it's the greatest story of survival ever, right? except it never happened. it's a lie. >> next tonight, the desperate search for a missing mother in california. >> sherri papini. >> sherri papini. >> why did you lie? >> i didn't do anything wrong. >> right now, you're not telling the truth, which is doing something wrong. >> tonight, the just released video that takes you inside the interrogation room, breaking one of the most outrageous cons ever. >> you need to stop what you're doing and tell me the truth now. >> sherri told the world that she had sat there, locked up, chained, miserable, abused. >> i can't remember if she said, we don't want to hurt you, we don't want to kill you. >> there were definitely lots of people saying, this is bs.

this is a hoax. >> but then things get far more twisted. >> there's information that i think you have about the abduction. >> there's evidence that says you were around. >> it is a massive break in the case. >> nd now it all comes crumbling down. >> oh, many i gosh, do we have a monster in her midst? >> this is very weird for me because i know that you know everything about everything. >> ding ding ding. ♪ ♪ this fire deep inside it never stops a-running ♪ ♪ you better start running and there's no turning back now ♪ ♪ no turning back now ♪ ♪ don't make a sound ♪ ♪ best not make a sound ♪

♪ there's no turning back now ♪ >> 911, what is your emergency? >> yeah, so i just got home from work and my wife wasn't there which is unusual. >> she was reported missing at about 5:30 p.m. on november 2nd. >> i found her phone, and it's got like her hair ripped out of it, like in the headphones. so, i'm like totally freaking out, thinking like somebody, like, just grabbed her. >> what's your wife's name? >> sherri, s-h-e-r-r-i. >> my name is sergeant kyle wallace with the shasta county sheriff's office. i was the lead investigator for the sherri papini investigation. >> ok, what's your last name? >> yes, papini, p-a-p-i-n-i. >> and your first name? >> keith. >> okay. are you headed back to the house? or where are you at right now? >> i'm at the end of the driveway. >> let's just have the officers contact you so they can start processing everything and figure out what's going on okay? ♪ no turning back now ♪

>> the whole sherri papini story was just a huge bombshell to this area. >> the search is intensifying for a wife and mother who disappeared while jogging. >> the briefing was, we have a lady that was out jogging. she came up missing. husband came home not to find her and the kids were still at daycare. >> sherri was last seen about a mile from her home in mountain gate. >> search teams are looking everywhere trying to piece together what happened to sherri papini. >> you have this beautiful, blonde mom of two, who all of a sudden had vanished. and whenever we have the abduction, especially of a mom, everyone panics. >> she is considered at risk due to the suspicious circumstances. >> there was definitely a sense of fear. we just knew that a young woman had been taken somewhere near the i-5 freeway. >> her family suspecting

something went terribly wrong. >> someone took our daughter, snatched her out of thin air. >> what does it feel like to have that thought that somebody has abducted your wife? >> scared. i was scared. >> everything from day one had your hairs up on the back of your neck, just trying to figure out what was going on. >> sherri's disappearance was the start of a mystery that would grip the entire country, as detectives searched for answers in the rural northern california town of redding. >> redding is unique. it's northern california, two hours north of sacramento. >> roughly 180,000 people that live in shasta county, but half of those people live in the greater redding area. >> it's just a very "get 'er done" kind of community that helps one another. >> sherri has been described as a supermom. >> yeah, she's always wanted to be home with her babies and to be an important role in their lives. >> from everyone we talked to,

sherri, who was a stay-at-home mom, cherished her family life. doting on their 4-year-old son, tyler and their 2-year-old daughter, violet. >> i know my sister would never leave her children, never leave her babies. >> they were a very nice couple. sweet, sweet, young people. >> she's just very kind hearted and different from other girls i have dated throughout the years. she's just so down to earth. >> keith and sherri's love story is really rather sweet. they shared a very electric first kiss in the seventh grade, and they stayed close and continued to communicate all through junior high. >> we have a unique story. years later, we kind of reconnected. and i remembered that i kept her notes that she wrote me. i took her out on a date, and i handed her a box, and of course it was all like our little love notes back and forth. >> this is like a cosmic connection. >> yeah, yeah. no, like, we were always meant to be, for sure.

>> for keith, there was never anyone but sherri. he knew he wanted to marry her, and he did in 2009. they later had two beautiful kids. they're all living together in the very same house where keith grew up. >> their whole relationship has just been a storybook kind of relationship. they do just really sweet things for one another. >> even her wedding photos. looks like a celebrity wedding! just so glamorous. >> the cutest prettiest couple. >> we see these amazing family pictures. absolutely perfect. everybody's so happy. that is an incredible, stark contrast to the anguish we saw from keith in november of 2016. >> take me back to that day. >> it was a little cold in the morning, but it was -- it was a nice day. i went to work and i didn't get home until around 5:00. >> he just came home to an empty house, which was unusual for

him. >> i looked in a few different rooms, and i couldn't find anybody. so, i thought, okay, maybe -- maybe they're outside. and i looked around outside and couldn't find them. >> he thinks they're just on a walk, but as time passes and they're still not home, he started looking for his family. >> and i called our daycare-type place. first thing i said is, "what time did sherri pick up the kids today?" and when she said, "the kids are here," that was, like, something is wrong. >> keith goes to the find-my-phone app, and he starts to track where sherri's iphone is. >> it's about a mile away. actually, near our mailbox. i wasn't looking for a phone, i was looking for sherri. when i didn't find sherri,

i parked and i got out. and now i'm looking for a phone cause it's saying, it's here, it's here. >> keith was so smart. he took a picture of the phone when he found it, because he thought it was weird, but he knew it was important, and he wanted to show it to the police. >> where exactly did keith find sherri's phone? >> so, the phone was found right near the intersection of old oregon trail and sunrise. just a short distance away. >> i knew something was wrong. my first thing was, somebody took her. >> and that begins the search for sherri papini. >> keith is panicked. he's calling everyone he knows, friends, family. >> when i heard keith's voice on the phone, i fell down and just started crying. my sister's gone. please bring her home. she has babies, she loves them. >> i said, there's not going to be a happy ending to this. i just thought she's going to turn up dead.

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this morning, search teams scouring these rural roads and trails trying to piece together what happened to sherri papini. >> we're just using a map and doing some grid searches. >> the married mother of two vanishing without a trace last wednesday afternoon while jogging near her redding, california, home.

>> it wasn't just that sherri was missing and her cell phone was found, it's that her wallet, her purse, her keys were all at home. she hadn't used her credit cards, she hadn't been to the bank, the atm, nothing. >> ms. papini has been entered into a national computer for missing persons. she is considered at risk due to the suspicious circumstances. >> everybody put your good thoughts out there, put your prayers out there, and let's find sherri. >> how quickly did public attention start to focus on this case and the papinis? >> oh, immediately. everyday you couldn't turn your tv on without seeing sherri's picture. >> the desperate search for a missing mother. >> sherri papini.

