HOOVER, ALABAMA: The complicated case of a 25-year-old nursing student has the entire nation hooked after she reportedly went missing on July 13. Carlee Russell apparently disappeared after seeing a toddler walking on the side of a highway. Several theories began to circulate, including that the alleged child was used as bait to kidnap the woman.
However, on July 15, Carlee unexpectedly came back home. In a statement, Hoover Police Department said, “Missing person Carlee Russell has been located. At 10:45 P.M., the Hoover 911 center received a call that Carlee returned home to her residence. Police responded to the scene to investigate this latest development in the case. Hoover Fire medics responded to the scene to assess Carlee and transported her to a local hospital for evaluation. Additional information will be provided when it becomes available.”
Since then, numerous accusations have been made online against Carlee and her family, one of them being that she did not go missing but only staged her kidnapping to gain attention. Her parents have dismissed those allegations and her mother Talitha Robinson-Russell shared a long written post on Facebook where she clarified, “Just as we made a commitment to not entertain negative thoughts during the time our daughter was missing, we surely will not entertain negative thoughts/statements, unvalidated opinions, or sheer ignorance at such a joyous time.”
Will Carlee Russell be arrested?
Despite her parents' statement in the post, there is no confirmation from the authorities. However, there are some possible scenarios Carlee may have to face once the probe is done. As per reports, there may be a chance that she is suffering from some mental illness and the July 13 incident was caused by it. In such a scenario, she would be advised to seek help from medical experts.
Another possible scenario is that the investigators find the accusation to be true and are able to prove that Carlee was the mastermind behind her own disappearance or kidnapping. In that case, there is reportedly a high possibility of her facing charges. So far, one claim made by her regarding finding the child on the interstate has been refuted by cops.
A recent statement by Hoover Police Department read, “The Hoover Police Department has not located any evidence of a toddler walking down the interstate, nor did we receive any additional calls about a toddler walking down the interstate, despite numerous vehicles passing through that area as depicted by the traffic camera surveillance video.”
Cases where people reportedly faked their abduction
Two months ago, a Pennsylvania woman was pressed with four charges of misdemeanors -- false alarm to a public safety agency, falsely reporting an offense that did not occur, obstructing administration of law, and disorderly conduct -- after she lied about her bogus kidnapping. State Police Trooper Steve Limani gave a possible reason behind the 23-year-old Chloe Stein’s action. As per NBC News, he said, “The fact of not going to school apparently for so long and maybe disappointing people was the reasoning behind it.”
Another woman named Marlene French and her boyfriend also reportedly made up a fake story about her abduction last year. Police Chief Paul Prine said at the time, “This becomes a burden on manpower. And we are certainly available to deal with these types of violent situations but this is not how we want to spend our day in light of the other problems that we see across the city.”
