Contributed photo of Sherri and Keith Papini 
 
 Sherri Papini went missing Nov. 2 from the area of Old Oregon Trail and Sunset Drive in Mountain Gate. She is pictured with her husband, Keith. 
 
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 On the same day authorities confirmed the FBI has joined the search for missing mom Sherri Papini, an anonymous person set up a website offering a reward for Papini's immediate release. 
 
 Authorities, however, have not confirmed that Papini has been kidnapped, or if so, who may have her. 
 
 The reward is offered to “the person who has Sherri Papini,” according to the website, sherripapini.com. It asks that whoever may have her contact a local negotiator to arrange the transfer of money and Papini's release. 
 
 That negotiator is Cameron Gamble of Redding, who operates a missionary service called Project TAKEN and who says he is a kidnap and ransom consultant. He said he did not write the letter or set up the website, but rather the anonymous person did and put Gamble's contact information in it. 
 
 “We are offering this reward with no strings attached," Gamble told the Record Searchlight Thursday. "We have not been talking with the police on this. We’re acting independent from the family as well.” 
 
 The person offering the reward does not live in the area and did not want to be identified, Gamble said. 
 
 The letter states: “I am willing to pay you in whatever way you can creatively think about where you feel safe and where nothing can be tracked to you. I will not communicate with the police, (and) sheriff’s department regarding any details about this offer.” 
 
 Gamble said the reward is being offered through Wednesday and then it is off the table. 
 
 Papini’s sister, Sheila Koester, said she had no knowledge about the letter and that the Papini family members had no association with the website. 
 
 “I have no idea. It’s nothing that I knew of,” she said. 
 
 Koester said she had a friend help her design a different website, www.HelpFindSherriPapini.com, to give the public information about her sister’s disappearance – what she may have been wearing the day she went missing, a Google map of the area she went missing from, and numbers to call if they have any information about Papini’s whereabouts. 
 
 Unlike the website Gamble is working with, Koester emphasized that anyone with information about her sister’s disappearance continue to call the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office. 
 
 Papini disappeared while jogging during the day on Nov. 2 near her home in Mountain Gate just a few miles northeast of Redding. 
 
 The day she was last seen her husband found the 34-year-old woman’s cell phone, headphones and a few strands of hair in the area where she was jogging off Old Oregon Trail. 
 
 Other than that, there have been few leads to go on, according to the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office has classified Papini’s disappearance as suspicious, but authorities are not even sure she has been kidnapped. 
 
 The letter says the person who set up the website has an email, BringSherriHome@gmail.com and a phone number to a disposable cell phone. But the letter cautions against anyone calling the number except whoever may have abducted her. 
 
 “A note to scammers who will try to pretend you have Sherri. This phone does not have call waiting. If you call and pretend to have Sherri you may be preventing the real person from reaching us," it says. "My hired negotiator has negotiated ransom releases for people all over the world, so he will determine immediately if you are lying.” 
 
 The website was established via a company that allows people to set up websites anonymously. 
 
 Sheriff Tom Bosenko said he had concerns about the letter and the website. 
 
 “No. 1, if she is being held by someone we think we or the family would have been contacted by the abductors by now if they wanted to hold her for ransom,” Bosenko said. 
 
 Offering a reward through an attempt to directly contact someone who may have kidnapped her could lead someone possibly exploiting the situation, he said. 
 
 "I think this may bring some con artist out of the woodwork trying to collect some of the money,” Bosenko said. 
 
 The FBI has been supporting the investigation since the first week of November, when Papini was reported missing, Bosenko said. The federal agency is offering investigative support. 
 
 The Sheriff's Office gave an update on its investigation Thursday evening, saying it has served about 20 search warrants to obtain data – electronic, bank records, cell phone and email records, cell tower information, social media accounts – to look for clues about Papini’s disappearance. 
 
 Deputies said they've followed up on 400 tips, but none have turned up any “credible information.” The Redding Police Department and the FBI’s Cellular Analysis Survey Team have assisted detectives in the investigation. 
 
 Deputies, along with the general public, have knocked on doors, talked with residents, conducted probation searches, checked on registered sex offenders and other “suspicious subjects” and haven’t received any leads. 
 
 Major Crimes Unit detectives have reviewed other missing cases from Shasta County and across the nation, and determined that none of them are linked to Papini. 
 
