Days after an Alabama woman went missing and found safely, Carlee Russell has admitted she was not kidnapped, police report.
During a press conference Monday afternoon, Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis read a statement from Russell’s attorney, claiming that the 25-year-old woman was not abducted and that she had not seen a child walking along I-459 the night she disappeared.
On July 13, Russell called police to report allegedly seeing a toddler walking along I-459 near Hoover. However, police responding to the scene found Russell’s car, but not her. On July 15, Russell was found after safely walking home.
After being found, Russell’s family claimed that she had been abducted. In her statement to police, Russell alleged that she had been taken by an unidentified man while trying to find the alleged toddler along the side of the interstate. According to police, Russell claimed to have escaped while being taken in a car the next day.
In the days since being found, there has been speculation as to the circumstances surrounding Russell’s disappearance. During a press conference on July 19, Derzis questioned several aspects of the case, such as Russell’s past text messages leading up to her disappearance, as well as claiming to have followed the child for hundreds of yards along the interstate.
Despite ongoing questions in the case, Russell’s family maintained that she was abducted and that whoever took her was still out there. Police have since said they believe there is no threat to the community.
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