Parents had hoped to negotiate with Foley captors

Journalist’s mother and father believed email sent by IS militants last week was a sign that deal was possible

By AP 22 August 2014, 5:01 pm Edit

Diane and John Foley speak about their son, James Foley, 39, a journalist who was kidnapped in Syria by unknown gunmen on Thanksgiving day, during a news conference at their home in Rochester, NH, on Thursday (photo credit: AP/Elise Amendola)

The parents of slain US journalist James Foley said they had regarded an email they received from his captors last week as a hopeful sign they could negotiate with the Islamist group.

Foley’s Islamic State captors had demanded $132.5 million from his parents and political concessions from Washington. Authorities say neither obliged. The terrorists revealed Foley’s death in a video released Tuesday.

Speaking on NBC’s “Today” John and Diane Foley from Rochester, New Hampshire, said they had last heard from the captors via several emails in December. They say they set up a special email address and sent multiple messages to try to engage them.

John Foley said he was excited to see the latest email, even though it threatened execution. He said he had hoped they would be able to negotiate with the captors.

James Foley in 2011. (screen capture: Youtube/CNN)