Despite not being a famous person, this story garnered national headlines…
A 25-year-old nursing student named Carlee Russell made national headlines when she mysteriously vanished on July 13 and then showed up at her house two days later.
Carlee spotted a young child traveling alone on the highway and reported it to 911 and a family member while she was driving home from work. However, there was no sign of Russell or a child when police arrived. Only Russell’s car and some of her things, such as her phone and Apple Watch, were present. Additionally, authorities affirmed that they have not received any additional reports about a missing youngster.
Russell was the subject of a $5,000 prize from crime stoppers and a $20,000 reward from an unidentified benefactor for his safe return.
Given that Russell’s police statement has not yet been made public, that particular detail is still uncertain. The specifics of the statement are being looked at as part of the continuing inquiry, which is anticipated to last for the foreseeable future.
Following reports of a toddler roaming along the interstate, police in the city of Hoover are now stating that they do not believe Carlee Russell was abducted last Thursday. She is now being compared to Jussie Smollett.
Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis held a 30-minute press conference on Wednesday during which he disputed Russell’s claims that she had been kidnapped and said he did not believe a crime had been committed. Included in this new evidence are many enlightening Google searches Russell conducted on her phone in the days and hours prior to her disappearance.
Several recent searches on Russell’s phone, according to Russell, included “How to steal money from a register without getting caught,” “one-way bus ticket from Birmingham to Nashville,” “Amber Alert information,” and the movie “Taken,” which is a film about a global kidnapping.
He continued, “It’s quite odd that someone would Google the movie ‘Taken,’ which is about an abduction, on the day they were kidnapped. It strikes me as being really weird.
According to Derzis, the car rolled at least 600 yards, or six football fields, on the highway shoulder before coming to a complete stop. She had been asked by the dispatcher to watch the kid.
He began by saying, “Carlee’s 911 call remains the only call about a child on the interstate,” and continued, “To think that a toddler, barefoot, that is 3 or 4, travel six football fields without crying or getting into the road, it’s very hard for me to understand.”
Carlee had grabbed a bathrobe and toilet paper from her job at a spa and stopped at Target to pick up some Cheez-Its and granola bars before leaving for the evening, but none of these goods were found when cops arrived to find her car.
Derzis asserted that while interrogating Carlee, she alleged that when she got out of her car to check on the toddler, a white man with orange hair grabbed her and ordered her to cross a nearby fence and get into a car. Before she realized it, she and a female companion had entered the trailer of an 18-wheeler truck.
Additional conversation with Russell is desired by the department to better understand what happened, but Russell’s family has denied that he is mentally prepared to speak after the incident