Found Alive CA - Sherri Papini, 34, Redding, 2 November 2016 - #19

[bluesneakers]

If my family member went missing, and a guy who owns shipping containers decked out to simulate hostage situations from around the world for 'training purposes' suddenly contacted me and had a hare-brained scheme to offer a "reverse ransom" to kidnappers, without any proof that she WAS kidnapped and being held by someone, I wouldn't trust that person as far as I could throw him.

Especially so soon after KB had been found in a shipping container in South Carolina! Yeah, I would have freaked out.

 

[robthomaseyes]

True, but if you were desperate and already knew (somehow) that your family member was kidnapped and you had spoken with another family whose daughter went missing years ago in the same town and were told LE made some mistakes with that case, you might think differently.

Trust a guy who has 30 "captivity containers" without a real business - just a fake 501c3 charity? Hell no. In my heart, I'd already know I'd found my perp.

 

[AceDetective]

There's an interview with the woman who spotted Sherri by the side of the road done by MSNBC.
[video=youtube;haq2Xi3pV0U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haq2Xi3pV0U[/video]

They also mention that an article was published in People magazine last Friday. Here is their featured quote:

"Abductions are rare in themselves, especially adult abductions. On top of this, being two women is even more unique, so there remains a number of concerns that we have." - Sheriff Tom Bosenko.

 

[dizzychick]

Im sorry I have not kept up with this case but now im overwhelmed with questions after hearing 18 years ago another gal was kidnapped while jogging that went to her school, that looked like her etc etc. I have one question about Sherri, the lady that found her on the road reported she had '"long blonde hair" did we ever find out whats up with that ? Her hair was said to have been chopped off, so what gives ?

 

[AceDetective]

Im sorry I have not kept up with this case but now im overwhelmed with questions after hearing 18 years ago another gal was kidnapped while jogging that went to her school, that looked like her etc etc. I have one question about Sherri, the lady that found her on the road reported she had '"long blonde hair" did we ever find out whats up with that ? Her hair was said to have been chopped off, so what gives ?

It seems the person who saw her either misspoke or was mistaken. It happens. I'm not sure why so many people (ie, on the internet in general) see this as so massively important. LE were on the scene, and obviously they would have seen how long Sherri's hair was. It's not like it could have been chopped off later and they wouldn't have noticed.

It was most likely a false memory based on viewing pictures of Sherri after the sighting. Apparently LE told her a few hours after her 911 call just who it was she had seen at the side of the road.

In the interview I linked, two posts ago, the witness is no longer calling it 'long.' She also emphasizes that it was dark and she only saw Sherri very briefly.

 

[sindydee]

I agree this this. Jumping on the bandwagon it appears.

I was also just wondering what would of actually happened should the kidnappers have contacted him? Surely LE would have been monitoring him? What he was offering was just impossible in this high profile case. There is no way you can give someone x amount of money, not be followed to the location,collect the victim and all is forgotten and the police wont know about any of it. I mean what was the point in it? If I think like that the kidnapper would probably too. It's a trap. Maybe he was just trying to generate publicity? Because that is what its done. Bizarre.

Nearly every major crisis seems to be quickly followed by a t-shirt selling street vendor, or some other sideshow circus act. Maybe CG is just one of those type of opportunists who crawled out of the woodwork when a sensationalistic story hit near his town. Opportunist certainly seems to fit the bill, but I doubt he's behind the abduction.

 

[KaaBoom]

I agree this this. Jumping on the bandwagon it appears.

I was also just wondering what would of actually happened should the kidnappers have contacted him? Surely LE would have been monitoring him? What he was offering was just impossible in this high profile case. There is no way you can give someone x amount of money, not be followed to the location,collect the victim and all is forgotten and the police wont know about any of it. I mean what was the point in it? If I think like that the kidnapper would probably too. It's a trap. Maybe he was just trying to generate publicity? Because that is what its done. Bizarre.

Sure it could be done. I doubt the police were following him. But even if they were, he could have gotten someone else who wasn't being followed to deliver the money. Collecting the victim would be the hard part. Generally kidnappers just take the money, and promise to release the victim later. I also think communication with the kidnappers would be difficult. In the old days kidnappers used public pay phones to communicate. But pay phones are getting kind of scarce these days. Even if the kidnappers used a stolen cell phone, the police would still be able to track the general location of the call. Communication via the internet using a proxy server might be an option, but I'm not really sure how effective that might be. They would have to be very tech savvy to pull that off.

