Carlee Russell, Hoover, Alabama woman admits giant hoax as she confesses never having seen a toddler or ever been abducted as many unanswered questions remains as a spellbound nation tries to make sense of media spectacle.
And the world can finally collectively exhale… Alabama woman, Carlee Russell admitted Monday that she wasn’t abducted earlier this month — with the nursing student apologizing for the hoax that sparked a massive two-day search and led to her becoming a national tabloid figure.
‘There was no kidnapping … my client did not see a baby,’ Russell’s attorney Emory Anthony wrote in a released statement.
Anthony’s confirmation was read by Hoover Police Chief Nicholas Derzis during a Monday press conference. Neither Anthony nor Russell were in attendance.
‘Forgiveness and prayers’ – the go to script
‘My client did not leave the Hoover area. My client apologizes for her actions to this community … Carlee asks for your forgiveness & prayers.’
Carlethia ‘Carlee’ Russell, 25, disappeared on the night of July 13, shortly after she called 911 to report a sighting to a toddler wearing a t-shirt and diaper walking barefoot down 459 in Hoover.
She initially told police she would stay at the scene, only to abruptly disappear when she was heard screaming during a call to her sister-in-law.
After a two-day search, the Alabama nursing student showed up at her parents’ door on July 15.
She was taken to a hospital, where she was treated and released. She agreed to one police interview, but subsequently stopped cooperating with the investigation.
Derzis said Monday it’s unclear where Russell actually was for the 49 hours she was reported ‘missing.’
They made already.. 😂😂😂 #CarleeRussell pic.twitter.com/gXBg5k7Ac5
— sammybnailz💜🔥🍩🦄💅🏾 (@AMBERbean_sammy) July 19, 2023
Story unfolding at the seams
To date, no criminal charges have been filed as police have eyed the unfolding drama as the capitulation of a mental breakdown. Or was it?
After her return, investigators found that Russell had in the hours prior to the abduction made a series of uncanny Google searches, including Russell researching one-way tickets from Birmingham to Nashville and whether victims have to pay for AMBER Alerts.
Other searches included, ‘How to take money from a register without being caught?’
Russell also researched terms relating to kidnapping and disappearances,
Russell, however, doubled-down on her story, and initially told police that she was abducted from the side of the road by a white man with orange hair, WESH reported.
The obvious flaws in the would-be victim’s narrative were seemingly confirmed when she was fired from the Woodhouse spa in Birmingham along with her boyfriend deleting all evidence of her from his social media.
Woodhouse owner Stuart Rome ceded store employees becoming overwhelmingly disillusioned, after having initially supporting their co-worker only to soon realize that her story was increasingly not adding up as the outlet now began to receive a flurry of negative reviews.
told The Post last week of Russell’s co-workers’ reaction to her traumatic disappearance and reappearing act.
On the day of the alleged toddler sighting, Russell stole a robe and toilet paper from the spa just a few hours before she went missing, police said.
She then stopped at a local Target store for snacks, which were not found in her vehicle after she vanished.
‘The only thing I can say is, I want everyone to stop bullying her. I know what it seems like what she did. Just stop bullying on social media,’ Russell’s boyfriend, Thomar Latrell Simmons, who previously defended her against detractors, told the nypost over the weekend.
‘Think about her mental health. She doesn’t deserve that. She doesn’t. Nobody deserves to be cyberbullied.’
#CarleeRussell movie 🎥 on #Tubi 😩🤣 pic.twitter.com/F3PVBWftWP
— Cheer Auntie (@EvaDinasmom) July 21, 2023
And a nation taken to for a ride
On Monday, Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama revealed that it would not refund those who contributed to the $63,378 donated during the search for Russell.
“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,” said the citizen sleuth group.
Bob Copus, the organization’s executive director, told AL.com last week that some larger contributions had already been returned.
The $25,000 put up by the Birmingham Board of Realtors and the $20,000 offered by an anonymous donor were refunded, the outlet said.
In an emotional interview with NBC News last week, Russell’s parents said their daughter ‘fought for her life’ during her alleged ordeal and that she was “not in a good state” when she returned home.
Thus far, Russell’s parents are not being charged in connection with their daughter’s hoax, Derzis said Monday. It remained yet to be seen what charges Carlee Russell would face in the immediate days, if anything at all.
