California
Famed California kidnapping hoaxer Sherri Papini breathes new life into schoolmate's 1998 disappearance
A California woman’s plan to fake her own kidnapping in 2016 has brought some renewed attention to the unsolved disappearance of 16-year-old Tera Smith, who vanished from a run nearly 26 years ago.
While Sherri Papini’s hoax kidnapping inspired a Hulu documentary series, “The Perfect Wife,” which premiered earlier this year and made national headlines, there has been little attention focused on Tera’s 1998 missing person case even though Papini and Tera attended the same high school in the 1990s.
Papini graduated in 2001. Tera, who did not live beyond her sophomore year, would have graduated in 2000.
It’s become a point of frustration for Tera’s family, who believe the man who abducted and killed their daughter has been walking freely for more than two decades, possibly victimizing others.
CALIFORNIA MOM WHO FAKED KIDNAPPING ACTS LIKE HOAX ‘NEVER EXISTED’ AS ‘BLINDSIDED’ HUSBAND BREAKS SILENCE
Tera Smith’s sophomore yearbook photo. She would have graduated with the class of 2000. (Family handout)
Sherri Papini’s freshman yearbook photo. She graduated with the Class of 2001. (Family handout)
“It’s really frustrating to me because of the severity of what she did. She lied. She got some money she shouldn’t have. That’s what she did,” Marilyn Smith, Tera’s mother, told Fox News Digital. “And [authorities] spent so much money, so many resources on that and took a really long time. … They suspected from the very beginning that it could be a hoax because of her history. But it took four or five years for them to tell her they knew she was lying.”
The Smith family even had Papini and her husband at the time over for dinner after she was “found.” Marilyn said Papini put on a very convincing show to make it seem like she had survived something traumatic.
SHERRI PAPINI, WHO FAKED HER OWN KIDNAPPING, RELEASED FROM PRISON
“It really felt like a slap in the face in hindsight for her to come over and put on a big act for us when we really did lose our daughter,” Marilyn said.
Sherri Papini, center, leaves the federal courthouse after federal Judge William Shubb sentenced her to 18 months in federal prison in Sacramento, Calif., Sept. 19, 2022. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP)
Despite the odd connection between the two cases — if one can call it a connection — the Smith family is grateful for the renewed attention two documentaries about the Papini case have brought to their daughter’s unsolved disappearance.
“We do have hopes that there will be an arrest.”
“We do have hopes that there will be an arrest and that there will be a trial in the next couple of years. But we’ve been waiting 25 years,” Marilyn said.
On Aug. 22, 1998, Tera, who was grounded at the time, told her sister she was going out for a jog in the area near their rural Redding, California, home and would be back home in 20 minutes. But she never returned. The 16-year-old’s parents scoured the area that evening and in the days that followed, driving all the roads she may have been running on, but nothing turned up.
On Aug. 22, 1998, Tera, who was grounded at the time, told her sister she was going out for a jog in the area around their rural Redding, Calif., home and would be back home in 20 minutes. She never returned. (Family handout)
To this day, while Tera is believed dead, her remains have never been found.
Her parents aren’t sure what evidence from their daughter’s case remains and what has been lost over the years. Authorities have shared little information with the family over the last two decades, but they haven’t given up hope. In fact, they believe their daughter knew and trusted the man who they believe abducted and killed her.
CALIFORNIA WOMAN SUSPECTS RELATIVE WAS A SERIAL KILLER AFTER UNCOVERING FAMILY SECRETS: ‘IT SHOOK ME’
Tera was a spiritual teenager who kept volumes of written journals since she was a child. She felt a deep connection with the earth and had taken up taekwondo lessons just months before her disappearance.
Tera’s parents believe her instructor, a man named Troy Zink who was in his late 20s and married with children at the time, groomed their daughter, sexually assaulted her and eventually killed her based on what they have read in her journal entries and evidence that has been uncovered over the years.
GET REAL TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB
Tera was a spiritual teenager who kept volumes of written journals since she was a child. (Family handout)
“We just immediately knew he was involved,” Marilyn said.
Zink had apparently told police and the Smith family he saw Tera earlier that evening, when she arrived to his house and asked him to loan her money. When he told her he could not give her the money she wanted, she became upset and asked him for a ride home. He said he obliged, but when they began fighting in his truck, she demanded to be dropped off at the intersection of Oregon Trail and Old Alturas Road in Redding.
“There was a part of me that was wondering if she was pregnant. … We never really believed that Tera ran away — that she wanted to run away,” Marilyn said. She also believes Tera had told some of her friends she and Zink had a sexual relationship, and he did not want that information to become known to his family.
“[H]e had motive to silence her.”
“She was 16, and he was 29. So, he knew the law. And he knew that if that got out, if he went to jail … he could lose his wife and his little boy. So, he had motive to silence her,” Marilyn said.
