'So Sorry': California Mom Whose Disappearance Sparked Nationwide Search Admits To Faking Her Kidnapping

A California mother has admitted that she faked her own kidnapping, nearly six years after she was reported missing. Her disappearance drew international media attention and sparked a frantic nationwide search in 2016.

Sherri Papini, 39, from Redding, was reported missing after she went jogging near her home on Nov.2, 2016. Nearly three weeks later, she was found on Interstate 5 with a chain around her waist and a "brand" on her shoulder, USA Today reported.

Papini claimed that two Hispanic women abducted her at gunpoint and forced her into a vehicle while she was jogging. However, the investigators later found out that she was actually staying with an ex-boyfriend during the time she was missing.

"In truth, Papini had been voluntarily staying with a former boyfriend in Costa Mesa and had harmed herself to support her false statements," the prosecutor's office said in a statement, NBC News reported.

Police arrested Papini on March 3 and charged her with 34 counts of mail fraud and one count of making false statements.

Papini said Tuesday that she was "deeply ashamed" of her actions. She agreed to plead guilty to two counts of mail fraud and lying to a law enforcement officer, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years and five years respectively.

"I am deeply ashamed of myself for my behavior and so very sorry for the pain I've caused my family, my friends, all the good people who needlessly suffered because of my story, and those who worked so hard to try to help me," Papini said in a statement released through her lawyer. "I will work the rest of my life to make amends for what I have done."

Prosecutors said Papini not only misled the investigators, but also benefited $30,000 from the California Victim's Compensation Board.

The woman has agreed to pay more than $300,000 in restitution to federal, state and local agencies, according to her plea deal. She is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.