 Detectives are still searching for any information that would indicate whether Papini’s disappearance was voluntary or involuntary. They’ve spoken with family, friends, old acquaintances as well as Papini’s past relationships to determine her whereabouts. Their search and follow up has taken them out of state. They also are checking people's authenticity, timelines and alibis. 
 
 Meanwhile, the family will be releasing balloons from 7:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Thanksgiving Day during Shasta Regional Medical Center’s Turkey Trot at Diestelhorst Landing. 
 
 Papini had been preparing for a race when she went missing, the family said on Facebook. 
 
 “In coordination with the Turkey Trot we graciously ask that you pin a yellow ribbon to your running bib to signify the hope for her safe return,” the post reads. ||||| SHARE Sherri Papini has been missing since last Wednesday when she went for a jog near her home and never returned. 
 
 By Alayna Shulman of the Redding Record Searchlight 
 
 Sheriff Tom Bosenko said Wednesday "there should not be a panic" about abductions amid Mountain Gate mother Sherri Papini's strange disappearance, which he said doesn't seem to be linked to two other disturbing incidents involving North State women recently. 
 
 Bosenko said there's still not enough evidence to classify Papini's disappearance as an abduction -- or not. But he did note that her vanishing shouldn't scare people into thinking they're in any more danger than usual. 
 
 "If this was an abduction, it's really rare. We don't have any indication, any evidence to say it was or wasn't," Bosenko said Wednesday. "I do not believe that the public in general is in danger as result of the Papini case." 
 
 Papini's family is adamant that she must have been abducted. 
 
 "She wouldn't leave her kids," sister Sheila Koester said. "I wish I could say that we have something to go on, but there's nothing that we have that points to her just leaving, so that's why we still strongly, strongly believe that she was taken. And we're trying desperately to find any piece of the puzzle that could lead us to who took her." 
 
 While there are many unanswered questions in Papini's disappearance, one thing is nearly certain to Bosenko: her case doesn't have anything to do with the vanishing of Stacey Smart in Trinity County or an attempted abduction at Shasta College. 
 
 "There does not appear to be any direct connection to the Papini case," Bosenko said of the Shasta College incident, in which an unknown man reportedly tried to get a student into his car more than once. 
 
 As for Smart, who was last heard from in mid-October and living with a boyfriend in Lewiston, Bosenko agreed with Trinity County investigators that her case and Papini don't have anything in common except the day they were both reported missing -- November 2. 
 
 "There does not appear to be any type of connection to the Trinity County case," Bosenko said. 
 
 Koester said the family had not seriously been considering the cases could be related. 
 
 "I think those are two different situations," she said. 
 
 Despite the apparent lack of leads in Papini's disappearance, calling the case cold is "not even something that we're considering at this point," Bosenko said. 
 
 "It's still a very active and ongoing investigation," he said. 
 
 But the ground searching for Papini is done for now, though detectives "are actively working the case," Bosenko said. 
 
 "It's essentially over, unless there was a new piece of information that developed or maybe somebody found something," Bosenko said. "But essentially, the ground search didn't yield anything of significant or evidentiary value." 
 
 Papini's family has also called off its ground searches, refocusing on an awareness campaign after fruitless days scouring the area where she was last seen near Sunrise Drive and Old Oregon Trail. That included a stop at the Redding City Council meeting Tuesday night, in which husband Keith and Koester spread the word about Papini's disappearance. 
 
 Keith passed a lie-detector test, has an alibi for the day Sherri went missing and is not implicated by any evidence found, sheriff's officials have said, also noting that he's fully cooperated with investigators. Adding to the mystery is Sherri's lack of mental or physical issues that could explain a sudden disappearance. 
 
 The family is coordinating with Shasta Regional Medical Center's annual Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving to release balloons for awareness on Papini's disappearance, Koester said. 
 
 They'll also hand out yellow ribbons -- often seen as a symbol for the missing -- to those racing. 
 
 In the meantime, Bosenko offered a refresher course on the safety tips he says always should be followed, regardless of local missing cases. 
 