 

[natsound]

There's an interview with the woman who spotted Sherri by the side of the road done by MSNBC.
[video=youtube;haq2Xi3pV0U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haq2Xi3pV0U[/video]

They also mention that an article was published in People magazine last Friday. Here is their featured quote:

"Abductions are rare in themselves, especially adult abductions. On top of this, being two women is even more unique, so there remains a number of concerns that we have." - Sheriff Tom Bosenko.

Thanks for posting this!

The People Mag writer says Bosenko told her SP is not a suspect.

Bosenko also said adult abductions are rare, and the dept. has concerns regarding the 2 Hispanic women idea.

Mods, does this allow us to entertain some alternate theories about the identity of the abductors?

 

[ColourPurple]

Im sorry I have not kept up with this case but now im overwhelmed with questions after hearing 18 years ago another gal was kidnapped while jogging that went to her school, that looked like her etc etc. I have one question about Sherri, the lady that found her on the road reported she had '"long blonde hair" did we ever find out whats up with that ? Her hair was said to have been chopped off, so what gives ?

According to KP it was cut just above her shoulders. I don't doubt at all that it was cut but I do find the fact that it was cut to shoulder length (rather than shaved or cropped short) puzzling. Of the theories we can discuss I think a personal revenge attack seems the most likely.. that SP upset somebody (maybe without knowing) online or in real life and they took revenge. BUT in that scenario I don't picture them being brutal with the beatings, burns and branding but then holding back when it came to cutting her hair. I think they would be equally brutal and chop or shave it short. Cutting it but only to shoulder length sounds more like somebody just doing it to try to change her appearance OR somebody who was personally invested in SP's hair and wanted to cut it to make a statement but couldn't bear to cut it all off completely. A revenge attack just doesn't fit with that.. although I guess maybe a revenge attack from an ex boyfriend might... but then that doesn't fit in with the attackers being two women. I know it sounds a small point but it's a real sticking point for me when trying to come up with theories and motives.

 

[Ontario Mom]

Question for Lake:

Do you know (if you can answer) if SP was wearing the same clothes when she was released, that she was wearing when taken?

 

[Dion]

Question for Lake

Did Sherri wear hair extensions?

 

[dizzychick]

According to KP it was cut just above her shoulders. I don't doubt at all that it was cut but I do find the fact that it was cut to shoulder length (rather than shaved or cropped short) puzzling. Of the theories we can discuss I think a personal revenge attack seems the most likely.. that SP upset somebody (maybe without knowing) online or in real life and they took revenge. BUT in that scenario I don't picture them being brutal with the beatings, burns and branding but then holding back when it came to cutting her hair. I think they would be equally brutal and chop or shave it short. Cutting it but only to shoulder length sounds more like somebody just doing it to try to change her appearance OR somebody who was personally invested in SP's hair and wanted to cut it to make a statement but couldn't bear to cut it all off completely. A revenge attack just doesn't fit with that.. although I guess maybe a revenge attack from an ex boyfriend might... but then that doesn't fit in with the attackers being two women. I know it sounds a small point but it's a real sticking point for me when trying to come up with theories and motives.

my guess was a mother daughter team and they had to let her go by Thanksgiving so as to not raise any suspicions among any of their family members. Why ? Who knows

 

[KaaBoom]

There's an interview with the woman who spotted Sherri by the side of the road done by MSNBC.
[video=youtube;haq2Xi3pV0U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haq2Xi3pV0U[/video]

Important part @ 3:38 in the video: "It was so dark, I barely, barely saw her, and like I said, It was a flash. Because that area is so dark, and it was 4:30 in the morning."

With all due respect to the witness, that is all she saw. Everything else is pure speculation and guesses on her part, probably based on news reports she heard later. Including hair color or dirt or bruises on SP's face. Even a high definition camera would be unable to pick those details up in the dark going by at 70 mph. A human being could certainly not do it.

 

[ColourPurple]

my guess was a mother daughter team and they had to let her go by Thanksgiving so as to not raise any suspicions among any of their family members. Why ? Who knows

I hadn't thought of that as reason for releasing her on Thanksgiving. That's a really good point, yes, and could apply to whoever had her.If they were expecting guests staying over for Thanksgiving they really couldn't risk SP still being there.