>> last seen an wednesday. >> the 34-year-old has been missing. >> it got massive headlines. i mean everyone was following the sherri papini case. >> the story that's capturing nationwide attention. >> sherri papini. >> sherri papini. >> the amount of national attention was quite overwhelming. all the cameras, all the reporters, everybody going around trying to get their own angle. >> the community responded. there was hundreds of searchers, volunteer searchers within the first couple of days. >> the longer that someone's missing that's a critical time within the first 24 hours. >> working our way down on houses. >> it was really a wide variety of our community coming together to help the papini family. >> not only does the family offers a reward for the safe return of sherri, but so do perfect strangers. a gofundme page is set up. >> that page, set up by keith's friends, promises all funds will go directly to the family to aid in search efforts to bring sherri home. in total, it raises nearly $50,000.

>> they probably had a couple of hundred volunteers that were scouring this area looking for any evidence. >> keith is volunteering in the search. he has tremendous support from friends and family, and they had a single mission -- to leave no stone unturned. >> i remember hiking, looking for evidence, looking for sherri. we start to see some birds circling. they're like, there are a lot of birds starting to circle over there. and i just went to my knees. and i thought, am i really hiking out here to look for my wife? and do i even want to -- i don't want to find her right now, but i do want to find her. one of my good friends came over and just, you know, hugged me and let me cry on his shoulder for a little bit.

that was a tough one for me, that day. >> all this time you're dealing with this, you've still got two little kids to think about. >> fortunately, i have an amazing family and amazing friends, and they really, really came to the rescue on that, kept them happy, kept them out of this. >> still, keith knew he had to find a way to explain to his young son tyler why his mom was away from home. >> i told him i had something important to tell him, and he -- he jumped -- he jumped up on the couch with me, and he knew something was up. and he said, dad, you can tell me anything. for a little 4-year-old to say that, i wasn't prepared for that. and i just said, "son, mommy went running and she didn't come

home." and we just held each other, and he said, "are you looking for her?" and i said, "everybody in the world is looking for her right now." and i said, "we're gonna find her and we're gonna get her back." >> abc news has learned police have suspended the ground search for the missing 34-year-old. detectives now scouring surveillance video. >> it is very frustrating for investigators that we haven't gotten any viable leads or tips to pursue on. >> what was keith's behavior like those first few days after sherri went missing? >> he would answer every media outlet, every chance to get on tv. >> i feel that she's gonna come home and i want to be home when she comes home. >> i interviewed keith several times. he would contact me and say, can we do something more on sherri? what else can be done? just to keep her face on the tv screen. >> it is excruciating. i don't like to think too much about it because, you know, i just assume that i'm gonna get a

phone call any second or she's gonna show up at my house. >> he was trying to keep her story out there and keep her picture out there. but the detectives are watching tv every day to see if we can pick pieces out of some of these interviews he was doing. >> because you were still eyeing him as a possible suspect. >> oh, sure. yeah. yeah. definitely, we were looking at that. >> basically, there were some inconsistencies in his story that made you a little bit suspicious of him. >> sure. >> so at this time, you're not only dealing with the disappearance of your wife, having to break it to your kids. but you're also the prime suspect. the sheriff's office thinks that you had something to do with sherri's disappearance. >> yeah. it never occurred to me at first that people would think it was me, and then, you know, when you step back and you kind of look at this from an outside perspective, i'm sure you go, oh, it's the husband. i remember family members were like, you need to get a lie

detector test. and you need to get this and this, because they're saying all these mean things about you. i never cared what other people were saying. >> clearly investigators must do their due diligence in looking into keith's life and activities. but at the same time with a missing woman, they need to know about her too. >> we were looking into a little bit of everything. financials. we found where she had been previously married and had been divorced. >> investigators learned sherri had married a marine sergeant in 2006, which he said was because she needed health insurance. he said they never actually lived together, and divorced in 2008, and in a quick turnaround, sherri and keith married the very next year. >> we checked with her ex-husband, who lives out of state, and found that he had not heard or seen from, talked to her in probably six years or more. so that was not a viable lead. >> even after an exhaustive search, investigators still have no solid leads. they're no closer to finding

sherri or figuring out how she apparently disappeared in the middle of the day. >> we were going to keep every option open and keep the -- keep an open mind that this could be any type of situation. it could be foul play. it could be a kidnapping. she could be voluntarily gone on her own. >> terry and marilyn smith, take one. mark. >> it just brought back a flood of memories. >> the last time anybody saw tera smith it was on this remote gravel road. >> another pretty blonde girl missing again from redding. >> there was a resemblance of tera smith and ms. papini, which made it maybe even a little bit more eerie. announcer: type 2 diabetes? discover the power of 3 in the ozempic® tri-zone.

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a missing mother in california. >> the family convinced she was abducted. >> when you think about it, it's really rather unusual for a person just to be snatched off the street in the middle of a jog, but in redding, california, it was not the first time. >> the last major disappearance in this county was of tera smith. >> that's correct. >> hi, tera lynn. >> my brand new car. >> tera was 16. very outgoing, very friendly, well-liked by just about everybody that knew her. >> you'll do great. >> thanks, mom. >> we did everything together. we were at church every sunday together. we had a very close church family. >> she was a good daughter.

she -- we had typical teenage confrontations, you know, as most people do. >> tera smith was 16 years of age, seemed to be extremely active in school. very good student. had lots and lots of friends. >> she had recently started taking a tae kwon do class with one of her best friends. she was spending time at the dojo, and had this new instructor, troy zink. >> the smiths owned and operated a family entertainment center in the town of redding, and tera was the oldest of their four children. she helped out at the family business, and she was supposed to be working that night. >> so 6:00 comes and goes, and she doesn't show up, and that's not like her. >> she was always where she was supposed to be when she was supposed to be. >> so i called home. our younger daughter who was 10 said that she had gone for a

run. and she hadn't come back. >> i started off looking at it from the perspective that this is just a teenage kid. maybe somebody else's house, visiting somebody. >> i started driving all the roads, looking for her running somewhere. started calling her friends, and nobody had seen tera. we just couldn't find her. we just couldn't find her. >> and one of her friends called back and said she believed her tae kwon do instructor, troy zink, had an inappropriate relationship with her. >> on the very first night that she was missing, mr. and mrs. smith were looking through her bedroom and came across some journals that tera kept. and in reading her journals, there were pages in there relating to a relationship between tera smith and troy zink. >> they also say they found this four-page letter that tera had addressed to troy zink.

