Carlee Russell Alabama abduction story beginning to break apart as Hoover Police announce that no mystery toddler was found or reported as more questions remain unanswered with police set to give press conference.
It’s increasingly appearing that reports of a 25 year old Alabama woman purportedly coming across a wandering toddler along a busy highway before being abducted is a story of fabrication as cops now say that no evidence exists of a mystery toddler.
Carlee Russell, 25, vanished from the side of the I-495 interstate after calling 911 to report the toddler, but police said late Tuesday there were no other reports or evidence to support that claim.
Officials also confirmed Carlee stopped at a Target to buy snacks before arriving at the scene of her disappearance, after she picked up her dinner from a restaurant. Those snacks were not found anywhere in or around Carlee’s car.
He had orange hair! Carlee Russell refuses to speak to cops as story falls apart
Missing pieces of the puzzle
Police revealed surveillance footage taken from her neighborhood shows Russell ‘walking down the sidewalk alone’ before arriving at the home she shares with her parents on Saturday night.
The newest update from police still does not answer why Carlee vanished for so long, or whether or not she had been abducted.
Her boyfriend and parents continue to claim Carlee had been kidnapped, with her boyfriend Thomar Simmons saying she had been ‘fighting for her life’ in the two days she was gone.
On Thursday, Carlee left work at The Summit in Birmingham and stopped to pick up food at a restaurant in The Colonnade before getting on I-495 and heading back towards her home in Hoover.
She called 911 at 9.34pm and reported she was stopping along the interstate to check on a toddler she saw in the area, police said.
Russell’s 911 call was the only report of a child along the busy interstate at the time. Of note there were no reports of a child missing in the area, police said.
Mental health crises?
After the call, her family said she was on the phone with her brother’s girlfriend, who didn’t hear a child but listened as Carlee Russell screamed. The line remained open but Carlee stopped responding.
Within five minutes of being dispatched, Hoover police officers arrived and found Russell’s wig, cellphone and purse with her Apple Watch inside on the road near her vehicle.
At 10.44pm on Saturday, a 911 caller reported Russell having returned home to her parents’ house on foot.
Police dispatch audio revealed that Russell was ‘unresponsive, but breathing’ after officials said she returned to her parents’ home. However, police later said that was information related to a dispatcher and when officers arrived, she was alert.
Russell was taken to a hospital to be evaluated, and she was treated and released. Detectives went to Russell’s home and the hospital to take a statement from her.
‘The details of that statement are a part of the ongoing investigation, which is expected to continue over the next few days,’ police said in a statement on Monday according to the dailymail.
Police to date have not issued warning of abductor or to look out for missing child
‘During the initial portion of the investigation detectives were able to retrace nearly all of Carlee’s steps until the point she went missing and are confident that will continue to be the case.’
‘We rejoice with the Russell family as they continue to rest and recover from this situation and ask for their wishes to be respected regarding their privacy.’
Despite police revelations, Russell’s parents continue to insist that an abductor was behind their daughter’s disappearance.
‘Carlee has given detectives her statement so that they can continue to pursue her abductor,’ said Carlee Russell’s mother Talitha Russell along with her father, Carlos Russell in an interview with the Today Show Tuesday.
Pressed on whether they believe an abductor is at large in the case, Talitha responded ‘absolutely, absolutely,’ as Carlee’s father Carlos nodded in agreement.
Carlee’s parents also claim being subjected to cruel taunting and fake messages claiming to have information about their daughter while she was missing.
‘There were actually just so many calls and texts from people who maliciously lied to us,’ Talitha Russell said. ‘I just didn’t know people could be so evil.’
In a social media post, Russell’s boyfriend, Thomar Latrell Simmons, claimed she was ‘fighting for her life for 48 hours’ while she was missing.
He said Sunday afternoon his girlfriend was not currently ‘physically or mentally stable’ enough to speak about the whereabouts of her alleged kidnapper.
Simmons, who shared loving photos of the couple together, mentioned he was falsely accused of being involved in her disappearance but had ‘faith’ she’d return.
The boyfriend, who last week went on a trip to New York City with Carlee, described his ‘nonstop’ hunt for her – and said he was not giving up ‘until I saw her face again.’
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe campaign purportedly created to help Carlee ‘get her life together’ has been removed from the fundraising site.
It was not clear why the campaign had been taken down, although Carlee’s family has publicly said they did not wish to have any GoFundMe fundraisers for her, and the service has been known to take down fake campaigns seeking to cash in on high-profile events in the news.
The Hoover Police Dept is scheduled to have a press conference, Wednesday afternoon at 2.30p.m local time, with latest revelations on the case.
