Police Say They’re ‘Unable To Verify’ Carlee Russell’s Account Of Her Disappearance
Evidence does not support many details ofCarlee Russell and her family’s account of her disappearance on July 13, Hoover, Alabama, authorities said in a news conference Wednesday.
The 25-year-old nursing student’s mysterious disappearance made headlines after she called 911 the night of July 13, saying she had seen a toddler in a diaper walking on the side of a busy highway. In a call to her relatives moments later, her mother said they heard her scream before going silent.
When police arrived minutes later, Russell’s red Mercedes, which had been captured in grainy traffic video driving slowly down the shoulder of Interstate 459 with its hazard lights flashing, was still running, but she was gone. Police found her purse in the car’s front seat and her cellphone and wig in the grass nearby. The takeout meal she had purchased after leaving her job in Birmingham was still in the car. Police did not see a child, nor was one reported missing by anyone else.
Evidence does not support many details of Carlee Russell and her family’s account of her disappearance on July 13, Hoover, Alabama, authorities said in a news conference.
After a massive nationwide search,Russell returned home on foot 48 hours later. A 911 caller said that Russell was “unresponsive but breathing,” but police said she was conscious and speaking when first responders arrived. She was transported to a hospital. Before being treated and released, Russell gave a statement to detectives, telling them she was abducted by a couple that night.
In Wednesday’s news conference, Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said that because of the interest in the case — “and in some cases, fear” — from people in the community and beyond that, authorities “owe it to our citizens to tell them the facts that we have uncovered.”
Derzis said in her statement to detectives that Russell stated when she was checking on the child, “a man came out of the trees,” picked her up, and forced her over a fence and then into a car. She described the man as having “orange hair with a big bald spot on the back.”
After being held in an 18-wheeler with the man and a woman, Russell escaped but was recaptured, Derzis said of Russell’s’ statement. She allegedly said she was blindfolded but not tied up to avoid leaving impressions on her wrists.
Later they took her to a house, forced her to undress, and took pictures of her, but she did not remember being physically or sexually assaulted, Dervis said Russell told police. She remembered the woman feeding her crackers and playing with her hair but nothing else. She said she was later able to escape again, ran through the woods, and came out near her home, police said.
Detectives noted in their interview that Russell had $107 cash in one of her socks.
Russell has refused police requests for a follow-up interview.
In retracing her steps the day she disappeared, Derzis said that surveillance footage from her employer showed that Russell “concealed” a dark-colored bathrobe, toilet paper and other items belonging to the business before she left work. She then bought snacks from Target, none of which were found in or near her car.
The police chief also read internet searches “relevant to this case,” he said were made on Russell’s cellphone in the days leading up to her disappearance, including questions about Amber alerts, “how to take money from a register without being caught,” “Birmingham bus station,” and the movie “Taken,” which Derzis noted is a “film about an abduction.” She also allegedly searched for a one-way bus ticket from Birmingham to Nashville departing on the day she disappeared.
Derzis said that investigators discovered other searches on Russell’s phone “that appeared to shed some light on her mindset” but would not be sharing them publicly “out of respect for her privacy.”
Several law enforcement agencies had worked with the Hoover Police Department in the search for Russell, including the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the FBI and the U.S. Marshals.
On Monday, Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama announced that it was refunding its donors the $63,378 in reward money for information leading to Russell’s safe return. Hours later, however, it reversed course, saying in a statement, “This investigation is still ongoing, and accordingly, there is no basis to refund any contributions at this time. Furthermore, the Hoover Police Department has not requested for any donor contributions to be released or refunded.”
Russell’s family had earlier requested that people donate to Crime Stoppers rather than organize crowdfunding campaigns. One GoFundMe was taken down after a question by The Messenger.
When asked about possible charges against Russell, Derzis said, “It’s not something we would discuss” because the investigation is active.
“This investigation is not over,” Derzis said. “We’re still working this case and will be working this case until we uncover every piece of evidence that helps us account for the 49 hours that Carlee Russell was missing.”
Russell’s parents said in an interviewwith NBC’s “Today” on Tuesday that she “fought for her life” while missing and had been abducted. They also pushed back on rumors and speculation about the case that had spread online.
Talitha Russell, her mother, said: “She’s having to deal with the trauma of people just making completely false allegations about her.”