to the smiths, it seemed to confirm that she was involved in an intimate relationship with him. she wrote, "i know that what i'm doing is wrong. there is no way to overlook this fact. it's against god's will, and we both know it. but the letter also makes it clear that tera had deep regrets, and she decided to end the relationship. she wrote, "ask yourself this question -- are you putting yourself and us before god? i know i am, but not anymore." >> we think she intended to give the letter to him, and then opted to meet him in person instead. >> we know that she did call him the day of her disappearance, which is saturday. she wanted to meet with him to tell him in person that she was calling off the relationship. >> i called the house, talked to his wife. and she didn't know where he was, but he wasn't at home. >> at this point, the smiths

call the police, and an officer is sent to troy zink's home. now, he's nowhere to be found, and zink never contacted police that night. but guess who he did call? the smith family. >> he did get home and called us back. >> 11:00. it was late. >> and said that tera had called him and asked him to come to her on the road back behind our property, and she asked for money. >> he claims that he told her he wouldn't give her the money, that she got angry, started cussing at him, and screaming and hollering. he dropped her off at an intersection. >> and he says that he last saw her jogging east on that fairly busy road. >> then he proceeded to go home, get his dogs, and then go up to the mountain to pray.

>> the last time anybody saw tera smith, it was right here on this remote gravel road, just about a quarter of a mile from where she lives with her family. >> i remember covering this case so well. i covered it for a while. >> last person to see her was troy zink. police launched an extensive search for tera, but no body or any trace of her was ever found. >> mr. zink, could we have just a second? >> once troy zink was named a person of interest, he retained a lawyer, and then refused to talk to investigators or submit to a polygraph test. and while that case still remains open to this day, zink is on the record saying he had nothing to do with tera's disappearance, and he was never charged. >> i know the remains, something is always found. people don't just go missing and are never recovered. and sadly, that's not the case.

>> 18 years had passed since tera smith went missing, a tragedy still fresh in the minds of the redding community, when sherri papini disappeared in a similar way. >> it was on the investigators' minds. in fact, there was a resemblance of tera smith and ms. papini, which made it maybe even a little bit more eerie. >> the hunt for a woman who vanished without a trace. >> we lost our daughter. she -- she never came back. so i don't think we thought sherri would be found. >> this whole incident just brought back that fear and concern in our community that was rampant back then when the smith woman was missing. >> a missing mother seen jogging near her home. >> what happened to sherri papini? >> that's part of what made our community really get behind keith and his efforts. >> it is very difficult for me and my family. i would never wish this feeling upon anybody. it is taking its toll on me. >> now, at this point, keith is

contacted by someone who claims he can help as a hostage negotiator. >> these videos this guy was putting out, when i watched them, i was shocked. >> i wanted to make it so tempting that the abductor's own mother would have turned him in.

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at the end of the seventh day of the search for sherri papini, investigators seem no closer to finding her. >> i'm just wondering about her health. are they feeding her? is she hot, is she cold? >> sherri's disappearance was completely different from tera smith's. keith was desperate. he wants to hold onto anything, anyone, and that's when he made the decision that he wanted to meet with marilyn and terry smith. >> he was pretty distraught and just wanted to know mainly how to deal with the circus, you he know, the law enforcement and

media and just all the demands. >> our hearts really went out to her family. what they were going through and her kids not having their mom. >> we were hoping against hope that she would be found and she would be returned. and we were praying for keith and the kids. >> the rule of thumb for criminologists in any missing person's case is that the first 72 hours are critical. and with every passing hour, the chances of finding the victim alive fade. so, investigators looking for sherri are desperate for a break, but still, at this point, the only piece of evidence they have to go on was her phone. >> the phone was found in this general area right here, facing up. her earbuds were somewhat coiled and placed on top of the phone, and there was a few strands of her hair with the earbuds. >> did it make you think that perhaps it was staged? >> it looked like it could have been placed there. it didn't look like the phone was thrown down or just haphazardly set off to the side.

>> there's so much about the abduction that just doesn't add up. and so, with so very little to go on, investigators can only do one thing at this point, and that's focus their attention on keith papini. >> we called in a polygraph examiner to polygraph keith. >> i was like, no problem. let's hurry up and get this over with. it's a crazy feeling, just going through that. >> did they ask you if you had anything to do with sherri's disappearance? >> oh, of course. these tests, they don't -- they don't tell you if -- if it's a big lie or a small lie. they just know, like, when you're lying. >> how did he do on that polygraph test? >> he passed the polygraph. >> local officials are saying her husband's polygraph test indicates that he had no involvement with her disappearance, adding that they were also able to confirm his whereabouts the day she went missing. >> everything that he did that day, we were able to corroborate. he was with another coworker, that we were able to say that he

was with him all day. >> in most cases of domestic abuse or disappearance, the spouse or the partner had something to do with it. that never bothered you? >> i knew, obviously, i had nothing to do with it, and i didn't care. i looked past all that. >> police are still no closer to locating sherri, or figuring out why she was taken or by whom. >> we need something tangible to hold onto, and when you don't have that or you're dancing around some answers that may be there, it can get very frustrating and taxing and tiring. >> now, at this point, keith is contacted by someone who claims he can help as a hostage negotiator. his name is cameron gamble, and he tells keith that an anonymous donor has offered $50,000 for sherri's safe return, no questions asked. you don't know who the anonymous person is? >> no. >> it's anonymous to you as

well. >> yes. >> my name is cameron gamble, and i'm an international kidnapping ransom consultant. i've been retained by an individual who wishes to remain anonymous. >> who is cameron gamble? we know he's a former air force senior airman who makes his living training military, law enforcement, even private citizens on how to evade and escape capture. >> there was no idea or thought that if i think could work, that i was not going to try. >> gamble decides to post a video on youtube promising the kidnappers a payday. >> take advantage of this opportunity. >> but there is one very important condition. they must return sherri by the wednesday before thanksgiving. >> what made you so confident that this was an abduction and not something else? >> everything i looked at fit that bill. look at the husband. he wasn't faking it. look at sherri herself. this isn't the type of girl who is just going to walk away from all that. >> bring her home. bring her home safe.

there's a $50,000 reward. bring her home. >> cameron gamble makes this public plea specifically to the kidnappers. and he says, i will work with you. i will talk to you. i will negotiate this. contact me. well, of course they don't contact him. >> your critics would say that this is a publicity stunt. >> they can say that all they want. i don't do this for the critics. i do this for the small number that actually matter. and that being keith and sherri. >> i don't know your motive. i don't know who you are. i don't care. i simply care about getting sherri back. >> did you ever expect someone to ring you up and say, i have sherri. i want the money? >> i was hopeful. >> you were so convinced that sherri was still alive? >> if you go into these situations thinking they're dead, then you lose hope right off the bat. >> though cameron gamble's motivations are sincere, for the investigators on the case, his involvement muddies up what was already a murky case.

