Who is Carlee Russell? Alabama woman who disappeared after reporting a child on the highway is found safe
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A 25-year-old woman disappeared in Alabama under strange circumstances Thursday night after calling 911 to report seeing a toddler walking alone on the side of the interstate.
Carlee Russell’s disappearance sparked a statewide search — and plenty of speculation online about what could have happened to her — until she knocked on her family’s front door Saturday night.
Family members were stunned to see her after she appeared to have returned home on foot. Russell was then taken to the hospital for evaluation and released Sunday morning, Al.com reported.
What happened to Carlee Russell? What we know so far
Russell called the police at 9:34 p.m. Thursday night, saying she was on I-459 South in Hoover, a suburb of Birmingham, when she pulled over to check on the toddler, according to a statement from the Hoover Police Department.
She then called a family member to report the same details.
Russell’s mother, Talitha Russell, said Russell called her brother’s girlfriend, who stayed on the phone as she got out of the car and called out to the child. Over the phone, she heard what sounded like Russell screaming and dropping her phone, Talitha Russell said, per The New York Times.
Police say they did not receive a call of anyone missing a child nor did anyone else report seeing a toddler along the highway that night.
When officers arrived, they found her car “and some of her belongings nearby, but were unable to find her or a child in the area,” the statement from the Hoover police reads.
Russell was missing for roughly 48 hours before she was seen again by her family.
Where was Carlee Russell while she was missing for 48 hours?
As of Monday, no information has been released about what happened to Russell or where she was during the 48 hours she was missing.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, her mother asked for privacy, saying that her family had not slept for three days.
“To our media friends, I promise we will speak with you and give a general statement in the near future as this is an ongoing investigation,” Talitha Russell said in a Facebook post.
