What happened to Carlee Russell? Alabama woman who vanished after reporting toddler on street returns home two days later
HOOVER, ALABAMA: A 25-year-old woman who went missing after claiming to be stopping to check on a toddler who was walking alone along an interstate in Alabama has been found alive at her house. According to the Hoover Police Department, Carlethia "Carlee" Nichole Russell was back home after midnight on Saturday, July 15, and was then taken to a hospital for examination, as reported by WBRC.
Russell, a nursing student, was reportedly dropped off at the house and "appeared to be in shock." According to authorities, she was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation. Birmingham, the third-largest city in the state, is around 10 miles south of Hoover. Russell disappeared on Thursday night after claiming to help a toddler who was running loose on I-459, as reported by the police.
Update on Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell#hooverpd pic.twitter.com/nnjTOq7ri8
— Hoover Police Dept (@HooverPD) July 14, 2023
What happened to Carlethia Nichole Russell?
On Thursday, July 13, at about 8.20 pm, Russel left work at The Woodhouse Day Spa in Birmingham and made a trip to buy a meal for her and her mother. After that, she headed in the direction of Hoover and dialed 911 at around 9.30 pm to report that a toddler was walking along Interstate 459. Russell reportedly called her sister-in-law to let her know she was going to check on the youngster after dialing 911.
At around 9.36 pm, the family member lost communication with her, but the connection was still open. When the police arrived, they discovered Russell's car nearby, along with her mobile phone, pocketbook, wig, and Apple watch. However, neither Russell nor the child she claimed to have seen were to be found.
In Hoover, Alabama, authorities learned on Saturday night that Russell had returned to her house after pounding on the door. According to police chief Nicholas Derzis, nobody was with Russell when she arrived, but he told the New York Times he has no idea how she got there.
Russell was brought to a nearby hospital after police and fire personnel established it was indeed her and assessed her there. A source acquainted with the issue told WBRC that she had been "dropped off" at home, but no additional details regarding her condition have been made public. There had not been any other reports of missing children to Hoover Police.
'Heard our daughter scream'
A "scream" was audible on Russell's end of the line at roughly 9.30 pm, and the call was reported to 911 before she spoke with her sister-in-law 6 minutes later. Within minutes of their arrival, the police discovered Russell's moving car, phone, and handbag. Russell's mother Talitha told the outlet, "In the process at some point she got out of the car and my daughter-in-law could hear her asking the child if they were OK."
Talitha further added, "The child did not respond, or at least she did not hear her respond, he or she 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." Talitha reported that Russell put the toddler's age at 3 or 4 years old. One witness, according to Lt Daniel Lowe, may have seen a gray car and a man standing in front of Carlee's car, but they have no other details.