>> we were opposed to it. and the reason we were, this would create kooks, scam artists, con artists coming out of the woodwork. >> there were some big opponents to this. the sheriff was adamantly opposed. >> yeah. >> to cameron gamble being involved in any way. >> for me, i was going to do everything i could to get my wife back. >> the deadline for the ransom comes and goes. not a peep from the kidnappers. so, on the day before thanksgiving, gamble throws a hail mary. the ransom is now a six-figure bounty, and it's for anyone who turns in the kidnappers. >> i'm sorry you didn't take advantage of this opportunity when you had the chance. the world has been looking for sherri papini. and now the world is going to be looking for you, whoever you are. >> was it actually a call for bounty hunters? >> i said, i don't care your criminal status. i don't care if there's a warrant out for your arrest. if you can lead us to sherri, we

give you more cash than you can spend. >> the videos this guy was putting out, when i watched them, i was a little shocked. you know, cause it went from, cooperate with us, we don't care, to, now we're taking the money off the table and we're coming after you. >> i wanted to make it so tempting that the abductor's own mother would have turned him in. >> about three weeks after sherri disappeared, on the morning of thanksgiving before the sun has even come up, this trucker calls 911. >> 911 emergency. what are you reporting? >> there is a lady on the side of the road needing help. >> can i talk to her? >> please. please! >> oh, my god. this is unbelievable. numbers move you. but some can stop you in your tracks. like the tens of thousands of people who were diagnosed with certain hpv-related cancers. for most people, hpv clears on its own. but for those who don't clear the virus, it can cause certain cancers. gardasil 9 is a vaccine given to adults through age 45 that can help protect against certain diseases caused by hpv. including cervical, vaginal, vulvar, anal,

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it's now been more than two weeks since sherri disappeared on november 2nd. there's no leads, and thanksgiving is just around the corner. keith papini is sinking into tremendous despair. >> thanksgiving morning, there is a tradition here of a big race called the turkey trot. and so keith had asked that balloons be released that day in honor of sherri, in honor of the search for her. >> you know, we're all looking for you and here's just a symbol. here's home. and i really liked that. >> happy thanksgiving. it's going be a cold morning. you got the turkey trot in redding. bundle up. >> if you are up just getting your turkey ready, we want to wish you a happy thanksgiving. >> in the pre-dawn hours of november 24th, which was thanksgiving morning, 150 miles south of redding in yolo county, a driver spots a woman in distress on the side of the highway.

>> a truck driver actually pulled over with his big rig, 'cause she was standing, trying to wave cars down. and she was frantic. >> so, this trucker calls 911. >> 911 emergency. what are you reporting? >> hi. i have an emergency. there is a lady on the side of the road needing help. >> do you know what's wrong with her? >> she's saying that she got kicked out of her boyfriend's -- >> no! >> okay, just be safe where you are. what is she asking for? >> she's chained up. her vision's blurry. and she needs an ambulance. >> do you see her chained up? >> yes. her name is sherri panini? >> can i talk to her? >> here. >> please. please! >> sherri, i need you to listen to me. >> i'm listening. >> listen to me. do you know where you are? >> no. no. i've been in the car.

>> okay, take a deep breath, sweetie. who chained you up? do you know the person or were you kidnapped? >> i don't know! i don't know. >> okay. listen, listen. i have help on the way. >> i want to talk to my husband. >> very early in the morning thanksgiving day, you get a phone call. >> my cell phone rang. i didn't pick up the first call i was just getting done shaving. i didn't recognize the number. immediately after that, my home phone rang. i pick it up. and it was a very mixed emotion. it was my wife screaming in the background. >> i need an ambulance, please. >> i'm panicked. but i'm happy, because i -- at this point this is the first time i heard her voice. i know she's alive. >> and you hear -- >> and i hear screaming. >> so then, i get the phone and, "oh my god, honey."

and, of course, she's screaming. it's very emotional. i love you, i love you, i love you. you're here. you're back. where are you? and then the phone gets, like, taken away from her. like, super quick. >> i got a call from keith. keith was frantic, yelling into the phone, they found her. she's been located, telling me chp down in sacramento area had sherri. >> meanwhile, back in redding, there's about to be a big balloon release, but nobody knows anything about the miraculous return from captivity of sherri. >> one, two, three. >> there were probably 1,000 balloons, and you know, we all felt, oh, please, let one of those balloons, you know, be a light for finding sherri. let's get her home." >> i was supposed to meet keith at the turkey trot that morning, but keith didn't show up. and so that's when i just went home and was up, working on my roof when i got the call from

sheriff bosenko saying sherri had been found. >> we are very ecstatic to report that sherri papini has been located. >> she was found early thanksgiving morning near i-5 in yolo county. >> sherri papini found alive. 1missing for nearly a month under mysterious circumstances has been found alive. >> it was just kind of surreal. like, what do you mean we found her? then my mind kicks in at that point. who? what? how is she alive? >> the paramedics were the first to tell her, happy thanksgiving. it just blew her mind and then she's like, oh, it's thanksgiving night? and they said, no, it's thanksgiving morning. >> sherri is immediately transported by ambulance to the woodland hospital. >> that's where i first met her. frst walking into the hospital room, sherri was pretty hostile, which i didn't expect. >> detective wallace recorded that first interaction at the

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i could go home. if i don't struggle i could go home. >> why would you starve her, torture her, and chop off her hair? >> how could somebody do something like this? that's the mystery. why? >> but then everyone has questions. >> there were definitely lots of people saying, oh, this is bs. it's not true. >> things just started to not really add up. >> investigators also get a dna hit. >> the dna was of a male. >> we're here regarding sherry papini. >> we're just trying to understand how your dna got there. >> what are the chances? >> the dna came back. >> it's a massive break in the case. >> if that's not what happened, what did happen sherri? >> i don't know. no, there was no way. there's no way. >> and now it all comes crumbling down. >> there's no way. >> the dna doesn't lie. who's on it with jardiance? ♪ ♪ we're the ones getting it done. we're managing type 2 diabetes and heart risk. we're on it with jardiance. join the growing number of people who are on it

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why did you lie? >> a story that's capturing nationwide attention. >> sherri papini. >> sherri papini. >> sherri papini. >> i can't remember lifting my leg. i can't remember the back door open. >> you seem scared sherri. what is it? >> if that's not what happened, tell us what happened, sherri. >> the police confrontation that broke the bizarre case. sherri papini, in her very own words, the just released tapes. >> there's no way. >> the dna doesn't lie. >> the ex boyfriend's version of what happened is radically different from what sherri told authorities happened. it's like two totally different stories. >> ok, i'll be honest. she's a good friend of mine, and i didn't kidnap her.

just a friend in need asked me for help and that was that. >> why did i do that? >> we're trying to understand why you did that, too. >> did she have any idea about what's about to happen? >> oh no, we hit her with it pretty cold. >> bingo. a young mother goes missing, vanishes. the mystery evolved in the town of redding, but really the story gripped an entire nation as police looked everywhere for sherri. >> about three weeks after sherri disappeared, 22 days later on the morning of thanksgiving before the sun has even come up, she's found alive. >> good morning, america. a thanksgiving miracle. >> sherri papini, the shasta

county mother missing for three weeks, has been found alive. >> we are very ecstatic to report that sherri papini has been located. >> she and keith have been reunited. >> it was thanksgiving day. they just said, "sherri's back, sherri's home. she's been found." we were so happy for sherri, so happy for her family that they got her back. and then it felt like just a stab in the heart at the same time. because we didn't get our daughter back. it brought all that pain back again, to not get our daughter back. >> it was amazing to see her alive and talking and saying our names, but it was hard to see her in the condition she was in.

