HER VANISHING ACT WAS A CRUEL LIE

When a missing mum was found, it seemed like a miracle...

- STACEY HICKS

As soon as Keith Papini got home from work on November 2, 2016, he knew something was wrong.

He'd usually be greeted by his beautiful, bubbly wife, Sherri, then 34, and their two kids, aged four and two.

Instead, the house was empty. The Find My Phone app showed Sherri's phone was near their mailbox at the end of their property's long driveway, nearly 2km from their house.

Maybe she'd taken the kids for a walk to get the mail, Keith thought.

But concern turned to panic when Keith rang the children's daycare centre and learned Sherri, who was called 'Supermum' by her family, had never picked them up.

'I got in the car and immediately drove down the end of our mailbox, and was anticipating I would see her walking,' he told 20/20.

He found his wife's phone and headphones, which were tangled with strands of her blonde hair, discarded on the side of the road.

Keith immediately reported Sherri missing.

A widespread search was launched as distressed family and community members plastered missing posters with Sherri's face on them around their town.

'If she is listening I want to say, "I'm coming honey. I am trying, I'm doing everything I can and I love you",' a distressed Keith told KRCR-TV.

Then, 22 days later, as hope faded, a miracle happened. In the early hours of November 24, 2016, Sherri was found on a highway more than 200 kilometres from home.

It was clear something terrible had happened to her. She now weighed less that 40 kilos, was covered in bruises and bound with restraints on her wrists and a chain around her waist.

Horrifyingly, she had what appeared to be a bible verse branded on her right shoulder and her nose was swollen. Her long locks had also been chopped off.