FOLLOW THE FOX TRUE CRIME TEAM ON X
Zink, who could not be reached for comment, also claimed that at the time of Tera’s disappearance, he was in a remote location in the mountains praying.
Troy Zink told police Tera demanded to be dropped off at the intersection of Oregon Trail and Old Alturas Road in Redding. (Google Maps)
Smith’s family recently discovered that witnesses, however, saw Tera and Zink riding in the same truck the evening of Aug. 22. One witness even said he made eye contact with Tera through the passenger seat window as they drove past, and she mouthed, “Help me,” according to Marilyn.
“The police had a pretty good idea of where he took her along the Sacramento River. Between Keswick Dam and Shasta Dam was the area that was kind of focused on for the search. But then it just became a cold case,” Marilyn said.
SIGN UP TO GET TRUE CRIME NEWSLETTER
Zink was immediately considered a person of interest, but the only thing he was ever charged and convicted with related to Tera’s disappearance was possessing guns as a convicted felon. When police searched his property while looking into possible connections to Tera, they found guns he was not supposed to have.
He was sentenced to three years for the gun conviction in Shasta County, but nothing more came of the case.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
He also had previous convictions for spousal rape and for raping his high school girlfriend when she broke up with him.
“They didn’t connect the dots,” Marilyn said of police at the time. “[T]his guy that’s working on it now … is saying, ‘You know, it looks like to me, like with all this … circumstantial evidence, there’s enough to arrest this guy and to have a case, and they don’t want to do a body lost case.’ But, at some point, you have to come to grips with the fact that there’s maybe not a body, right? And so I think … it’ll be up to the DA if they decide if they have enough to arrest and prosecute.”
Winds fuel devastating Los Angeles wildfires growth
Firefighters are battling multiple blazes across Los Angeles, with some not contained at all.
Mandatory evacuation orders remained in effect Thursday morning as wildfires continued to rage across parts of Southern California.
The deadly fires broke out this week and have destroyed more than 1,000 homes, businesses, and other structures, according to Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone. As of Thursday morning, at least five deaths had been confirmed, and nearly 250,000 were without power in the region, according to the USA TODAY power outage tracker.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency this week as more than 100,000 people have been forced to flee homes and evacuate the area.
The fires − Palisades, Eaton, Hurst, Lidia, and Sunset − have burned thousands of acres and continue to spread due to humidity and dry vegetation, authorities said. Before the fires started, the National Weather Service issued its highest alert for extreme fire conditions in Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
As of Thursday morning, Cal Fire reported the Palisades, Eaton, and Sunset fires were at zero containment, while firefighters had contained 10% of the Hurst Fire and 40% of the Lidia Fire.
Here’s where evacuation orders are in place for California and how to stay up-to-date on the latest.
Where are evacuation orders in place for the Palisades Fire?
Evacuation orders were in place from Malibu to Santa Monica, including Topanga State Park and stretching into the city as far south as Montana Avenue, as of just after 4:30 a.m. local time on Thursday, according to Cal Fire.
Wind gusts up to 60 miles per hour are expected to continue through Thursday in that area, CAL Fire reported online, “potentially aiding in further fire activity and suppression efforts.”
View an interactive map of Palisades Fire evacuation orders and warnings on the Cal Fire website.
Where are evacuation orders in place for the Hurst Fire?
Evacuation orders were in place for the San Fernando Valley, specifically at the Michael D. Antonovich Open Space Preserve, Stetson Ranch Park and Whitney Canyon Park, about 4:45 a.m. local time on Thursday, according to Cal Fire. Evacuation warnings were in place just north and south of the area.
View an interactive map of Hurst Fire evacuation orders and warnings on the Cal Fire website.
What are the evacuation orders in place for the Lidia Fire?
As of just after 4 a.m. local time on Thursday, no evacuation orders were in effect in connection to the Lidia Fire.
But Soledad Canyon Road between Agua Dulce Canyon Road and Crown Valley Road remained closed, CAL FIRE reported, as well as the entire Angeles National Forest for public safety and the protection of natural resources. The forest will remain closed through Jan. 15 at midnight.
View an interactive map of Lidia Fire on the Cal Fire website.
What are the evacuation orders in place for the Sunset Fire?
“The majority of the evacuation zone for the Sunset Fire is lifted with the exception of the area North of Franklin Ave from Camino Palmero St (East border) to North Sierra Bonita Ave. (West border)”, according to Cal Fire.
Where are evacuation orders in place for the Eaton Fire?
Evacuation orders were in place, as of about 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, for areas near Altadena Drive and Midwick Drive, Altadena and Pasadena, Cal Fire reported.
Evacuation warnings were in place for areas just west and south of the area.
