The dramatic release this weekend of five Americans imprisoned in Iran underscores the ongoing plight of a York County woman who remains in captivity in Afghanistan along with her husband and child.

Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian and other four other Americans this weekend gained their freedom from Iranian captivity thanks to the growing diplomacy between the U.S. and Iran.

Caitlan Coleman has no such benefit.

Coleman, who is from Stewartstown in York County, is reported to be in the hands of a criminal-come-terrorist group Haqqani Network. Coleman and her Canadian husband, Joshua Boyle, were captured by the Taliban in 2012 while on an adventure trip through Afghanistan. Pregnant at the time, the then-28-year-old gave birth while in captivity. Her child would now be somewhere between three and four years old.

Coleman's release and that of her family remains hampered by a myriad of factors, including the fact that her captors are insurgents in an markedly fractured part of the world. The Haqqani group is based in the highlands that separates Pakistan from Afghanistan.

Complicating the already difficult situation is the vague Washington stance on negotiations with terrorist groups. The last we heard about Coleman's plight was in 2014 with the release of two videos that showed her and Boyle in what is believed to have been Taliban captivity.

The release of the videos, which Coleman's parents turned over to The Associated Press, coincided with the release of Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who was also in Haqqani captivity. The Obama Administration brokered his release in exchange for five senior Taliban fighters who were been held in Guantanamo Bay.

The case of the Coleman/Boyle captivity, however, seems to have grown cold, at least publicly. Members of central Pennsylvania's Congressional delegation indicated that work continues behind the scenes.

In a written statement to PennLive on Tuesday, press officials for Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) indicated that officials continue to try to broker her release and that of her family.

The statement from Casey's office read: "Our office is aware of Caitlin Coleman's case and has been actively working on it for years. Given the sensitive nature of situation our office has and will continue to make limited public comments."

In a written statement to PennLive, the office of Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) said the senator and his office have been in touch with the Coleman family but that due to federal privacy regulations they would refrain from commenting for this story.

This undated handout photo was provided by the Coleman family a few years ago. The photo shows Caitlin Coleman and Joshua Boyle at around the time they set out to travel in a mountainous region near Kabul, Afghanistan. Two videos have offered the only clues about what happened to Coleman and Boyle after they lost touch with their family in 2012. (AP Photo/Coleman Family)

One glimmer of hope for Coleman and Boyle is a new federal department established last year by President Obama. The Hostage Recovery Fusion Cell is tasked with coordinating the U.S. government's response to hostage-takings.

CNN national security correspondent Peter Bergen last year wrote that working in Coleman's favor is the fact that her captors maintain links to elements of Pakistan's military intelligence service, ISI.

"This is potentially good news for negotiators because a serious negotiation for Coleman and Boyle's release is at least conceivably feasible through ISI and the Pakistani government has both the stick (the threat of intensified military action in Haqqani-held territory) and the carrot (the release of Haqqani prisoners) that it might be able to deploy to seek their release," Bergen wrote in June.

U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, a Republican representing York County, is critical of the current process in place.

"I continue to do everything in my power to facilitate the safe return of Caitlin and her young child," Perry said. "Through this process, it's become painfully clear that America's hostage recovery efforts and coordination procedures (or lack thereof) are severely deficient. Overarching changes are needed, and last year's new guidelines from the White House are an insufficient solution at best."

Perry called for significant upgrades to the U.S processes to successfully recover Americans held captive around the world.

"My prayers continue to go out to the Coleman family and will continue to work on their behalf," he said.

Coleman's parents - James and Lynda Coleman - have largely bemoaned the lack of communication by the U.S. government about the fate of their daughter and her family.

Unlike the parents of other hostages who have appeared on news networks appealing for the release of their loved ones, the Colemans, who a few years ago appealed for humanitarian efforts to secure the release of their family, remain out of the public's eye.

In 2014 they released a statement to PennLive saying: "We do not know why their captors continue to hold them. We desperately want them home, but we do not know what to do...we do not know where to turn. So we remain hopeful that someone will reach out to us with information on how to get Josh, Caity and our grandchild home."

PennLive has made repeated but unsuccessful attempts to secure another interview with the Colemans. A request made several months ago was denied; an attempt to reach them on Tuesday was not immediately granted.

As of 2014, their only indirect communication with their imprisoned family came via the two videos they received that year showing their daughter and son-in-law in what was believed to be their Taliban captivity.

In the video, the couple asked the U.S. government for help.