Justice Program offered a $5-million reward for information leading to his location.[8] That same day, Taliban spokesmen asserted that they had conducted an inquiry of their subordinate and associated groups and confirmed they were not holding Frerichs.[9]
The New York Times reported Frerichs was still a captive on November 21, 2020, when Secretary of StateMike Pompeo traveled to Afghanistan to personally participate in peace negotiations with the Taliban.[10] They reported it was unknown whether Pompeo raised Frerichs's captivity as an issue during the talks.
On April 1, 2022, a video was released showing Frerichs pleading for help.[11] Following the release of Safi Rauf, an American aid worker who was held captive by the Taliban between December 2021 and April 2022, the US State Department began an attempted inquiry into the release of Frerichs. The inquiry did not result in substantial headway in brokering Frerichs' release.[12] Frerichs's family was a part of the Bring Our Families Home campaign.[13]
On September 19, 2022, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told reporters in Kabul that his government and a US delegation swapped prisoners at the Afghan capital's airport. Frerichs was exchanged for Bashir Noorzai.[14][15][2]
^ ab
James Gordon Meek; Conor Finnegan (May 12, 2020). "FBI offers $1 million for information leading to former Taliban hostage's captors". ABC News. Retrieved May 13, 2020. At least two Americans remain missing in Afghanistan, including commercial contractor Mark Frerichs, who was kidnapped on Jan. 31 by the Haqqani Network, a faction of the Afghan Taliban, U.S. officials believe.
^ abcJames Laporta; Tom O'Connor; Naveed Jamali (February 5, 2020). "Exclusive: U.S. citizen kidnapped by Taliban group in Afghanistan". Newsweek magazine. Retrieved May 13, 2020. Mark R. Frerichs of Lombard, Illinois, was kidnapped last Friday in Khost, a province located in the southeastern part of the country that borders the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, an underdeveloped region between Afghanistan and Pakistan, U.S. officials told Newsweek, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the details publicly.
^"Taliban: We do not have missing US contractor". Arab News. Islamabad. May 10, 2020. Retrieved May 13, 2020. Taliban leaders searched their ranks, including in the much-feared Haqqani network, and on Sunday said they are not holding Mark R. Frerichs, a Navy veteran turned contractor who disappeared in Afghanistan in late January.