>> looking at her injuries at the hospital, i was shocked by them. i've been to several homicides. i've been to several domestic violence situations in my career, but the totality of the injuries for it to be all over her face, her arms, legs, her chest, and her back was just alarming. >> in 2016, i spoke to keith just days after sherri returned. >> what did you see? >> the bruises were just intense. her hair. everybody knows sherri. she's always had very long blond hair, and they chopped it off. >> she lost almost 15% of her body weight in 22 days. that is traumatic physically. >> it made me sick that there is people out there that could do something like this. >> now the detectives want to talk to sherri.

they're looking for any information that she can give them about the horror that she had just endured, but it didn't really seem like sherri wanted to talk to them. >> i don't want to talk to you. >> tell me, don't even look at them. i'm not leaving you. >> sherri says she doesn't want to talk to the police because she's afraid of them. her kidnappers told her that she was going to be sold to someone as part of a sex trafficking ring and that one of the people involved was actually in law enforcement. >> she said that they were involved. i don't want to talk to them. i don't want to talk to them. >> she really wasn't having any part of talking. we made the investigative decision to keep keith in the room to hopefully start getting the information. >> we have to do this, and we have to catch these people. let's just answer everything they want to know. >> with keith asking the

questions, sherri begins opening up about what happened to her. >> on november 2nd, sherri said she was on a run in her neighborhood. she initially saw a black suv going north. >> what was the car? what did she look like? >> it was an suv, it was a dark colored suv. >> dark colored suv. and there was just one person? >> two. >> two? >> two women. there was an older one and a younger one. they were hispanic, they spoke spanish a lot. >> she said the younger female got out with a handgun and sherri just froze. she was instructed to get into the vehicle. >> i'm sorry. i'm sorry i got in the car. i'm sorry. >> but first she places her cell phone and earbuds on the ground and pulls out some strands of her hair to place on top of those items. they begin to drive. she doesn't know where they're going. >> that first day, you must have been in the car for awhile. does that sound right? >> i don't know. i lost time.

i lost a lot of time. >> okay. and they didn't let you see any daylight. >> no. i had something over my face, and wrapped around me. >> i think she may have tased me -- don't remember -- i don't remember. the next thing i remember, all my clothes were gone. >> did she know the people she was with? >> no. >> the people who abducted her? >> no. >> didn't recognize them? >> no. >> did she ever see them? >> their faces were always covered. >> aside from all the bruises, and the abrasions and the restraints, police were pretty shocked to find that sherri actually had been branded on the upper right portion of her back. >> and they said i was branded. that's what they said. "that's what he likes." >> they brought a table in, and they hit my back, and they tied me to table. so i wouldn't move and hit me every time i moved.

my skin made like a popping sound. a sizzling, popping sound. it hurt so bad. >> the word was exodus, something from the bible. >> she was physically abused quite a bit, but there was no evidence of any type of sexual abuse. >> sherri papini has endured three weeks of beating and abuse and torment. then after all that, the kidnappers let her go. sherri says she has no idea why they suddenly decided to release her. >> i'll never forget hearing keith papini talk about the moment he got to see his own children reunited with their mother. 4-year-old tyler went first. >> he hugged her, and my wife obviously very emotional and started crying. and she said i'm so happy, and my son was like you don't cry when you're happy. and my wife said, when you're this happy you cry.

>> then it was 2-year-old violet's turn. > and she just said, mommy! and just took off running. she picked her up and we all went to the ground for a big family hug. >> what a blessing, right? that she was found safe. but then everyone has questions. >> once she returned home, we went from worrying about finding a lady to now finding her abductors. >> the cops took every piece of clothing that she was wearing, including her underwear. they bagged it, sealed it, because they were going to test it for forensic evidence and dna. >> authorities are now searching for two hispanic women armed with a handgun, in a dark suv.

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>> welcome home, sherri! >> after 22 really harrowing days, sherri papini, she's home. everyone really is overjoyed

about this. but it wasn't over yet. still, these alleged kidnappers are on the loose. >> officials say they're looking for two hispanic women that they believe to be armed and dangerous, driving a dark suv. >> two hispanic females traveling in a dark-colored suv in the state of california is not much of a tip. >> no. it would be, literally, a needle in a haystack. >> this investigation is far from over. in fact, it's only begun a new chapter. >> in this just released video you see detectives from the shasta county sherriff's office interviewing sherri at her home. >> she was in a ball, in a cocoon, essentially, with her knees up to her chest. >> i feel like sometimes it's easier with my eyes closed to -- >> sure. >> is that okay? >> absolutely. >> again, keith had to be present for the interview.

she wouldn't allow us to talk to her alone. >> i can't be alone with people i don't know. >> so, he's here. he's here for the duration. >> we're here for you. i'm here for you. >> cops go out of their way to reassure sherri and make her comfortable, but you can see she's reluctant to open up to them. >> that's another thing i'm scared about. i don't know you guys. i don't know if you're in my corner. i know my husband. i know my husband's in my corner. but, um -- you know, there was a lot of other things. and i know that you guys know. about everything. >> zbyeah. >> it's embarrassing and yucky and weird for me. >> now, sherri provides these very unique details about the home where she was held captive, and all of these specifics can help investigators narrow the search, especially as they get closer to potential suspects in a case.

