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9 years after her fake abduction, Sherri Papini is still making news
Sherri Papini is still making national news nine years after she claimed she was abducted from Shasta County.
In June, Papini appeared in court to fight eviction from a Shingletown home owned by her former boyfriend. It's the latest in a series of events that include a criminal case, civil court battles and vitriolic online community discussion that began in 2016, when Papini was reported missing.
Here's a look back in video at Papini's highly publicized disappearance, and a roller coaster of events leading up to her return to court in spring.
On Nov. 2, 2016, Papini — then 34 — failed to return from a jog near her north Redding home.
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A 22-day search for the missing wife and mother of two ensued, during which Shasta County Secret Witness offered a $10,000 reward, and Papini's family offered another $40,000, for information leading to her return.
Her disappearance prompted her family to reach out to law enforcement and local news sources for help finding her. Her then-husband, Keith Papini, issued pleas to kidnappers to return his wife on television and in the Record Searchlight. North State community members supported a BringSherriHome campaign for the Central Valley High School alumna.
Her mysterious disappearance captured national and international media attention, as did Sherri Papini's reappearance three weeks later.
Papini was found on the side of Interstate 5 in Yolo County in the early morning on Thanksgiving Day, 2016. She was bound with restraints, trying to flag down a vehicle for help, according to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office.
News she'd been found spread two hours after family, friends and supporters gathered at Diestelhorst Landing in Redding to release balloons in an effort to raise awareness about her disappearance.
At that time, Papini told officers she was kidnapped, held against her will and physically abused by two Hispanic women.
However, contradicting genetic evidence, weaknesses and inconsistencies in her story and refusal to answer some questions from investigators cast doubt Papini was telling the truth. Skepticism and trust split the community, then went viral as news outlets as far as Europe reported she'd been found.
The case was still open but cold. Lead investigator Sgt. Brian Jackson said in 2018 that 'Something is going to reveal itself someday.' That day came in 2022.
The FBI and Shasta County Sheriff's Office announced they'd formally accused Papini of making up the entire story, and arrested her on March 4. Prosecutors said she misled investigators, wasted law enforcement resources and profited from about $30,000 of payments from the California Victim's Compensation Board.
Steadfast in their support, Papini's family issued a public statement after her arrest that said, "We love Sherri and are appalled by the way in which law enforcement ambushed her this afternoon in a dramatic and unnecessary manner in front of her children."
But in April, 2022, Sherri Papini admitted she was with a former boyfriend at his home in Costa Mesa during the time she was missing. She officially pleaded guilty in federal court to lying to the FBI and defrauding federal, state and local officials out of more than $150,000.
Papini was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to repay some $309,902 for losses incurred by the California Victim Compensation Board, the Social Security Administration, the sheriff's office and the FBI.
Again, the story made international news.
In the three years following her 2022 arrest, Papini's husband divorced her; her former mother-in-law sued her to recoup $50,000 she said she loaned Papini for her legal defense, and Papini took her ex-husband to court to request visitation rights with her children.
Her story took a new turn in spring 2025. Papini appeared in a documentary about the incident in which she claimed she really was abducted, and it was her ex-boyfriend in Costa Mesa who held her against her will and physically abused her.
This spring, as well as fighting the eviction notice, Papini filed a temporary restraining order against a Shingletown woman in April. The woman claimed Papini became involved with her longtime boyfriend. That restraining order was dismissed on Wednesday, June 4.
Record Searchlight journalists Damon Arthur, David Benda, Michele Chandler and Silas Lyons contributed to this report. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: 9 years after her 'abduction,' Sherri Papini is still in the news
