Sherri Papini vanished from her family's Redding, California home on November 2nd, 2016. The then-34-year-old last spoke to her husband, Keith Papini, earlier that day. When Keith returned from work, he noticed that Sherri was not home. He was also notified that Sherri had not picked up their two children from daycare, which was quite unusual.
Keith then used the Find My iPhone app to track Sherri's phone. The app indicated that Sherri's phone was on Sunrise Drive, located less than a mile away from the Papini's home. Keith went to the location, and found Sherri's found on the ground on a trail. Her headphones were also found, and strands of Sherri's hair were tangled into the wires. Keith called police to report his wife missing shortly after this discovery.
The Shasta County Sheriff's Office sent search teams to Sunset Drive and Old Oregon Trail, but they were unable to find any additional trace of Sherri. Due to her phone being found on the ground, many began to speculate that Sherri had been abducted while jogging. On the other hand, there was also speculation that the scene might have been staged. The neighborhood that Sherri disappeared from is considered a quiet and safe area where crime is rarely reported. Additionally, it was reported that Sherri's phone appeared to be placed on the ground, rather than tossed or dropped.
Inevitably, people began to wonder if Keith had harmed Sherri and then staged her abduction. However, Keith cooperated with the investigation and police were able to confirm that he was at work during the time Sherri vanished. Still, the speculation about the abduction being staged remained. The rumors about what happened to Sherri seemed to be evenly divided--with some believing that Sherri truly was abducted, while others believed that disappearance was a hoax orchestrated by Sherri and possibly Keith as well.
Three weeks after Sherri's disappearance, on November 24th, 2016, Sherri re-emerged. Around 4:30 that morning, the California Highway Patrol received several 911 reporting that a disheveled woman was seen running alongside Interstate 5 in Yolo County--located approximately 145 miles away from the Papini home in Redding. An officer located the woman with a truck driver who had stopped to help her. The woman identified herself as Sherri Papini. She had bindings around both her ankles and one of her arms. Additionally, Sherri was covered in cuts and bruises, a large amount of her hair had been cut, and had lost a considerable amount of weight.
Sherri was transported to the nearby Woodland Hospital, where she was reunited with Keith. While at the hospital, Sherri explained that she was abducted by two Hispanic women and held captive in a bedroom in an unknown location. She said that the women physically abused her and at one point, they held her down to a coffee table and branded her. Police were able to confirm that Sherri did, in fact, have a brand on her body that was not there before she vanished. The brand had an indistinguishable symbol.
Police then began to search for Sherri's kidnappers. Meanwhile, many continued to believe that her abduction was a hoax. There were many details of the story that seemed to not add up--and a motive for her kidnapping remained unclear. However, in the early stages of the investigation, police continued to maintain that they had "no reason" to not believe Sherri. Sherri later pursued compensation from California Victim’s Compensation Board and received around $30,000 from the state between the years of 2017 and 2021.
Years passed without any updates in the case. Then, in March 2022, Sherri was arrested and charged with of making false statements to federal law enforcement officers and for mail fraud. Upon her arrest, it was revealed that Sherri had actually been with an ex-boyfriend in Costa Mesa during the time she claimed to be abducted.
The news of Sherri's arrest also revealed many more bizarre details about her past and the events surrounding her disappearance.