>> she said she was put into a bedroom. sherri described that bedroom with just a single bed, no other artifacts inside the room. >> there was boards on the windows. and i yanked that [ bleep ] off the wall super quick, and that's what got her in the room was that noise. the yanking it out was what made the noise. broke my nail, ripped it off. she came in and then it was lights out. >> what do you mean it was lights out? >> i -- i can't remember if it was -- if i was hit with something, if i was stuck with something. and that's what i was asking, too. if i was tased, wouldn't i remember? >> sherri tells investigators that she was chained to a very specific kind of pole in the closet. >> there was a chain around my waist. >> okay. >> do you know what you were affixed to? was it like a tether? was it like a rope? >> a metal cable. >> was the cable affixed to the

wall and the cable was loose? >> the cable was affixed to a pole that went up into the ceiling. >> so she describes it as a piece of all thread, essentially a long bolt that has grooves just like a screw. >> so the cable that you were attached to that was loose? >> i had slack. >> slack, yes. >> yes, yes. i could get to the bed, so it reached the bed. i could obviously get to the closet. couldn't reach the door. >> how about the bathroom? what did that look like? >> it just was a standard -- there was a crack in the tile. it was a light colored tile that was speckled. there was a crack in the tile. it was always hands on the wall. it was a really high pressured shower. that very first shower that i had hurt really bad because the burn was fresh and the water was running over it and there was other open wounds and it just --

>> she literally lived through hell. the things she told me that she did, acting like she was tucking in our kids, and she told me one time she took some piece of cloth and rolled it up like it was violet. she would rock it. she's so strong. >> the shasta county sheriff offered new information this afternoon into the abduction and discovery of a redding woman. >> the sheriff held a news conference describing sherri papini as courageous and revealing details about her three-week ordeal. >> suspect number one had long curly hair. she had a thick accent. she had pierced ears. suspect number two had straight, black hair with some graying color. she had thick eyebrows.

>> i've lived here most my life in the hispanic-latino community. we were shocked. but it could have happened. i mean, we had to have an open mind and think, well, maybe these were gang affiliates who did this horrible thing. >> sherri told investigators, they kept telling me no one's ever going to believe me. no one's ever going to believe me. that's because people from law enforcement are involved in this ring and you are going to be sold to someone. >> we do have some sex trafficking going on in our community unfortunately, like probably every community. >> but there are others who thought that certain details of sherri's story weren't actually consistent with sex trafficking. >> if you're going to traffic someone for monetary purposes, are you going to starve them, beat them, especially in the face? chop off their beautiful long locks? you're going to do the opposite. you want them to look like

someone you can sell, unfortunately. >> things just started to not really add up exactly. >> next, the strange new twists in the case of sherri papini, rumors that it could all be a hoax. >> there were definitely lots of people saying, oh, this is bs. it's not true. this is an obvious hoax. >> many reports have said that this was a little bit of an attention-seeking kind of couple, sort of reality show ready to go. >> and there started to be rumors that circulated that sherri had something to do with her own disappearance. did that anger you? >> in my darkest hours, i obviously explored any possible outcome. you know. could she have just left? i mean, there's no evidence. and then as everybody will tell you, no, she couldn't have. i knew it in my heart. >> with mystery still swirling about who's responsible, this northern california community is on edge.

>> should the community be worried? >> the community should be concerned. >> the police are mystified. >> it was frustrating. i did not want this to be a cold case when i retire someday. > i assume you were also looking into sherri's background. >> oh, yeah. there are some red flags there. >> she had been talking to a man in the days before she was abducted. not her husband. (dad) we have to tell everyone that we just switched to verizon's new welcome unlimited plan, for just $30. (daughter) i've already told everyone! (nurse) wait... did you say verizon for just $30? (mom) it's their best unlimited price ever.

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and five months later there is still a lot police don't know. >> there is concern about inconsistencies in sherry papini's case. >> there were no witnesses at the time. we had very little to go on. some things just weren't adding up. >> while the police are mystified, the papinis go quiet and lay low. >> sherri and keith have a dinner with the smith family. remember, those are the people who still have no answers on

their own missing daughter, tera. >> we had a nice dinner, i guess to talk about the shared experience, kind of, and support them. we didn't ask questions. we didn't probe too much about her experience, but it definitely looked like she had been traumatized. >> she went to use the restroom and was so claustrophobic, she said as the result of having been bound in a close space, that she asked keith, her husband, to go in the restroom with her. we thought, given what she had experienced, was understandable. >> when lights are off, when doors shut, when she hears certain sounds, i mean, it's something that i don't know how to deal with, and we'll need somebody that can help her through that from a professional standpoint. >> sherri gets that help. it comes from a government program that gives financial aid

to victims of crime, and it paid thousands of dollars for therapy to treat the anxiety and ptsd sherri claimed she suffered from the kidnapping. >> nothing had happened for a while. then came another big reveal from the police. >> this morning the fbi released these new suspect sketches. >> and it shows two hispanic women, but with their faces covered up. >> it did seem odd that it took sherri papini almost a full year to come up with enough details for a sketch artist to work with. >> law enforcement seemed to react quickly to this, and the manhunt was on. >> the tips came in. tips like, i saw two hispanic ladies at walmart. they concerned me. >> latina women were fearful that they might look like one of those people in the sketch. they wouldn't walk in pairs.

they wouldn't drive to work or family outings in an suv. >> around the same time, investigators also get back results from the crime lab that's been examining sherri's clothing, and there's a dna hit. exactly what they were hoping for, but the results are confusing. >> the dna was of a male, and it would be somewhat incongruent with the allegations she made that she was abducted by two hispanic women. >> so that was, you know, perplexing. >> are you putting it mildly that finding a male dna was perplexing? >> yeah, i would say so. that was an issue for me. and that was an issue for all the detectives. >> still, this is a very big deal. a potential link to the kidnappers. the next step was to enter that dna profile into the law enforcement database to see if this unknown guy is in the system. and we get a return that it -- nothing matched with it. and so now we're back to the drawing board.

>> i assume you were also looking into sherri's background. >> oh, yeah. >> what did you find? >> there's some little bit of red flags there. >> in a 2003 call seeking advice from police, sherri's mother said her daughter was apparently harming herself and blaming it on her. >> then investigators talked to her first husband, because sherri had been married before. according to the police, he said, yeah, but you know she was a real liar. she made up a lot of stories. >> and it wasn't just her ex-husband waving red flags. police say many friends and relatives were less than supportive. >> has anyone told you that she has a history of running away? because that is how she used to deal with things as a child when things got hard, she would just run away. >> and then you have the other half that say, she's supermom, she would never leave. >> i really strongly feel like she would not leave those babies. they are her life. >> another information revealed was that she had been talking to a man, not her husband.

