CAMPBELL – The mystery surrounding the kidnapping of Sherri Papini, a Redding area woman who vanished on Nov. 2 and three weeks later was dumped on a road in Yolo County, has gained national attention.

Who abducted Papini, a wife and mother of two young children, and what was their motive?

For one Bay Area-based private investigator, there’s more than just a curiosity to know who was responsible for Papini’s three-week ordeal.

Cody Salfen, a private investigator based in Campbell, was hired by Papini’s family about one week after she disappeared. Salfen employed two retired FBI agents and a retired police detective to help analyze “all the evidence” in an effort to try and piece together what happened to Papini, and perhaps lead them to the missing woman.

“When you’ve been on the front lines of a case and a full picture hasn’t been painted, you want to know what happened,” Salfen said. “You want to make sense of it.

“This case to me is no exception.”

Salfen would not discuss any specifics about his work on the case but did offer insights into developments that were made public earlier this week in a statement released by Sherri Panini’s husband Keith, as well as details provided so far by the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office.

Papini, the mother of two small children, disappeared while jogging Nov. 2 near her home in Redding, about 140 miles north of Sacramento. She was released near Interstate 5 early in the morning on Nov. 24.

“We worked all the normal protocols that you work in an abduction or missing persons case in trying to piece together what could have happened in order to try and find her,” Salfen said. “That was our goal.”

When Papini was located, she was covered with bruises and burns and was chained at the waist and wrists, according to a statement released earlier this week by her husband, Keith Panini. The statement also indicated Papini had been branded, a fact confirmed Wednesday by the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office.

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko told “Good Morning America” that two female abductors branded Papini, perhaps in an effort to “humiliate” and “wear her down.” Bosenko said the brand was a message, not a symbol.

The sheriff’s office said it has not identified a motive for the abduction.

“It sounds to me that she was essentially tortured,” Salfen said. “That’s the only logical conclusion you can draw from the injuries described in his statement.” Related Articles California mom Sherri Papini was branded with message by abductors, sheriff says

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Salfen said he was thrilled when he heard that Papini was found and has since had a brief conversation with her husband to express his relief and excitement that Sherri was found alive.

And Salfen will continue to follow the case as it unravels.

“It’s a very intriguing case, it has a lot of mystery to it,” Salfen said. “Everyone that works for me is champing at the bit to understand it.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.