The story of a Redding, California, woman, Sherri Papini, made national headlines in 2016 after she suddenly disappeared while out on a jog. While the nation was gripped by her mysterious disappearance, there were just as many questions surrounding her case when she suddenly reappeared three weeks later. The 39-year-old wife and mother is gracing national headlines yet again after local authorities announced last week that Papini fabricated the entire story.
Papini disappeared on November 2, 2016, under what appeared to be suspicious circumstances. Papini’s husband, Keith Papini, came home from work and was unable to find his wife. He later located her phone and headphones discarded on the side of the road near their home. Keith detailed finding bits of blond hair tangled up in the headphones. The cell phone discovery prompted officials to conduct an urgent search of the dubbed “super mom” who appeared to have been abducted.
After three weeks of national coverage, Papini suddenly returned home on Thanksgiving. Papini detailed a story in which two Hispanic women kidnapped her and then branded her before letting her go. Her story was met with bits of skepticism, but the questions were quickly overshadowed by the sheer amount of support the Papini family received as a result of the traumatic incident.
As investigators worked to unravel the case, Papini’s story began to fall apart. Officials announced last week that cell phone evidence, conflicting stories, and testimony from Papini's former lover showed that Papini had actually been hiding out with a former boyfriend during the time she was allegedly abducted. During an interview conducted by a Shasta County Sheriff's detective, Papini was told that it was a crime to lie to federal agents. Still, Papini stuck to her story that she was abducted.
U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert detailed in a press release that the local sheriff's office along with the FBI spent “countless hours” following leads and working on the case in order to bring Papini home safely. “Three weeks later, she was found 146 miles south of where she disappeared, and the focus went from trying to find her to trying to find her abductors,” Talbert explained. He continued, “ultimately, the investigation revealed that there was no kidnapping and that time and resources that could have been used to investigate actual crime, protect the community, and provide resources to victims were wasted based on the defendant’s conduct.”
In addition to making false statements to the police, authorities shared that Papini stands to face fraud charges as well. After her safe return, officials explained that Papini received over $30,000 throughout the course of several years from the California Victim Compensation Board. Additionally, in a GoFundMe launched in an effort to “bring her home,” the Papini family collected another $49,000. Reports indicate that portions of the funds were used by the Papini family to pay off debts.
Shasta County Sheriff Michael L. Johnson shared in a statement that Papini’s abduction hoax had cost taxpayers over $150,000. “Not only did this charade take valuable resources away from real criminal investigative matters,” Johnson shared on Facebook, “but in a time where there is serious human trafficking cases with legitimate victims Sherri Papini used this tragic societal phenomenon to gain notoriety and financial gain.”
If convicted on charges of making false statements to a federal law enforcement officer, Papini faces a maximum penalty of five years behind bars and a fine of up to $250,000. If convicted of mail fraud, she faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