>> she was trying to meet up with another man shortly before she went missing. >> there was some infidelity issues in her background that even keith had told us about. >> issues with infidelity, issues with lying, and a history of running away. >> yep. oh, yeah. there was definitely some dishonesty in the background. >> they went back to sherri time and time again and found that often her stories were inconsistent. >> she told different stories about why she had been branded. >> she said she was branded by her kidnappers because she tried to run away. >> because her chain rattled, the females branded her for punishment. >> but then she also said, oh, no, i was branded by my kidnappers because my buyer, the person who was going to buy me, wanted me branded. >> is this real? is this not real? at any point we could have just said, we're done with this. but then where's our due diligence?

what if it really did happen? >> i was telling my staff, unless we have some very strong evidence to disprove her allegations, we need to continue forward with the investigation. >> it was hard for investigators to get past the sheer brutality of her injuries. >> her kidnappers had branded her. and i have to tell you, when i hared heard that detail -- ooh, okay. so maybe some really horrible things really did happen to this woman. >> and i do recall that, there's no way these are self-inflicted. we have an innate ability not to want to harm ourselves, because it hurts. >> years had passed by, and really no new information had been released to the public. i honestly thought it would just fade away. >> and then in 2020, there is a massive break in this case, and it's all because of the dna. >> i got the phone call that we have a match.

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♪ as the years went on, it went maybe from frustration that they couldn't find the two alleged abductors to more curiosity. whatever happened with

sherri papini's case? >> i made a commitment, and i told several people that i did not want this to be a cold case when i retire someday. >> the sheriff's department pushed on. now, remember, investigators had that male dna they'd gotten from sherri's clothing, but they had never been able to connect it to anyone. >> investigators asked permission of the courts to be able to run that dna against all those dna ancestry-type websites where people contribute their own dna, looking for familial dna. >> they're hoping somebody in this guy's family had used one of those dna websites. if they find a relative, they've got a lead, and it worked. >> the familial dna, this man has two sons. one of those sons used to date sherri papini. >> it came back to james reyes,

an ex boyfriend. >> and you see james reyes in a photo with sherri from one of her social media posts. >> it's a massive break in the case. >> so the fbi field officer and myself went down to james' residence to do the confrontation. >> hello. good morning. >> good morning. >> obviously, he was a little reluctant. he was scared. >> we're here regarding sherry papini. >> okay. >> i'm just trying to figure out how you know her. when was the last time you talked to her. >> well, me and sherry dated back in '02. i haven't talked to her in years. >> there's information that i think you have about the abduction. >> yeah, i mean, that's just -- that's all i can -- alls i know is what i read about it. >> we're just trying to understand if she was truly abducted. is she lying to everybody and got on "20/20" and is a liar? >> are you willing to tell us what happened? >> i'll go sit and talk. >> and it's not until 53 minutes into this interview that they get reyes to finally come clean. >> i didn't kidnap her.

you know, i just -- friend in need asking for help, and that was that. >> what did she say? >> she was trying to get away from her husband. your husband beats you. your husband raped you. >> i don't know what her deal was. >> she made up stories, you know? keith was abusing her. she needed to get out of that relationship. >> as sergeant kyle wallace chats up reyes, his fbi colleague wanders into the apartment. >> is it okay if i go look in that room, the closet? i'm curious if it's the same as she described it. >> ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. this apartment, this closet, and this bathroom looked just like the place that sherri says she was held captive. >> all the way down to the allthread. >> allthread, that's the screw, the metal pole that she was -- >> yeah, the metal pole and the screw that she was -- >> she said she was chained to that. >> chained, yeah. >> the ex-boyfriend's version of what happened is radically different from what sherri told theauthorities happened. >> you're saying absolutely it was just you and her in the car.

there were no females involved. >> i don't know any of those girls. i mean this is -- yeah, there's no way, man. >> he was duped by her. but he went along with it. >> i didn't know what the final plan was. like, were we going to end up together? was that her plan? >> but it's fair to say you were hoping maybe you could get together there. >> no, no, i wasn't there yet. >> she instructed james to get a rental car, leave his cell phone at his house, and drive the nine hours or so to get to redding, california, to pick her up. >> he gets her down to his apartment, gives sherri the bedroom, and he sleeps on the couch. >> sherry asked him to put up the plywood to block out the window. i think james thought it was strange, but he was also just helping a friend. >> sherri told the world that she had sat there, locked up, chained, miserable, abused. but reyes says the truth was that she voluntarily spent time alone, reading the news about her own disappearance. >> she starts to act erratically, according to him.

she starts losing a lot of weight. he says she's not eating much. one day he came home from work and she'd cut off her hair. >> but then things get far more twisted. remember all those terrible injuries covering sherri's body? >> how did all that stuff come about? >> i mean, she did a lot of that while she was here. i mean, she just hit herself with something to create a bruise or something, and i -- i helped her. i mean i didn't punch her or anything. >> how'd you help her? >> she just was just like, "bank a puck off my leg," so i shot a puck off her leg lightly. >> reyes also says that sherri slammed a hockey stick into her own face. that's how she injured her nose? >> yeah. >> it's a weird situation. >> i know. and that's my life. like, man, what the [ bleep ] >> so now he's describing a situation where he has an unhinged woman in his apartment. she's bleeding, bruised, burned, and scarred. then she says to him, i need you

to brand my back. >> i'm like, oh, this is probably going to hurt. i mean, i've never done this. i can't even say i did a good job. you know what i mean? that's scary. have you ever done that to someone? >> no. >> it was just so hot, it was red. >> what'd she do for the pain, if anything? >> she never really complained about a lot of pain. >> i want to say after this amount of time in law enforcement nothing surprises me, but i was a little taken back. >> and then she was like, i'm ready to go back to the kids. she started missing her babies, and i'm like, of course. >> sure. makes sense. >> everybody's got a play until reality hits. >> she's just like, "i'm ready to go," thanksgiving day. i'm just like, seriously? >> then, before dawn on that now infamous thanksgiving morning, james reyes says he dropped sherri off in a remote area. >> it's the greatest story ever of survival, right? except it never happened. it's a lie. it's a hoax. it's all made up. >> we come up with a plan to do an interview to confront her with this evidence.

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in august of 2020, investigators ask sherri and her husband to come in. >> thank you for coming. we appreciate you take thing time to come talk to us. >> thanks to the cooperation of that ex-boyfriend, james reyes, investigators now believe they have solid proof sherri papini's kidnapping was a hoax. >> a plan's developed to confront her with this and get her reaction. >> does she have any idea what's about to happen? >> oh, no. >> were you able to find where that house is? >> yes. >> what -- tell me more, tell me more. >> we'll get to that. >> okay. >> [ laughter ] >> she's confronted with pictures that look exactly like

the places she says. i mean, she described a crack in the tile in the bathroom. so this crack is in a different location than this crack. >> and they showed her a picture of that exact crack. and they say, does this look like, you know, the place that you were held captive? and she's like, yeah, kind of, but not exactly. >> it's pretty -- excuse my language, pretty [ bleep ] similar. but it's different. >> there was even a pole in the closet where she was staying. >> how about this one? >> keith right next to her jumping up and down, saying it's the right one. >> so he thinks this is a break in the case? >> oh, yeah. absolutely. >> he thinks they've found the abductors? >> we talked to the people who lived there. >> sorry. >> we found the house, we found who was involved. dropped the bomb, the mood - changes and the body language

changes. >> dna came back, like i said, to a specific person. that specific person told us very specific things. so if we're talking with keith or without keith here, what would you like? >> you want to step out or do you want to stay? >> obviously i want to stay. >> and you can see on that video that the detectives step out to let them decide. and keith appears to be confused by sherri's reaction because it's great news. >> you need to stop what you're doing and tell the truth now. >> and at this point sherri tells keith she doesn't want police to help catch the captor who she claims help her escape. >> i don't want them to find her. >> tell my why not. >> because she saved my life and she's the reason i get to hold my children every single night. >> the detectives go back in the room and pretty much lay this case out. >> the dna that was on you belongs to james reyes.

