A woman was jailed for eight years by a British court Friday for her part in the kidnap of her own daughter . Karen Matthews and Michael Donovan were both involved in the plot to kidnap Shannon . Nine-year-old Shannon Matthews was locked in an apartment for 24 days after going missing from her home in February last year . After a massive police investigation , Karen Matthews , 33 , was found guilty last month of kidnap , false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice . She was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court in West Yorkshire , northern England , the British Press Association reported . Her former partner 's uncle , Michael Donovan , 40 , was also convicted of the same offences and received an eight-year jail term , PA said . Prosecutors say Donovan abducted Shannon as she was on her way home from school in Dewsbury , West Yorkshire . They claim he gave her Temazepam -- a type of sleeping tablet -- and travel sickness pills and kept her tethered to an elasticated strap attached to a roof beam through a loft hatch when he went out . Meanwhile Matthews kept up a `` wicked and dishonest lie '' as her daughter became the subject of a massive police search operation and a reward fund offered by a local newspaper grew to $ 50,000 , jurors were told . Donovan planned to release Shannon and then `` discover '' her , prosecutors said . According to PA , Matthews told five versions of what happened to Shannon , ranging from being a distraught mother whose daughter had gone missing to blaming the crime on her former partner Craig Meehan and other members of his family . It also emerged in court that Donovan abducted one of his own daughters after he became involved in a custody battle with his former wife , PA said .
Girl , 9 , drugged , tethered , as part of kidnap plot staged by mother and uncle . Karen Matthews , 33 , and Michael Donovan , 40 , jailed for 8 years . Guilty of kidnap , false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice . Prosecutors say Shannon was tethered to roof beam , given sleeping tablets .