When 34-year-old Sherri Papini disappeared from Mountain Gate, California on November 2, 2016, authorities left no resources unspent in their investigation. However, 22 days later, Sherri made a miraculous comeback and claimed that two Hispanic women kidnapped her. ABC’s ’20/20: Missing Mom’ chronicles the case and describes how the Papini family strangely fell off the grid immediately after Sherri returned. Also, with Sherri now being blamed for making up the whole ordeal, we decided to dive into the details and find out where she currently is.
Who is Sherri Papini?
Residing in Redding, California, Sherri Papini resided with her husband, Keith Papini. Acquaintances and neighbors mentioned that the couple had a seemingly peaceful marriage and did not engage in quarrels or altercations. They were also highly respected in their community, which made people all the more concerned when Sherri suddenly disappeared. She was 34 in 2016 when she disappeared from the Mountain Gate area on November 2. Keith seemed quite troubled and worried about his missing wife, and the authorities threw themselves headlong into the investigation, determined to bring her back.
For several days, investigators scoured Shasta County and other parts of California, as well as other states, looking for the missing woman. They left no resources unused and searched extensively, but to no avail. However, to everyone’s surprise, Sherri suddenly appeared on the side of a road in Yolo County, near Woodland, on November 24, just 22 days after she went missing. She was bruised and had a chain around her waist with other ties at her wrists and ankles. Authorities even noticed ligature marks on his wrist as well as a burn on his left arm. It was as if Sherri had been through a terrible ordeal and the scars were very visible, including a mark on her right shoulder.
When questioned just after reappearing, Sherri claimed that she was abducted and held at gunpoint by two Hispanic women. She even sat down with FBI cartoonists and profiled her captors, leading to a nationwide search based on her statement. For several years, various law enforcement agencies, as well as the local community, had been searching for two Hispanic women. The police department even mentioned that there were quite a few people calling with tips and supposed sightings that always turned out to be dead ends. Moreover, according to reports, Sherri even received over $30,000 from the California Victims Compensation Board between 2017 and 2021.
Incidentally, at the time of Sherri’s reappearance, the police had found alien male DNA on her body, which led to a man who was later identified as Sherri’s former boyfriend. The ex-boyfriend claimed he came to Redding to pick up Sherri at his insistence and said she stayed with him between November 2 and November 24, after which he drove her to northern California and filed it. The ex-boyfriend’s cousin also mentioned seeing Sherri at the apartment and said she was never shackled. Further investigation into the case revealed two prepaid cellphone records which supported the ex-boyfriend’s claim.
Where is Sherri Papini now?
Reports said that in 2020, Sherri was shown proof of her alleged fabrication and was told that lying to the FBI was a federal crime. However, she did not change her story and continued to insist that she had been kidnapped against her will. However, with evidence to suggest otherwise, authorities were convinced she was lying and so arrested her in March 2022. Subsequently, the US Department of Justice charged her with lying to a federal officer and of engaging in postal fraud. Currently, Sherri has been arrested in the state of California where she is awaiting trial and faces up to 25 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000 if convicted.
Read more: Is Sherri Papini still married? Where is her husband now?
