On Thursday night, an Alabama woman went missing after calling 911 and telling the dispatcher that she saw a toddler walking alone on the side of the interstate. She has since returned home after disappearing, police shared.
Carlethia “Carlee” Nicole Russell, 25, went missing on Thursday night when she contacted police about the child she saw on Interstate 459 South in Alabama, the Hoover Police Department shared.
The department shared what they know of the timeline of her disappearance, saying that Russell stopped her car to check on the toddler after hanging up with 911. She then reportedly called a family member while checking out the situation, but the family member lost contact with her and allegedly heard her screaming.
Officers who were dispatched to the scene arrived and found Russell’s vehicle, along with some of her belongings, but there was no sign of her or the child, police said.
No one heard from Russell until 10:45 p.m. on Saturday when the Hoover 911 center received a call saying she had returned to her home on foot, a press release shared.
First responders were sent to the home. They then transported her to a local hospital, where she was treated for minor injuries and then released, police said.
It is currently unknown what happened to Russell and where she had been since Thursday, as police did not provide any more details on her disappearance. Police did say they took an “initial statement” from Russell.
“The details of that statement are a part of the ongoing investigation, which is expected to continue over the next few days,” the release said. “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.”
Police said they were still investigating traffic camera footage to understand what happened and when.
“That footage is still being analyzed as part of the investigation in conjunction with the 911 call to accurately determine the timeframe,” the release stated.
Russell’s friends and family are grateful she is back, but some think the toddler she saw was a ploy to abduct her.
Russell’s boyfriend, Thomar Latrell Simmons, claimed in a Facebook post on Sunday that his girlfriend was kidnapped.
“She was literally fighting for her life for 48 hours, so until she’s physically & mentally stable again, she is not able to give any updates or whereabouts on her kidnapper at this very moment,” Simmons wrote on Facebook.
Russell’s parents also alleged on Sunday that the child she saw was “bait” to lure her out of her car and abduct her.
Simmons thanked those who helped look for his partner, saying he has been going “nonstop” since Thursday night when she went missing.
“I just want to thank all of my family, friends, former teammates, & church members who called or texted me just to let me know that they’re praying & here for me; you guys don’t know how much that meant to me,” he wrote.
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