A California woman has been arrested for making false statements and faking her kidnapping in 2016, officials said on Thursday.
Sherri Papini, then 34, had gone missing on 2 November after going for a jog.
Her phone, earbuds, and strands of her hair were found by her husband Keith, around a mile from their house.
She was found three weeks later on 24 November, Thanksgiving Day, and had reportedly been beaten up, had a broken nose, and had even been branded during her ordeal.
Ms Papini had then told law enforcement officials that she had been abducted and held at gunpoint by two Hispanic women.
On the basis of the details she had given to an FBI sketch artist, law enforcement agencies were on the lookout for Hispanic women matching Ms Papini’s description.
However, the investigation showed that Ms Papini had faked her kidnapping and had stayed with a former boyfriend in Costa Mesa, California, during those three weeks and had harmed herself to make her story convincing, authorities said.
In a statement, US attorney Phillip Talbert said: “When a young mother went missing in broad daylight, a community was filled with fear and concern.”
“Ultimately, the investigation revealed that there was no kidnapping and that time and resources that could have been used to investigate actual crime, protect the community, and provide resources to victims were wasted.”
Ms Papini faces a mail fraud charge related to the $30,000 that she received in reimbursement from the California Victim’s Compensation Board based on the false story.
Her reimbursement requests carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, while lying to a federal officer has a maximum five-year sentence.
