As many people have suspected for days now, Carlethia "Carlee" Russell was not kidnapped. The 25-year-old Alabama woman reportedly confessed to Hoover Police Department that she made up the entire story about seeing a toddler alone on the interstate as well as her subsequent disappearance.
Russell has been making headlines for over two weeks, which was initially prompted when she seemed to vanish for two days after making a 911 call reporting that she had seen a child alone on the highway. Two days after she disappeared, she returned home on foot and alone, claiming that a man with "orange hair" had abducted her.
But her story did not seem to add up in the court of public opinion, and people quickly began questioning the details and accusing her of orchestrating a hoax. Now, more than week after her disappearance, she's finally revealing the truth.
More from CafeMom: Did Carlee Russell Commit a Crime? What We Know So Far
Russell spoke out via her attorney.
Hoover Police Department held a press conference on Monday, July 24, revealing new details discovered during Russell's confession. According to Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis, Russell never even left the Hoover area, NBC News reports.
"My client did not see a baby on the side of the road," the statement provided by her attorney reads. "My client did not leave Hoover area when she was identified as a missing person. My client did not have help in this incident, that this was a single act done by herself. My client was not with anyone or any hotel with anyone from the time she was missing."
She apologized to the community and to police.
"My client apologizes for her actions to this community, to the volunteers who were searching for her, to the Hoover Police Department and other agencies as well," the statement continues.
Prior to her confession, Hoover Police, along with the US Secret Service, had uncovered that Russell had made several Google search queries indicating that she might have planned her own fake abduction and discovered video footage that contradicted the story she gave authorities after she returned home.
More from CafeMom: Police Find Abducted 11-Year-Old Girl in Pennsylvania Thanks to Her iPad
Russell still has not spoken directly to police.
Derzis said that authorities hoped to have a second interview with Russell today, but instead of meeting with them, they received the statement from her attorney.
"We’re still trying to determine where those where she was those during those 49 hours but I am glad that we received this at least puts some of the social media super sleuths hopefully at rest for a little bit as far as … what everybody thinks took place," the police chief said, confirming that they intend to reschedule the interview with Russell.
'We know that that by her own admission, it didn’t happen,' Derzis said.
Derzis also confirmed that the investigation remains ongoing and that the police are working with the district attorney to determine whether criminal charges will be made against Russell. Derzis said a possible motive for the kidnapping hoax is unknown at this time.