>> we talked to him. he's been on a polygraph. we talked to everybody around him. we have the rental agreements, phone records, car rental agreements. the reason why you lost so much weight is because you stopped eating. the reason why the brand is because he went to the store and bought the bradning tools and branded you. the reason why your nose was broke is because of a hockey stick. it's not an abduction. she asked me to come here. >> no. >> i rented a car, i drove up and picked her up. he passd the polygraph test, sherri. >> if that's not what happened, what did happen sherri? >> i don't know. no. there's no way it's james. there's no way. there's no way. >> dna doesn't lie. >> and she's like, no. no. you mean he's behind it? i just cannot believe that my ex-boyfriend is behind my

kidnapping. >> keith is in the room when they're identifying and talking about the ex-boyfriend who she was allegedly with that whole time. >> yeah. keith gets up and walks out. >> were you surprised that she stuck to her guns even after you presented what, you know, appeared to be this incredibly compelling evidence? >> not at all. she had spun this story for so long that -- that she wasn't gonna come off of it. >> they tell her they have proof of phone contact with her and james, and that sends her spinning off into another direction. >> it's my fault that i was flirting with other men. it's such a stupid thing to do. i love my husband. i love my children. >> that's understandable. >> such a stupid thing to do. >> here's the deal though, sherri. flirting with men, not a crime. lying to me today, yes, a crime. >> she just went into her cocoon

state where she's just tried to control the interview by crying, putting her head in her hands, not answering questions. >> i didn't do anything wrong. >> i know you didn't do anything wrong. right now you're not telling the truth, which is doing something wrong. >> and she's begging police to protect that captor who she claims let her go. >> did a female point a gun at you? yes or no. >> i am done speaking to you until i talk to a lawyer. i will not arrest her. i am with my children because of her. i don't understand. there is no way this is james. he loves me. >> he did love you, i agree. >> did you ever get an impression from keith about -- >> he wanted to leave. >> i'm the idiot husband that stayed around the whole time. >> he was so angry, so upset. >> so emotional and just upset. >> you're saying, okay you can go home now, but i don't want her anywhere around my kids or

me at all at this point. >> i don't know what the next stages of this are but -- >> it's not us together i can tell you that much. i'm in shock. >> all of a sudden, it's like out of nowhere, the news breaks. >> sherri papini arrested on charges she allegedly lied to federal agents about being kidnapped. >> now being accused of making the whole thing up. >> i just think that she scammed us all. >> and there's understandably resentment in the redding hispanic community, since sherri's infamous description of the two latina kidnappers. >> when sherri papini was busted, we were overjoyed and relieved. there are no dangerous, ugly, masked, gun-toting hispanic-latino women here wanting to abduct your children, especially if they're white. >> and there's the smith family, still to this very day searching for one of their own daughters, and they had offered their

sympathy and support to the papinis. >> it just kind of makes a mockery out of anyone who's really lost a person. it's kind of a slap in the face. >> and now it all comes crumbling down. we're outside the federal courthouse in sacramento. >> what the judge actually ruled inside just now shocked not just the defense but the prosecution as w don't mind me. i'm just the flu. i'm quite harmless, really. and when people ask, “but aren't you linked to dangerous flu complications, like pneumonia, heart attack, and hospitalizations?” i just say, “but, i'm just the flu.” it's him! who? i'm just the flu!

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the fact of the matter is there is really no law against faking your own kidnapping. what is against the law is lying, making false statements to a federal agent. >> i already told you lying to me is a crime, so you walk out this door telling lies, and that's a crime. >> in addition to that, she's charged with mail fraud. but specifically, mail fraud in using funds from the victim's compensation board for her

therapy. >> and these are some serious charges, and with everything that she was originally facing, sherri papini is looking at up to 25 years behind bars. and that might explain why she finally decided to come clean. >> sherri papini, a california mother who faked her own kidnapping, is set to plead guilty today. >> there's a plea deal. she's avoiding trial entirely. as part of this agreement, she has to admit, which she did in writing and through her attorney, that she made the whole thing up. >> this past april, sherri released this statement that said, in part, i'm deeply ashamed of myself for my behavior and so very sorry for the pain that i have caused. i will work the rest of my life to make amends for what i have done. >> in her apology, she did not specify harm done to the hispanic-latino community. she did not express remorse to law enforcement, who wasted

incredible resources. >> we just spent four years of our existence investigating this case, and, you know, all the resources we put into this thing. >> literally thousands and thousands of dollars and man hours being expended to try and solve this case. >> we were so behind finding this woman as a community, and then to feel like you've been misled, it's heartbreaking. and you feel betrayed. >> why did you lie? >> i fully expect the judge to do the right thing, and no matter what that sentence is, it will be justice, and this case will be over. >> inside that courtroom, the judge handing down a shocker, sentencing sherri papini to 18 months in prison. that's more than twice what even the prosecution had asked for. >> sherri just looked devastated. her attorney was holding her. it was very intense.

>> i do think the judge was trying to make an example of her so that other people don't think they could fake their own kidnapping and make money off of it. >> keith papini in this case, if there's a victim, it's him. he's had to endure a lot of humiliation. >> after the sentencing, we followed up with keith to see how he feels today, knowing that he tearfully defended a wife who made up the whole thing. and in a statement, he told us, "the events of the past two months have been shocking and devastating. my current focus is on moving on and doing everything i can to provide my two children with as normal, healthy, and happy a life as possible." >> keith has filed for divorce and wants full custody of the kids. if he gets it, that could be more punishment than any jail cell for sherri. >> this case, i almost want to call it a tragic comedy, but a tragic comedy has to have a happy ending, and there isn't a

happy ending here. in addition to that prison time, sherri papini was also ordered to pay more than $300,000 in restitution for all the wasted resource spent on her. >> she's been ordered to report the prison this november to start serving that sentence. i'm amy robach. >> i'm david muir. from all of us here at "20/20" and abc news, good night.

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