Sherri Papini Bawled in Hospital After She Was Reunited with Husband After Kidnapping Hoax

Sherri Papini vanished without a trace on Nov. 2, 2016.

Twenty-two days later, the California mother of two was found emaciated, battered and bound at the waist by a chain on the side of a rural Yolo County road — about 150 miles south of her home.

She told officers she'd been abducted at gunpoint by two Hispanic women, whom she alleged had tortured her, branded her and kept her chained in a bedroom for more than three weeks.

Papini was taken to a hospital where she met Shasta County Sheriff's Office Sergeant Kyle Wallace, one of the investigators handling her case.

"First walking into the hospital room, Sherri was pretty hostile, which I didn't expect," Wallace told ABC's 20/20 in a two-hour episode titled "The Vanishing Act," which airs Friday, Sept. 30 at 9:01 p.m. ET. (An exclusive clip is shows below.)

In an audio recording of the exchange obtained by 20/20, a distraught Papini is heard telling Wallace, "No one can protect me. I just want my husband. No one found me and I want my husband. I want my husband."

When her husband Keith entered the room, Papini was heard bawling, telling him, "I just wanted to see someone I know," she said. "I just wanted to see you. I wanted to see someone I know."

Papini's kidnapping story collapsed in March of 2022 when law enforcement announced that her purported kidnapping was actually an elaborate hoax. Police learned that Papini had fabricated the incident and had been hiding out with an ex-boyfriend in Southern California.

In April, she pleaded guilty to one count each of lying to a federal officer and mail fraud for staging the kidnapping. After her guilty plea, Keith Papini filed for divorce, saying in court papers that he had been "traumatized" by her kidnapping hoax.

Last week, Papini, now 40, was sentenced to 18 months in prison and will have to pay back $309,902 in restitution to the California Victim Compensation Board, the Social Security Administration, the Shasta County Sheriff's Office and the FBI for losses incurred because of her lies.

During sentencing, U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb called Papini a "manipulator."

"People don't like to be conned," he said, addressing Papini, the Sacramento Bee reported. "And I don't believe those people who were deceived would believe that one month or eight months is sufficient."

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Shubb said the longer sentence was meant to deter others from committing similar crimes.

"If I get away with it, I'll get $49,000," he said. "If I don't get away with it, I'll spend one month or eight months…We have to send a message that crime doesn't pay."

In a handwritten statement before her sentence was handed down, Papini apologized for her behavior.

"I stand before you humbled by the court. I'm so sorry to the many people who have suffered because of me. I thank you all," she said, the Record Searchlight reported.

"I am guilty of lying and dishonor. I trust in this court … and I trust in you," she said. "What was done cannot be undone. I am choosing to humbly accept all responsibility."

Papini must report to prison on Nov. 8.

ABC's 20/20: The Vanishing Act, a two-hour episode, airs Friday, Sept. 30 at 9:01 p.m. ET.