New details revealed on the kidnapping of US mother Sherri Papini. Source: Fox 4
Sherri Papini was captured on surveillance video running towards a highway after she was dumped by her abductors, police have revealed.
The revelation comes after detectives in Shasta County, California, released dramatic new details of the bizarre case and admitted they were struggling with inconsistencies in Ms Papini's version of events.
It has since emerged that police are in possession of CCTV footage from a church showing the mother-of-two running up an on ramp to Interstate 5 in Yolo County on November 24 last year after 22 days in captivity.
It is not clear how long police have been in possession of the video or why they have not released it.
A truck driver travelling northbound spotted Ms Papini on the side of the highway and pulled over to help her before calling 911.
Police said emergency officers arrived to find the then-34-year-old in an emaciated and distressed state and clad in light great sweatpants and a dark grey top.
She appeared battered and bruised and a chain wound around her left wrist and her waist had been secured with a ziptie. Ms Papini also had hose clamps around her ankles which appeared to have acted as pain compliance restraints, police said, according to the Record Searchlight.
She was taken to Woodland Memorial Hospital where investigators took swabs for DNA and photographed her injuries, which included a broken nose and a brand on her right shoulder.
The Sheriff's Office has described the brand as "a message" but have been unable to decipher it despite using alternate light sources and filters to clarify what they described as "obscure lettering".
Sergeant Brian Jackson said Ms Papini had allowed additional photographs to be taken of the brand as it has healed.
In a bombshell press conference on Wednesday, the sheriff's office announced that DNA from a man had been collected from her clothes and body.
Sign placed along side Sunrise Drive, near the location where Papini went missing. Photo / AP
Sgt Jackson said the male DNA was from an unknown man who was not a match with her husband or anyone who had been entered into FBI's criminal database. He did not elaborate on the female DNA.
Ms Papini has told authorities she was kidnapped by two Hispanic women, one older and one younger, who mainly spoke Spanish.
Sketches of the suspects were not released until this week because Ms Papini had struggled to provide detectives with detailed descriptions of her attackers, whom she said wore face coverings.
"Once the sketches were finalised, detectives and investigators reviewed the sketches and compared the sketches with known witnesses or contacts identified during the investigation to see if the sketches matched any known parties," Sgt Jackson told The Sacramento Bee.
"No matches were made with case file information."
Sgt Jackson said Ms Papini has stated that the two women were the only two people she had contact with during the 22 days she was missing.
