ISIS Killed James Foley and Shocked the World With Its Evil. His Mother Chose Faith, Forgiveness

It's been 10 years since ISIS terrorists brutally murdered journalist James Foley, releasing a gruesome video of the killing that absolutely shocked the world. Diane Foley, the late reporter's mother, has spent much of the last decade devoting her life to helping other hostage families who have faced the same terror she experienced.

Foley's family first realized something was wrong when he didn't call them on Thanksgiving Day in 2012. "Jim always called on holidays," Diane told CBN News. "He always was in touch. He was very good about that, always reassuring us he was fine and asking how we were. So when we did not hear from him that Thanksgiving, [it] was kind of an ominous silence." The next day, Diane, who has a new book "American Mother" that details the full story, learned from two of her son's colleagues that he had been kidnapped near the border of Turkey while attempting to head home.

"He was en route to meet these colleagues on the border," she said. "It was a shock and it was very different because this kidnapping was only witnessed by his fixer, who couldn't figure out who the captors were." Even more disturbing was the fact Foley suddenly vanished for months, leaving Diane and her family with no information about Foley's whereabouts or even whether he was dead or alive.

Diane, intent on saving her son, reached out to the U.S. government in hopes of getting an answer. With little knowledge about the political scene and American hostage policy, she was reaching out in the dark in hopes she'd receive assistance. "When I reached out to our government and people told me Jim was their highest priority, I really believed it too long," she said. After nearly two years of pleading and working diligently for Foley's return, Diane faced every mother's worst nightmare — only her horror was elevated by the tragic fact that the video of Jim's beheading made international headlines.

She joins CBN News to reflect on what happened, how her faith sustained her, and why she's now helping other families avoid the same pitfalls.