A young California mom believed to have been kidnapped while jogging on Nov. 2 was found early Thanksgiving morning — nearly 150 miles from her home in the town of Mountain Gate.
Although “bound with restraints,” Sherri Papini, 34, managed to make her way to Interstate 5 in Yolo County, Calif., where she flagged down a motorist, Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said at a press conference.
He added that Papini had been released by her “captor or captors.”
She was treated at a Sacramento hospital for undisclosed minor injuries, Bosenko said.
Authorities are looking for “a dark-colored SUV with two Hispanic females armed with a handgun” who are believed to have been her captors, according to the sheriff.
A $50,000 reward has been offered for information leading to their arrest.
Papini was reported missing by her husband, Keith, after he came home from work and discovered she hadn’t picked up their two children — a 2-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl — from day care.
Investigators later found her cellphone, earbuds and a few strands of her hair along a rural road.
Her husband was cleared of any involvement after he passed a lie-detector test and cops were able to confirm his alibi that he was at work when Papini went missing.
Bosenko said authorities will try to determine whether she knew her abductors or if they were strangers.
Their motives were not clear.
“This is a critical, active ongoing investigation,” Bosenko said.
He said that police have more information, but that it’s too “sensitive” to be made public