View an interactive map of Eaton Fire evacuation orders and warnings on the Cal Fire website.
Contributing: Greta Cross, USA TODAY
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
California
Jamie Lee Curtis fights back tears on ‘Tonight Show’ over California wildfire ‘catastrophe’ near her home: ‘It’s f–king gnarly, guys’
Jamie Lee Curtis fought back tears as she detailed the “catastrophe” of the Palisades Fire near her California home when she appeared on “The Tonight Show” Wednesday.
“As you know, where I live is on fire right now. Literally, the entire city of the Pacific Palisades is burning. I flew here last night. I was on the plane and started getting texts. It’s f–king gnarly, you guys,” Curtis said.
“It’s a catastrophe in Southern California. Obviously there has been horrific fires in many places. This is literally where I live. Everything.”
Curtis said she had “many, many, many” friends who have lost their homes in the devastation of the fires.
“It’s a really awful situation,” she added.
The 66-year-old added she was flying home first thing Thursday to be with her family and friends.
The Academy Award-winning actress, who lives in Los Angeles with her husband Christopher Guest, took to Instagram earlier Wednesday to share with her followers that her home was “possibly” on fire.
“My community and possibly my home is on fire,” the actress wrote in the post. “My family is safe. Many of my friends will lose their homes. Many other communities as well.”
“Take care of each other,” she told her followers. “Stay out of the way and let the firefighters do their work. Pray if you believe in it and even if you don’t, pray for those who do.”
Stay up to date with the NYP’s coverage of the terrifying LA-area fires
The Emmy winner is one of tens of thousands of people who have been forced to flee their homes in Pacific Palisades and neighboring areas.
Four fires have exploded in Los Angeles County, taking over 27,000 acres of land with zero containment in the Palisades, Eaton and Sunset fires.
The Hurst Fire is 10 percent contained, officials announced.
The fires are being fueled by strong winds, “dry fuels” and low humidity.
The “Halloween” star isn’t the only Hollywood figure whose home is under threat due to the fires.
Harrison Ford was seen talking to police as he attempted to get through to check on his $12.6 million Brentwood home he had evacuated because of the raging blaze.
Ford’s “Star Wars” co-star Mark Hamill was forced to flee his Malibu home Tuesday as the fire bore down on the area.
The 73-year-old actor detailed his hour-long “last minute” evacuation from Malibu as he experienced the most horrific fire since 1993.
Other LA-based celebrities have been forced to evacuate their homes amid the crisis, including “This Is Us” star Mandy Moore, “Schitt’s Creek” star Eugene Levy and “Once Upon a Time in America” actor James Woods.
Multiple major wildfires are leaving a trail of destruction and death in the Los Angeles area.
A handful of wildfires kicked up Tuesday, powered by high winds and dry conditions , and have exploded in size. As of Tuesday afternoon, 2 people have been killed and more than 80,000 people have been evacuated.
Follow live coverage here.
The maps below show the size and status of the fires. They will be updated frequently.
Gov. Scott comes out swinging on education funding during inaugural address
JUCO Edge Rusher Keenan Eck Sets Visit to West Virginia
‘The worst I've seen': Some Prince George's residents still waiting for snow plows
John Blackwell Hitting His Stride as Wisconsin's Starting Point Guard
Akron CB Golden-Nelson commits to West Virginia
Colorado Rockies game no. 116 thread: Zac Gallen vs José Ureña
Why Marjorie Taylor Greene was ‘kicked out’ of the Freedom Caucus according to Rep. Buck
See it: Tesla crashes into Columbus convention center at 70 mph
Fox News Politics: Georgia the whole day through
Death of missing Oregon girl found in stream ruled homicide
Elon Musk Downplays the Role of Climate in L.A. Fires, Scientists Say
Did moderate Democrats get religion with embrace of Laken Riley Act?
Ramstein: Germany pledges tanks, missiles, and air defence for Ukraine
Photos: See the California wildfires' destructive force, in satellite images
The 39th president will be buried later at his Georgia home. Here’s the latest.
-
Business1 week agoThese are the top 7 issues facing the struggling restaurant industry in 2025
-
Culture1 week agoThe 25 worst losses in college football history, including Baylor’s 2024 entry at Colorado
-
Sports1 week agoThe top out-of-contract players available as free transfers: Kimmich, De Bruyne, Van Dijk…
-
Politics7 days agoNew Orleans attacker had 'remote detonator' for explosives in French Quarter, Biden says
-
Politics7 days agoCarter's judicial picks reshaped the federal bench across the country
-
Politics5 days agoWho Are the Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom?
-
Health4 days agoOzempic ‘microdosing’ is the new weight-loss trend: Should you try it?
-
World1 week agoIvory Coast says French troops to leave country after decades