For three weeks, Papini’s family worked to get her back in one piece while the Shasta County Sheriff’s Department pursued a silent investigation. Out of nowhere, Papini returned home, but she wasn’t forthcoming with details and didn’t want to talk about the previous three weeks. Because of this, many believed the whole ordeal was nothing but a fake kidnapping.
In 2022, Papini was arrested on the grounds of faking her own kidnapping, eventually receiving a prison sentence nearly six years after she claimed she was abducted.
Here is everything we know about the mysterious disappearance, return, and arrest of Sherri Papini.
-
Sherri Papini Disappeared While Jogging Near Her Home
On November 2, 2016, Sherri Papini was jogging in the woods near her Redding, CA home when she was allegedly abducted. Her husband Keith Papini claims he knew something bad had happened when he returned home from work and Sherri wasn’t there. After pinging her phone, he found it – along with a pair of earbuds and some strands of her hair – near their neighborhood’s mailboxes, which were located about a mile from their home.
Initially, law enforcement thought Sherri’s husband may have been involved with her mysterious disappearance. While Keith still hasn’t been ruled out, he did a pass a polygraph test, and law enforcement officials have made it clear that he has been nothing but forthcoming since the investigation began.