Two days after her family reported her missing, Carlethia "Carlee" Nichole Russell returned home safe. The details of her disappearance, however, remain a mystery. Her family believes that a toddler was used as "bait" to lure the 25-year-old nursing student out of her vehicle.
Just hours before she vanished, Carlee Russell called 911 to report that she had seen a toddler wandering alone on an Alabama highway. According to multiple reports, Russell pulled over on Interstate 459 South when she spotted the child on Thursday night. After calling authorities, police say, she called a family member, and then no one heard from her again until Saturday. When police arrived at the site, Carlee's vehicle and her belongings were there, but she was not.
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Russell reportedly disappeared while her phone call was still connected.
"At some point, she got out of the car and my daughter-in-law could hear her asking the child if they were OK,” her mother, Talitha Russell, told WBRC. “The child did not respond, or at least she did not hear her respond. And then she heard our daughter Carlee scream and from there on all we could hear was noise … background noise in her phone which we later found out was noise from the interstate.”
According to the Hoover Police Department, there were no reports of a missing child that coincided with Russell's disappearance.
Video footage exists from the night she disappeared.
A traffic camera appears to have captured some of the details of Russell's disappearance. In the video footage, a car presumed to belong to her can be seen with the driver-side door open.
"We have looked at the video. It's not the greatest. It proves that Carlee's car was there, and we know that when the officers responded after the 911 call that she was not," Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said, according to the Daily Mail.
According to Russell's mother, her daughter's wig, phone, and Apple watch were all found near the abandoned vehicle. Although the footage is a bit blurry, no child is visible.
Russell's family believes she was lured intentionally.
Russell's parents, Carlos and Talitha Russell, told the media they believe a toddler was used as "bait" to lure her out of her car.
"She does know not to stop for anyone even a child on the side of the road, but she did call 911 and I think she kind of let her guard down thinking that they were so close," Talitha Russell said, per the Daily Mail.
Carlee returned home on Saturday night.
Although intense search efforts had been underway for two days, not much progress had been made in the effort to find the young woman. But then, she mysteriously arrived back home on Saturday night, just over 48 hours after she went missing.
According to WVTM 13, Hoover police said they received the call that Carlee was home just after 10:30 p.m. Saturday, and that she returned home on foot. Derzis, however, told the New York Times that they were unsure how Russell got home but that she was alone when she arrived. She was taken to a hospital for evaluation.
There has been a lot of speculation online.
Many have taken to social media in support of Carlee and her family. Some people, however, have questioned the limited details relayed to the public and claim that they don't "add up." Many are calling for answers and have theorized that the story we've been told isn't completely accurate.
Others, though, have accused the naysayers of racial bias and suggested that Carlee's story is only be questioned because she's Black.
Her family is promising an updated statement.
No additional details have been released regarding Russell's disappearance or her return home. But her mother posted on Facebook on Sunday, asking for privacy and promising to give "general statement in the near future."
"God is faithful and He has answered our prayers ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ We are so grateful to each of you for all the acts of kindness, generosity, and compassion you have shown ❤️❤️❤️ Our baby is safe!!!!!!!!!! Thank you Father God ," she wrote.
Russell's boyfriend also has spoken out.
"All I asked from everyone right now is to be respectful of Carlee’s situation. She was literally fighting for her life for 48 hours, so until she’s physically & mentally stable again she is not able to give any updates or whereabouts on her kidnapper at this very moment," he wrote Sunday on Instagram, also thanking everyone who helped in the search for Russell.
"Once again I can’t thank you guys enough for helping us bring Carlee home! God bless you all ❤️ ."