 They include: 
 
 Let someone know when you're going to exercise outside, when you plan to be back and where you're headed 
 
 Go with someone else 
 
 Parking in well-lit areas 
 
 Have your keys ready to use as soon as you get to your car 
 
 Pay attention to your surroundings, including whether someone suspicious is near your car 
 
 Don't use earphones in both ears, which "isolates the person" 
 
 "They should be aware, but ... don't let your fears or anxiety change your lifestyle or whatever you may be doing," he said. "Don't let it lead to a person being panicked or being isolated in their home." 
 
 If you have information on Papini, contact: 
 
 The sheriff's Major Crimes Unit at 530-245-6135 or mcu@co.shasta.ca.us 
 
 Secret Witness of Shasta County, Inc., at 530-243-2319 
 
 The Nor-Cal Alliance for the Missing anonymous tip line at 530-378-4491 If you have information on Smart, contact: The Trinity County Sheriff's Office at 530-623-3740 
 
 The anonymous tip line listed above 
 
 Even if it's small, "Please don't be afraid to report something," Bosenko said. ||||| Copyright 2017 by KRCRTV.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 
 
 SHASTA COUNTY, Calif. - An anonymous source has created a Sherri Papini website and is offering a reward "to the person who has Sherri Papini". 
 
 Papini, a 34-year-old wife and mother of two, disappeared November 2 while out on a jog on Old Oregon Trail near Mountain Gate, north of Redding. 
 
 The letter, posted on SherriPapini.com says, "I am willing to pay you whatever way you can creatively think about where you feel safe and where nothing can be tracked to you." The letter continues, "I will not communicate with the police, Sheriff's Department regarding any details about this offer." 
 
 The website links to the official Find Sherri Papini Facebook page, Twitter, and GoFundMe account. It also links to news articles about her disappearance. 
 
 When we spoke with Sherri Papini's husband, Keith Papini, he was insistent that this letter is true and says he has spoken with the anonymous source's spokesperson, Cameron Gamble. KRCR News Channel 7's Mike Mangas also spoke with Gamble and plans to speak with him on camera about the letter, Friday morning. 
 
 Gamble said there is no dollar amount in the reward because they're not putting a worth on Sherri's life. Gamble added the objective is to offer a reward ransom for the person or persons that have Sherri and that this is a time for the person to come forward without consequences. 
 
 In a press release sent out Thursday by the Shasta County Sheriff's Office, they said, "Detectives continue to search for any information that would indicate if Sherri's disappearance was voluntary or involuntary." 
 
 KRCR first received a similar letter in an email from bringsherrihome@gmail.com, sent on November 6. In that email, the anonymous source said they were willing to provide proof that they had that kind of money available and were willing to release bank statements showing such. KRCR was unable to confirm the letter was from a legitimate source, and chose not to make the letter public at that time. 
 
 In a statement from the Shasta County Sheriff's Office, Lieutenant Anthony Bertain said SherriPapini.com may or may not be real but it's a distraction to their investigation, that there is still no solid evidence that Sherri was abducted, and if there was a kidnapper demanding ransom, he would have contacted the family and probably asked for a lot more than $50,000. 
 
 Changes have been made to this article to reflect new information we received Thursday evening from both the spokesperson for the anonymous source and Keith Papini, Sherri Papini's husband. Changes have also been made to reflect that the letter KRCR received was similar but not the same as the letter posted on sherripapini.com
– Authorities have received 400 tips but have few leads in the disappearance of a woman in California. An apparent stranger hopes to change that. An anonymous donor has set up a website offering a $50,000 "ransom reward" if "the person who has Sherri Papini" will let her go. Papini disappeared while jogging in Redding on Nov. 2; police aren't sure if her disappearance was voluntary or involuntary but her family maintains she was abducted. According to SherriPapini.com, anyone holding the 34-year-old mother of two should contact Cameron Gamble, an apparent kidnap and ransom consultant. "We are offering this reward with no strings attached," Gamble tells the Record Searchlight, adding that he and the anonymous donor are working separately from police and Papini's family. If such a kidnapper exists, that person better act fast. According to a letter posted to the site, which KRCR reports it received on Nov. 6, the offer is only available until Wednesday when the anonymous donor, who claims to be a visitor to Redding, will leave the area "on my next business trip." Papini's husband—who passed a lie-detector test and has an alibi for the day of his wife's disappearance, per the Record Searchlight—says he has no link to SherriPapini.com, while a sheriff appears wary. "We think we or the family would have been contacted by the abductors by now if they wanted to hold her for ransom," he says.