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Sherri Papini, 34-years old, and a wife and mother of two young children disappeared while out jogging in Redding, California on November 2, 2016. The day she disappeared, her husband, Keith Papini used the Find My iPhone feature to locate her cell phone. Her cell phone was found about a mile away from their home, with her headphones and a clump of her long blonde hair along side the road. But there was no sign of Sherri.
Keith called 9-1-1 to report his wife missing. A team of investigators began searching for the missing ‘Super Mom’. But days turn into weeks, and no sign of Sherri.
Until Thanksgiving morning, 3 weeks after she disappeared. Sherri is spotted wandering Country Road 17, near Interstate 5, about 150 miles away from her home. She had a chain around her waist, which was tethered to her left wrist with a zip tie. Hose clamps were fixed to her ankles that would later be described by the Sheriff’s department as “pain compliance restraints”.
She had a broken nose, her body was covered in bruises, her long blonde hair had been cut short, and she had a branding burn on one of her shoulders.
After her return, Sherri’s husband Keith, told the media that his wife had been kidnapped at gunpoint by 2 Latina women. The women forced her into a dark colored SUV, drove her to unknown location, where she was held captive for 3 weeks.
Investigators recovered 2 unknown DNA profiles from Sherri. One DNA profile, belonging to a male, was found on her clothing. Another DNA profile, belonging to a female, was found on her body at the hospital. Both profiles were ran through CODIS, but didn’t match any DNA profiles in the database.
There was no apparent motive in Sherri’s kidnapping. Was she targeted? Or was this a random attack?
Questions started to circle around the community. Neighbors of the Papini’s came forward to say in all the years of living next door, they never saw Sherri go for a jog. Investigators also learned that Sherri had a history of mental illness.
A 2003 police report was taken at the Papini resident after Sherri claimed she was physically attacked by her mother. In 2000, Sherri’s father called the police to report that his daughter had vandalized his house.
Theories began to swirl that Sherri Papini might have staged her kidnapping or made up parts of the story for attention seeking. The Shasta County Sherriff’s Department has not announced any information that supports these theories.
Until the 2 unknown DNA profiles can be identified, the case is likely to remain unsolved.
Four years later, Sherri’s kidnapping remains unsolved. The kidnapping of Sherri is still an active investigation. Detectives working the case ask that anyone with information about the suspects to call the FBI at 916-746-7000, Option 1. There’s also a $10,000 reward for anything information leading to the identification of the suspects.
What do you think happened to Sherri Papini? Leave your comments below.
Episode Sources:
Video by That Chapter dated 12/3/19
Redding article dated 11/24/19
Yahoo article dated 12/2/19
Sac Bee article dated 3/30/27
People article 10/26/17
The News Tribune article dated 2/6/28
Statement Analysis dated 10/27/17
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