Home: Sherri Papini, 34, was found bound by the side of the road on Thursday after being missing for three weeks

Mystery surrounding the disappearance of a young mother deepened on Thursday as she was found alive, bound by the side of the road, after being held captive for three weeks.

Sherri Papini vanished while out jogging near her home in Redding, California, on November 2.

The 34-year-old reappeared on Thanksgiving morning when she flagged down a passing motorist on I-5 in Woodland near Sacramento, some 150 miles way.

Now police are hunting for two Hispanic women armed with handguns and a dark SUV as Papini, a mother-of-two is returned to her family.

Details surrounding her kidnapping were scarce on Thursday as Shasta County Sheriff's Office made the announcement she had been found alive.

It is not clear whether any money was exchanged before her return.

An anonymous donor, operating outside the family and without police help, had offered a $50,000 ransom to her captor for her safe return. The amount was upped to $100,000 and then withdrawn a day before she reappeared.

It is not known if Papini knew her captors, was harmed by them or what their motives may have been.

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko told a press conference that specific pieces of information were being withheld as investigations continued but that officers were confident an arrest for Sherri's kidnapping would be made.

Sherri has also been reunited with her husband Keith (above with their Tyler, four, and Violet, two), who was ruled out as a suspect in her disappearance by a lie detector test

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko (above right) said police are hunting for two armed Hispanic women. Sherri (left during a family trip) was treated for non life-threatening injuries at hospital

Papini was reported missing by her husband when she failed to collect their two young children from daycare

'We are very ecstatic to report that Sherri Papini has been located and has been reunited with her husband and family on this day of Thanksgiving,' Sheriff Tom Bosenko told KRON4.

'I'm happy to say that Sherri is now safe and she has been treated at an area hospital for non-life threatening injuries,' he said.

There was no word from Sherri's husband Keith on Thursday as he was reunited with her at a hospital near where she was found.

The couple's two children spend the holiday with his father Ken who took to Facebook to describe it as a 'great Thanksgiving', sharing his gratitude for all those who helped in the search for his daughter-in-law.

The 34-year-old resurfaced three weeks after she vanished some 150 miles from her home in Redding (above)

Sherri flagged down a passing motorist at the intersection of County Road 17 and I-5 in Woodland near Sacramento (above)

Keith Papini reported his young, active wife missing on November 2 when she failed to pick up their children from daycare.

TIMELINE OF SHERRI PAPINI'S KIDNAPPING November 2: Sherri Papini fails to pick up her two children from daycare and is reported missing by her husband Keith November 10: Keith Papini is ruled out as a suspect after passing a lie detector test November 18: The FBI joins the search for Sherri as an anonymous donor offers $50,000 for her return November 23: Cameron Gamble, a local 'negotiator', appears in a video on behalf of the anonymous donor to inform Sherri's captors the ransom was now 'off the table' November 24: Sherri flags down a passing motorist at the intersection of I-5 and County Road 17 and is taken to hospital Advertisement

He traced her discarded iPhone to the side of the road about a mile from their home where he found it tossed on the ground with her running 'ear buds'.

A frantic missing person's appeal was launched, with posters littering the local town of Mountain Gate and scores of social media pleas for Sherri's return.

Keith was later named as a potential person of interest in the case but ruled out when he passed a lie detector test.

An initial ransom was offered to her kidnappers of $50,000. It was announced in a video featuring Cameron Gamble, an apparent negotiator hired by the anonymous donor.

He claimed the money had been put up by a private citizen but that it would expire if Sherri's kidnappers did not come forward.

On Wednesday, after upping the money to $100,000, he withdrew the offer, instead turning it into a reward for anyone with information on the young mother's whereabouts.

Sherri's family said they had no involvement in the ransom but shared information about it on social media.

They however pleaded with well-wishers to give money to a GoFundMe account which has raised $49,080 for search efforts.

Almost exactly 24 hours after the ransom offer was withdrawn, Sherri flagged down a passing driver on a road between County Road 17 and I-5 in Woodland, near Sacramento.

A news conference will be held this afternoon to update the public about what happened to the young mother

Sherri's family maintained a highly publicized missing person's appeal after she vanished form Sunrise Drive near Mountain Gate in Redding, California, on November 2 (above)

Sherri's family shared photographs of the running outfit they believed she was wearing (left) before she went missing and others in a frantic bid to find her

A $50,000 ransom offer for Sherri's return was upped to $100,000 but then withdrawn from her captor before she was found

She was taken to a hospital to be treated for non life-threatening injuries and interviewed by detectives.

'At about 4.30 this morning, Shasta County Sheriff's Office was notified that Sherri Papini had been located.

'We learned she had been released by her captor on a road near I-5 in Yolo County.

'She was bound by restraints but was able to summon help from a passing motorist,' said Sheriff Bosenko.

He added police were looking for 'two Hispanic females armed with a handgun' and a dark SUV.

The department has received more than 400 tips about her disappearance, he said.

On Thursday after she reappeared, a website dedicated to Sherri's return had been dismantled.