Sherri Papini was found with a bag over head, beaten and weighing just 87 pounds, husband says

Redding mother Sherri Papini was found on the side of a road beaten, chained, with a bag over her head and weighing only 87 pounds, her husband said in his first comments on her abduction.

In a statement to “Good Morning America,” Keith Papini also strong rejected Internet speculation that Sherri was not actually kidnapped.

“We are not going to allow those people to take away our spirit, love, or rejoice in our girl found alive and home where she belongs,” he wrote. “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.”

Authorities investigating the case have also said they have no reason to disbelieve her story.

Detectives were delving into the victim’s past as they try to piece together details of the bizarre episode.

The 34-year-old woman was found bound by restraints along Interstate 5 in Yolo County. Officials were called about 4:30 a.m. Thanksgiving Day after Papini flagged down a motorist. The mother of two was treated for injuries and reunited with her husband.

Officials said they were not aware of a motive for the apparent kidnapping. Sheriff Tom Bosenko also said it was not clear whether Papini knew her abductors.

Bosenko provided more details about how she was found, telling the Redding Record-Searchlight that she was found injured on the road and taken to a hospital. But he declined to offer specifics.

“We’re not providing the details, other than they were non-life threatening and that she was treated and released,” he told the paper.

Before Papini was found, police had filed about 20 search warrants in court related to the investigation. Many were filed under seal, the Sacramento Bee reported. ABC reported that detectives were also looking through Papini’s computer records, investigating past relationships and seeking video surveillance camera footage that might offer clues.

Papini disappeared Nov. 2 while she was out for a jog in the small town of Mountain Gate in Shasta County.

Her husband reported her missing after he came home from work and found that she hadn’t picked up their children from daycare. Her cellphone and headphones were found near where she had last been seen, about a mile from her home, investigators said.

Her disappearance made national news, and the community launched an aggressive manhunt to find her. Her story was shared on social media, and volunteer searches were launched.

In his statement, Keith Papini said he was shocked by his wife’s condition when she was found.

“Nothing could have prepared me for what I was about to see upon my arrival at the hospital, nor the details of the true hell I was about to hear,” he writes. “My first sight was my wife in a hospital bed, her face covered in bruises ranging from yellow to black because of repeated beatings, the bridge of her nose broken.”

To read the article in Spanish, click here

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UPDATES:

10:30 a.m.: This story was updated with new information from Sheriff.