After confessing to fabricating the kidnapping, a woman who claimed to have been abducted after spotting a young child on the side of the road was taken into custody.
After the dramatic events of the past two weeks, Carlee Russell of Hoover, Alabama, was detained and charged with filing a fraudulent incident report.
We are here today because, as we are all aware, actions can have consequences, according to Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis.
Her actions that evening “created panic and alarm for citizens of our city and even across the nation as concern grew that a kidnapper was on the run using a small child as bait,” according to the author.
Russell, 26, vanished on the evening of July 13 after making an unsettling 911 call. Russell claimed to have seen a young child standing by the side of the road wearing a nappy just before they vanished.
On the side of the road where the 911 call was made, investigators discovered her automobile. Her pocketbook, wig, and cell phone were all discovered nearby.
The sudden national attention that Russell’s disappearance garnered led to an extensive search.
But only 49 hours later, Russell was back at her parents’ house.
Russell claimed to have been kidnapped by a man who emerged from the nearby forest line after she had stopped to check on the toddler.
She said that a man and a woman had taken her prisoner, blindfolded her, and placed her inside an 18-wheeler semi truck. She also stated that she was naked when the incident occurred.
Investigators began to challenge her account, though, right away. ‘Unable to validate most of Carlee’s original statement,’ according to Hoover police on July 19, is what they claimed.
There was no sign of a toddler at the side of the road, according to the investigators who arrived on the site. They added that no other calls regarding the child that evening were made.
Russell acknowledged the allegation was untrue and apologised to the police in a statement on Monday, July 24.
No kidnapping occurred on July 13, 2023, according to her attorney Emory Anthony. My client claims that she did not notice a baby by the side of the road. When she was reported missing, my client remained in the Hoover region. This incident involved my client alone; she did not receive any assistance.
According to Chief Derzis, ‘many’ law enforcement agencies spent countless hours trying to find a kidnapper and a child that investigators now know never existed before the confession.
“We don’t think this is a crime with no victims,” Steve Marshall, the attorney general of Alabama, said. “This investigation resulted in significant hours and resource expenditures,” the statement reads.
“This story caused wounds for families whose loved ones were actually kidnapped; some of which even organised searches in hopes of finding Carlee alive so that her family would not have to go through the pain and suffering they felt when their loved ones never came home,” Derzis tacked on.
Russell was charged with two misdemeanours, each of which carries a potential punishment of $6,000 and a maximum prison term of one year.
Despite all the chaos and inconvenience Ms. Russell’s acts produced, Chief Derzis said: “I know many are shocked and appalled that Ms. Russell is only being charged with two misdemeanours.” “I empathise with your frustration. However, the charges that were filed were the only ones that could be made under the law.
Russell posted a $1,000 bond and was let out of jail the same day.