 

[Ontario Mom]

Important part @ 3:38 in the video: "It was so dark, I barely, barely saw her, and like I said, It was a flash. Because that area is so dark, and it was 4:30 in the morning."

With all due respect to the witness, that is all she saw. Everything else is pure speculation and guesses on her part, probably based on news reports she heard later. Including hair color or dirt or bruises on SP's face. Even a high definition camera would be unable to pick those details up in the dark going by at 70 mph. A human being could certainly not do it.

It is interesting to contrast her statements in this interview, compared to what she's been quoted as saying before. I agree, I think it was after the fact, once she realized who she saw on the side of the road, that her mind somehow inserted those other things. It happens.

 

[KaaBoom]

Im sorry I have not kept up with this case but now im overwhelmed with questions after hearing 18 years ago another gal was kidnapped while jogging that went to her school, that looked like her etc etc. I have one question about Sherri, the lady that found her on the road reported she had '"long blonde hair" did we ever find out whats up with that ? Her hair was said to have been chopped off, so what gives ?

It's kind of an interesting coincidence, but I think not really that remarkable. If the two incidents happened close together, it would probably be something to investigate. But 18 years is a long time. For a kidnap victim to have known another kidnap victim at some point in their lifetime, is not really that surprising IMHO.

As for the second point. That witness only saw SP in the dark for a flash. It is highly improbable that she saw SP's hair color. Her and her daughter had to discuss the matter for a moment to figure out what they had even just seen, and if they should call 911.

 

[Pamela_Brewer]

my guess was a mother daughter team and they had to let her go by Thanksgiving so as to not raise any suspicions among any of their family members. Why ? Who knows

Yeah, beat her, brand her, and starve her for 3 weeks, oops! Gotta let her go for Thanksgiving, can't explain the strange woman screaming in my basement! They didn’t plan ahead!
And the neatly placed I phone!

I am pulling my hair out!
(Not really )

Someday maybe it will all make sense.

 

[KaaBoom]

It is interesting to contrast her statements in this interview, compared to what she's been quoted as saying before. I agree, I think it was after the fact, once she realized who she saw on the side of the road, that her mind somehow inserted those other things. It happens.

Yes, it is easy to connect the dots after the fact. Hindsight is always 20/20.

 

[dalsglen]

I learn something new every day! I was going to gently disagree with someone on the last thread who said SP had "minor" injuries. Even though they were called "non life threatening" rather than "minor" by the sheriff and didn't require a hospital stay, they sounded more than "minor" to me when KP described them. However, I like to use words precisely, so it was time to research.

After curiously googling for a definition, I'm here to say that by medical definition they were minor! I say that, not to minimize what she went through at all, but because my initial reaction to the term "minor" was that it did minimize her injuries. But technically it doesn't. Even some fractures are considered minor compared to a major injury that could be life threatening or cause permanent disability. Bruises and burns are considered minor if they are not life threatening. So even though SP looked (and felt) horrible, technically her injuries were minor (personally, I would say moderate, but it seems that would be wrong.)

It was interesting that all the sources for this information on Wikipedia were from the U.K. and Canada. No doubt their system requires a more precise definition than ours. But it seemed reasonable to me. Maybe a U.S. nurse will weigh in to set me straight...or not.

Im not sure about the US or Canada, but certainly over here aswell as A&E (ER) we have Minor Injuries Units, which are nurse led, treats minor injuries (obviously lol) I.e sprains, minor wounds and burns etc.

Im not sure ive ever seen injuries related to being minor in UK media etc though, usually non critical or non life threatening I think

 

[bluesneakers]

It is interesting to contrast her statements in this interview, compared to what she's been quoted as saying before. I agree, I think it was after the fact, once she realized who she saw on the side of the road, that her mind somehow inserted those other things. It happens.

I just listened to an episode of My Favorite Murder and they discussed this. They said something like seven out of 10 wrongful convictions were decided based on witness testimony. What?! So I had to look it up.

Eyewitness Misidentification

Eyewitness misidentification is the greatest contributing factor to wrongful convictions proven by DNA testing, playing a role in more than 70% of convictions overturned through DNA testing nationwide.

I realize this was a different circumstance but if people who have been up close to someone can get the ID wrong it's totally understandable someone whizzing by on a highway (who was probably most concerned about not hitting the person) might be fuzzy on a few specific details about the person's appearance.

http://www.innocenceproject.org/causes/eyewitness-misidentification/