She lived through hell: Sherri Papini 'skips town' with family after alleged abduction
Sherri Papini, the jogger who was discovered bruised and bloodied three weeks after going missing, has reportedly skipped town with her family.
The Californian mum “literally lived through hell” during her 20-plus days in captivity, according to her husband, Keith Papini.
Mr Papini told ABC News on Monday that his wife coped with her torment by imagining she was with her husband and two children: Tyler, 4, and Violet, 2.
"The things she told me that she did, talking to me each time, acting like she was tucking in our kids,” Mr Papini told Good Morning America.
“Told me she took a piece of cloth and rolled it up like it was Violet and she rocked it.
“She was so strong.”
It’s claimed Sherri Papini was abducted by force while jogging on November 2 in Redding, California.
Her bizarre disappearance has consumed the local community.
“She didn’t get into a vehicle on her own,” Mr Papini said, claiming guns were involved in the alleged abduction.
He claimed his wife was hit, kicked and branded, and her nose broken, during her captivity, and he said she was “barely fed.”
When Sherri was found Thanksgiving morning on a roadside, she had reportedly lost about 15 per cent of her body weight.
Mr Papini had previously said his wife was found with a bag over her head and chains around her wrists and waist and her hair had been chopped off.
“Her spine was sticking out, like a large clock with gears sticking out of it,” he told ABC News of their first hug when they were reunited.
Police said they were looking for two women after Sheri claimed her captors were Hispanic, armed and used a dark SUV during the alleged ordeal.
She claimed one of the women had long curly hair, thin eyebrows and pierced ears; and the other woman, who was older, had straight black hair, with gray, and thick eyebrows.
The Papini family is now at an undisclosed location, with Sherri spending every possible moment with their kids while Keith remains alert.
Mr Papini told ABC: “Sherri may be free, but she is still haunted by the abduction.”
The idea of going back to their Redding house is so traumatic the couple may never move back into their house again, ABC reports.
“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 who can help her through that from a professional standpoint,” Mr Papini claimed during the interview.
“It’s not just a long road,” he said: “It’s something we’re never going to forget.”
Sherri has shown some signs of psychological trauma more than a week after she was found.
On Saturday, Shasta County residents gathered at Redding Convention Center to welcome Sherri back home.
Mr Papini described hearing his wife's voice for the first time after she was found. He also said that his wife is showing some signs of psychological trauma.
Initially, Keith Papini was a suspect in his wife's missing case, but he was later cleared after he underwent a lie detector test and provided a verified alibi.
Last week, Sheriff Tom Bosenko told a press conference that a $50,000 reward has been placed for anyone who provides information that leads to an arrest.
While the investigation into the alleged kidnapping continues, police are also looking for a motive in the case.
According to Bill Garcia, the private investigator who was hired by the Papini family, sex trafficking was a motive in Sherri's abduction.
Meanwhile, some reports also claim that the abduction could have been racially motivated.
The speculation was drawn over a 2003 racially charged blog post written by someone using the name Sherri Graeff, Sherri's maiden name.
Sherri's ex-husband, David Dreyfus, told the Sacramento Bee that the post was written by someone else.
Mr Papini’s statement to ‘Good Morning America’ reportedly addressed the race rumours: "I understand people want the story, pictures, proof that this was not some sort of hoax, plan to gain money, or some fabricated race war. I do not see a purpose in addressing each preposterous lie."
