She Faked Her Own Kidnapping. Now She Says It Was Real.

Sherri Papini: the kidnapping hoax (Redding, California, 2016) On November 2, 2016, Sherri Papini, a young mother in Northern California, vanished on a run. Twenty-two days later she was found on Interstate 5 with a chain around her waist, saying two masked women had held her. For almost four years, the FBI looked for them. Then the DNA came back to a man she had known since she was a teenager, and the federal record told a different story. In 2025, out of prison, she said the record has it backwards. This is the case, told from the FBI affidavit, her own signed plea agreement, the 911 call and the interview recording. James Reyes was never charged with any crime. Keith Papini has never been accused of any wrongdoing. Content note: a staged kidnapping and injuries she inflicted on herself, described in words; nothing graphic is shown. 0:00 Cold open 1:23 Chapter 1 · The Jog 3:22 Chapter 2 · Twenty-Two Days 5:04 Chapter 3 · Thanksgiving 7:45 Chapter 4 · The Two Women 10:10 Chapter 5 · The Name in the DNA 11:59 Chapter 6 · There’s No Way 16:56 Chapter 7 · The Room 21:14 Chapter 8 · What It Cost 22:53 Chapter 9 · The Plea 25:05 Chapter 10 · Which Story SOURCES Court record: U.S. v. Papini, E.D. Cal.: the criminal complaint and FBI affidavit (3:22-mj-00001, 2022), the plea agreement and its factual basis (2:22-cr-00070, 2022) U.S. Attorney, E.D. Cal. (2022); Shasta County Sheriff's Office: the August 13, 2020 interview recording (released 2022); Keith Papini's 911 call (2016, released 2017). Reporting: CBS Sacramento (2017, 2023, 2025); FOX 7 Austin (2017); ABC News (2016, 2022, 2024, 2025); CNN (2022); NBC News (2022); NPR (2022); Global News (2022); KRCR (2023, 2024, 2025); The Hollywood Reporter (2024); TIME (2024); ABC News/GMA (2025); Biography.com (2026). CLIPS (news reports and recordings, used for commentary and criticism) ABC10 (Sacramento) / Shasta County Sheriff's Office (released under a public records request, Sept. 2022), “ABC10: Sherri Papini interrogation by Shasta Co. Sheriff's detectives (raw video)” · CBS Sacramento (CBS13) / Shasta County Sheriff's Office (release), “CBS Sacramento: Sherri Papini interrogation video” · KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco / Shasta County Sheriff's Office (release), “KTVU: Keith Papini's 911 call” Court filings and FBI and Justice Department releases: public domain. #TrueCrime #SherriPapini #KidnappingHoax