On November 2, 2016, 34-year-old Sherri Papini from Redding, CA disappeared while jogging. Approximately three weeks later, Papini reappeared emaciated, with bruises on her body and wearing restraints. She told the police she had been kidnapped by two women who eventually released her. Law enforcement had their doubts about Papini's abduction because her story had several inconsistencies.

In March 2022, DNA found on Papini's clothes matched her ex-boyfriend James Reyes. Reyes was then interviewed and told the FBI Papini had stayed with him during her alleged kidnapping. That same month, Papini was arrested for perpetrating the kidnapping hoax. Six weeks later she signed a plea deal admitting to orchestrating the hoax. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison and ordered to pay $300,000 in restitution.

Papini now states that although she made up the story about two women, she was indeed kidnapped by ex-boyfriend James Reyes. Fearful of Reyes, she agreed not to turn him in if he let her go. After her release, she made up the story about the two women. Reyes denies kidnapping her and insists she simply stayed with him during the three weeks she was gone.

In May 2025, Investigation Discovery aired the documentary series "Sherri Papini: Caught in the Lie." In the documentary, Papini described what happened to her. She admitted she was texting and phoning Reyes because she was having an emotional affair. However, she wanted to end the affair. She claimed that Reyes was coming to see her so they could say goodbye. She said she went for a jog and told Reyes she would let him know where they would meet. As she was jogging down a dirt road and approaching an intersection, she described seeing a car pull up in front of her.

"I saw a vehicle pull up and then back up. That's when I realized it was James and my cellphone fell. When I reached down to get my phone, that's the last thing I remember."

I have found that when the word phone appears in a statement, it often ties the person to the crime scene. If you walked into a convenience store and found the clerk has been shot, you would probably use your cellphone and call 911. The word cellphone ties you to the crime scene in an innocent way. For deceptive people, they may mention being on the phone to account for their time and to avoid telling us certain things. The key is to see how much information they provide concerning the word phone. Did they call someone? What did they talk about? Where they using their phone to listen to music?

Papini used the words cellphone and phone to describe the same thing. There are no synonyms in Statement Analysis. Every word means something different. A truthful person's language will usually remain consistent. However, deceptive people will sometimes use synonyms. Because they are making up a portion of their story, they cannot relate to it and consequently do not always follow their personal dictionary. A change in language is an indication of deception unless there is justification for the change. I don't see a justification for changing the language.

Papini stated that her cellphone "fell." The word fell is a verb; it is an action word. A cellphone is not a living object. Therefore, a cellphone is not capable of falling on its own. When people give life to an inanimate object, it is an indication they are being deceptive. Yes, there are times when truthful people will do this. If you asked your partner where the remote is for the TV, they might say, "It's sitting on the coffee table." Technically speaking, remotes are not capable of sitting. However, this is sometimes part of our vernacular. It would have been better if Papini said, "I dropped my cellphone." The FBI noted that her cellphone was found on the ground with her earbuds coiled on top of the cellphone. It didn't have the appearance of being dropped but was most likely placed on the ground.

Papini said, "That's the last thing I remember." This may be her way of withholding information. Deceptive people will sometimes use phrases such as "I don't remember" to avoid telling us certain things.

When they found her cellphone and earbuds, they also found some hair on top of her phone. After she returned home, Papini told her husband Keith she pulled her hair out and placed it on her cellphone so her husband would know that she had been abducted. This contradicts her statement that she dropped her cellphone. Investigation Discovery asked her about this discrepancy.

"After your release, you told Keith you pulled your hair out and placed your phone and earbuds on the ground on purpose to leave a clue you'd been abducted. This is what you said. This is the transcript. You said, 'I knew you'd find my phone. I knew you'd find my phone and my hair. I knew you'd find it. I knew you would. That's why pulled it out. I knew you'd know. I knew you'd know.' So, which one is it? Did you drop your phone by accident? Or, did you place it there on purpose to leave a clue for Keith?" Papini answered: "Oh during captivity James said they found my phone. So, I knew. I knew he had found the phone."

While Papini gave an answer, she did not answer the specific question. She did not tell us if she accidentally dropped the phone or if she placed it on the ground as a clue. Not answering the specific question always means a person is withholding information. The producers of the show recognized this and then asked her about this a second time.

"Okay. So, in the hospital you were lying about purposely placing it there. But, when you told us you were telling the truth that it fell?" Papini answered "Yeah."

Remember, the FBI said the phone and earbuds did not look like they were dropped but had been staged. Earlier, Papini didn't say she dropped her phone but instead said "my cellphone fell."

Papini then talked about her abduction.

"I have no memory of getting into the back of his vehicle. I have no memory of what was said or what was exchanged or how he managed to knock me over get me in the back. I have tried EMDR. I have tried hypnosis. I have tried therapy. But, there is absolutely no memory of getting into the car. It's just not there. It doesn't exist."

Three times Papini said she had no memory. It is true that when a person suffers a traumatic event, there may be things they do not remember. Sometimes their mind blocks out certain things as a defense mechanism. As an interviewer, we are trying to determine if this is the case or is this her way of avoiding telling us what actually happened.

Earlier, Papini claimed the last thing she remembered was reaching down to pick up her phone. She was giving the impression that at that moment she was rendered unconscious. The problem here is she did not say she was knocked out. She said "he managed to knock me over."

Papini said she has no memory of getting into the "car." Earlier, she twice used the word vehicle to describe what the kidnapper was driving. As I previously mentioned, there are no synonyms in Statement Analysis. If she viewed what Reyes was driving as a vehicle she should always call it a vehicle unless there is a justification for changing the language. When it comes to the words vehicle and car, we sometimes see a justification for the change when there is an accident. Most people use the word car because it is more personable. However, when their car is involved in an accident and become damaged, some people will then refer to it as a vehicle. To them, the word car means it is operable and the word vehicle means it is disabled. With Papini's statement, I do not see a justification for the change in language. She used two different words when talking about the same thing; "I have no memory of getting into the back of his vehicle." "No memory of getting into the car."

Papini used the word just in talking about her memory. The word just is not needed. She could have not used this word and the sentence still makes sense; "It's not there." It appears she used the word just to emphasize she does not remember getting into the car.

There were several times Papini used the pronoun we in talking about herself and Reyes; "James had left off the chain and we had dinner." While the pronoun we indicates plurality, it also indicates a partnership. It means at least two people grouped themselves together. The pronoun we implies collaboration. People who are kidnapped or sexually assaulted will not use the pronoun we in talking about their abductor or attacker. They are not going to partner-up with this person. It is true years earlier Papini and Reyes had a relationship. At the time of the incident, she claimed she was having an emotional affair with him. However, once things turned ugly, we expect her to stop using the pronoun we. The use of pronoun we means the person is connecting their values or intentions with someone else of the same mind. That is what Reyes has stated. The two of them were communicating and she asked to spend some time with him.

Papini admitted she lied about being abducted by two women. It appears she is also lying about being abducted by James Reyes. Reyes and Papini were given a polygraph. He passed his test. Some of her answers were problematic.

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