After being abducted and held captive for three weeks, Sherri Papini has been found beaten and chained.
The 34-year-old mother-of-two was abducted from her hometown of Redding, California on November 2 when she was out for a run.
Three weeks later, in the early hours of Thanksgiving (November 24) her abductors released her on the side of a road some 140 miles from her home, bound with restraints and badly beaten, according to the BBC.
After her release, Californian-born Papini ran onto Interstate 5 in Yolo County to flag down a passing motorist for assistance. Audio from police dispatchers, obtained by The Sacramento Bee, states that ‘she [was] chained to something.’
Around a minute later, someone says:
She is heavily battered and it is a confirmed kidnapping.
After the motorist called the emergency services, Papini was taken to a nearby hospital where she received medical attention for non-life threatening injuries, according to Shasta County Sheriff, Tom Bosenko.
Sherri Papini’s sister, Sheila Koester, read a statement from Keith and Sherri and answered questions from the media,…
Posted by KRCR News Channel 7 on Friday, 25 November 2016
Since, Papini’s sister has confirmed she has been reunited with her family.
The family and Sheriff’s Office have both credited the public’s engagement with the search for Sherri and this terrifying missing persons case with the police receiving an impressive 400 tips.
Sheriff Bosenko has announced a full criminal investigation will be launched and is appealing to the public once more for help in a man hunt. He is looking for two Hispanic women who were seen driving a dark-coloured SUV and are reported to be armed and dangerous.
A $50,000 (£40,200) reward is also being offered to find those responsible for Ms Papini’s capture. Although some people doubt the legitimacy of the abduction, the authorities have confirmed they ‘have no reason to disbelieve Sherri Papini’s story.’
Our thoughts are with Sherri and her family at this time.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.