WASHINGTON (AP) — New light is being shed on efforts to locate a 57-year-old military contractor from Illinois who was captured in Afghanistan.

The disappearance several months ago of Mark R. Frerichs has been shrouded in mystery. But The Associated Press has learned that in the days following Frerichs’ capture,

Navy commandos raided a village and detained suspected members of the Taliban-linked Haqqani network while the U.S. intelligence community tried to track the cellphones of Frerich and his captors.

Frerichs remains a captive, and there are no public indications that he has been part of negotiations between the U.S. and Taliban leadership.