A New Clue Pops Up in Strange Case of Sherri Papini

Surveillance video shows formerly missing mom running near church shortly before she was found
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 8, 2017 7:38 AM CST

A new clue in the case of Sherri Papini has emerged. A surveillance video shows the formerly missing California woman sprinting near a Jehovah's Witness church in Yolo County early on Thanksgiving last year, shortly before she was found by a trucker on an Interstate 5 ramp, per the San Francisco Chronicle. The black-and-white video released Tuesday by the Shasta County Sheriff's Office shows a barely visible Papini at 4:15am on Nov. 24, dashing in the dark after she says she broke away from her captors. The Shasta County woman is seen running toward the building, then away again until she runs out of frame. Less than 10 minutes later, Papini was picked up on the ramp. Shasta County Sheriff's Sgt. Brian Jackson tells People that Papini approached the building looking for help, then turned because "it was 4 o'clock in the morning and there was nobody there."

Officials figured out it was Papini because they could make out parts of her shackles, which she was found wearing, per CBS News. Jackson tells People authorities decided to release the video in the hopes it would bring new leads in the case. "Maybe there is that one person who can have that one piece of information that can help," he says. KRCR outlines what's known in the case so far, including documenting the evidence that's been revealed and the "unanswered questions" that remain, including what the brand Papini received on her right shoulder was. Jackson concedes to Newsweek, which examines the doubts some have about Papini's story, that he gets why people believe there are "inconsistencies" and that the whole case is just "weird." (See police sketches of Papini's captors here.)

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