MARRIED mom Sherri Papini is accused of lying to cops after she claimed she was snatched and tortured by two women.
The Californian, now 39, was arrested on Thursday – more than five years after she vanished.
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She went missing on November 2 2016, sparking a frantic search that involved family members, police, and the FBI.
Her family feared that she had been abducted after going for a jog.
She was found on Thanksgiving 22 days later near a highway by a driver – more than a hundred miles from her home.
But, police say Papini was never abducted as cops later discovered she had reportedly been staying with an ex-partner who lived around 600 miles away from her home.
Here The Sun looks at the seven chilling clues behind the story of her alleged abduction.
TEXT TO HUSBAND
Papini was reported missing on November 2, 2016.
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Just after 10:30am local time that morning, she asked her husband Keith if he was going to be home for lunch.
He replied to her text, saying that he wouldn’t be.
Around 5pm that night, Keith returned to their home in Mountain Gate but couldn’t find Papini or their two children, sparking panic.
EARBUDS AND HAIR FOUND
Keith used the Find My iPhone app that helped track her device.
He discovered her earbuds wrapped loosely around her phone – less than a mile from their home.
Strands of hair were also discovered near the intersection of the Old Oregon Trail and Sunrise Drive.
After making the discovery, Keith then reported his wife missing, sparking a widespread search.
He told Good Morning America at the time: “Everybody who knows my wife knows that there’s no reason for her to leave.
“She was definitely taken against her will.”
MYSTERY OF HISPANIC ‘ABDUCTORS’
Search efforts lasted around three weeks before a motorist found the mom-of-two.
Papini was reunited with her husband Keith and their two kids.
When being quizzed by cops, she claimed that she had been held by two Hispanic women.
She alleged that her “abductors” were armed with a handgun, beat her and held her captive in a basement.
The mom alleged that one of them left her on the side of the road.
FOUND WITH INJURIES
Cops investigating the case said in 2016: “Sherri appeared battered and bruised, her hair had been cut to shoulder length and she had a brand on her right shoulder.”
Keith told GMA: “My first sight was my wife in a hospital bed.”
He said she had bruises that were both yellow and black.
Keith added: “She has been branded and I could feel the rise of her scabs under my fingers.”
The mom-of-two provided FBI investigators with sketches of the alleged kidnappers.
She said that one was between 20-30 years old, around five feet five inches tall, and had curly dark hair.
The other alleged kidnapper was between 40-50 years old and had tall black hair.
Papini underwent a forensic examination but detectives found no female DNA on her body.
But cops believed at the time that she had been abducted – despite what seemed to be inconsistencies in her account.
WENT FOR A RUN
The investigation continued even after Papini was found and CCTV footage was released in 2017 as part of the probe.
At the time, it appeared to show the mom running away from her alleged kidnappers.
Footage showed Papini running towards a church before she headed back toward the highway.
Cops said she flagged down a driver – around seven minutes after the footage was taken.
Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Brian Jackson told PEOPLE: “She was looking for help.
“She saw a building and she didn’t know what it was and went to look for help.
“It was 4 o’clock in the morning and there was nobody there.”
TEXTS TO ANOTHER MAN
Cops also found that Papini had texted a man from Detroit, Michigan – days before she vanished.
Jackson said: “It was a prior contact that she had years before.”
He explained that the person was somebody she had previously met and stayed in contact with.
Jackson said the man had visited the Golden State but not Redding – Papini’s home city.
He added “there is no indication they met up”.
The man was quizzed and cops ruled that he had nothing to do with the alleged kidnapping.
Cops also ruled out Papini’s husband Keith as a potential suspect.
TEEN RUNAWAY
During her teen years, it was reported that Papini ran away from home.
In 2000, mom Loretta Graeff alleged her daughter, who was then 21, had been harming herself and blaming it on her, according to a 911 call log obtained by the Sacramento Bee.
It also claimed that she wanted advice because Papini was reportedly planning on moving back in with her mom.
Details in the police report were thin as it was never revealed if Papini had actually harmed herself, according to ABC.
Shasta County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Pat Kropholler told the outlet that calls had been made because the family was seeking advice.
Papini has since been charged with making false statements and engaging in mail fraud.
Phillip A. Talbert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California, said: “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.”
Shasta County sheriff Michael Johnson added: “Everyone involved in this investigation had one common goal: to find the truth about what happened on Nov. 2, 2016, with Sherri Papini and who was responsible.”
The mom faces a mail fraud charge and could get up to 20 years in jail.
She faces up to five years in prison after being accused of lying to officers.
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