A Northern California woman missing for three weeks has been found alive, authorities said Thursday.
Sherri Papini, a 34-year-old mother of two, disappeared Nov. 2 after going for a jog in the small town of Mountain Gate in Shasta County.
“She is safe, in stable condition and receiving medical clearance at an undisclosed hospital,” Shasta County sheriff’s officials said in a statement.
Papini has been reunited with her husband. No other details were available.
According to KCRA-TV in Sacramento, Papini’s husband, Keith Papini, reported her missing when 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 was reportedly last seen, investigators said.
A private group working with Papini’s family released a video Wednesday offering up to $100,000 to anyone with information leading to her safe return, according to KNVN-TV.
The group vowed that law enforcement would not be involved in the exchange and that there would be no questions asked.
“We don’t care if you’re a convicted felon, if you’re a person with a warrant out for your arrest or a drug addict,” the man in the video said. “You lead us to Sherri, we give you more money than you can spend.”
Although detectives initially focused their attention on Keith Papini, he passed a lie-detector test, and officers confirmed his story that he was at work when she went missing.
according to the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office.
“It appears he’s telling us the truth,” Sheriff Tom Bosenko said. “Generally, you can’t trick a polygraph.”