Found Alive AL - Carlethia “Carlee” Russell, 25, 911 call reported toddler walking on side of interstate, car found, she & toddler gone, Birmingham, 13 Jul ‘23 #2

[thebedbug]

I'll say this without trying to get my post deleted...

If Carlee had been found wandering in the nearby trees... along the highway... in the neighborhood on the other side of the trees... I'd be inclined to think some kind of "mental issue" (I'm not a Dr. so that's the term I'm using on this true crime board) would be a reasonable possibility.

However... we have reason to believe that the police were searching in those areas very quickly that night. One might even reasonably believe they were doing so within 10 minutes of the first police officer arriving at her car.

You may disagree, but I'm of the opinion that Carlee's physical capabilities would not have made her very likely to elude the search I believe happened in the hours after her 911 call AND especially so, if she were having a "mental issue." She's not a marathon runner. I don't see her hopping fences. I don't think she hid under a boat for 2 days, etc..

I'm left with the conclusion that 1 of 2 things happened. 1) she was in one of the nearby homes for some period of time or 2) she was transported out of the area in some vehicle.

Some may believe abductor(s) were involved in either of those options. Some might feel something else happened.

I think that's all OK.

 

[NeverPersonal]

Like I have said previously, when I rescued a half-naked child from the side of a busy freeway in the middle of the day, no one called it in.

Do tell!

Have any of the msm articles mentioned what happened to the takeout food? They mention she was bringing the food from Taziki’s home to her mother, and that her wig, hat, purse, keys, etc were found at the scene, but I don’t recall seeing a mention of the food.

IMO, the answer to that question would be very interesting. A kidnapper who ignored her valuables would probably not have taken her dinner, and if we knew she had taken food with her if she left the scene willingly on her own, that might answer some questions.

I have wondered this since day 1, page 1. Where is the food?

What stands out to me about this theory is that there are way easier ways of doing that than inventing a dramatic highway scene and leaving her car running and all of her belongings on the side of the interstate. If she needed a break or felt overwhelmed she could have just stayed in her car and kept going…

She could have just turned off her phone and checked into a hotel somewhere. If someone did just need a break, this seems like an excessive level of theatrics and personal inconvenience.

Exactly.

Let me ask. Does it make sense that an apple watch was in her purse? Isn't that something people wear all the time? That would be a tracking device, as would be her phone.

Yes. I take off my watch all the time. I have sensitive skin and it'll start bothering me eventually.

<modsnip - quoted post was removed>

About 10 years ago I got onto the freeway at about 11pm near my city’s downtown area and saw a girl walking in a short skirt and heels, crying. She didn’t look like she was homeless or a prostitute or anything and I pulled to the shoulder, and reversed maybe 1/2 a mile to where she was. She ran over to my car and when she saw I was a young girl, she starting crying even harder, so relieved that I’d stopped for her. She told me she had been fighting with her boyfriend and his friends in his car, and they made her get out on the freeway! I took her home and she was so thankful. She was also extremely intoxicated and I’m just glad it was me who stopped for her and not any number of creeps who could have spotted her!

Just posted my story to say that things like this can happen. Sure, she wasn’t a toddler, but a young, drunk girl walking on the shoulder of the freeway.

Wow. Thank you for taking her home!

I'm sharing this as a "Happened to a friend of mine" story. She was "kidnapped" by a stalker when she left work, he took her to his house and kept her tied up, then released her several days later, unharmed. I don't think he knew what he wanted to do with her, just wanted her. LE said nothing for weeks. The guy had skedaddled and my friend was terrified he would come and get her again. There was likely not any danger to anyone else as he seemed obsessed with her. The plan was to get him to calm down and think he was "safe" until they could track him(this was back in the early 80s, so no cameras and such). And that is exactly what happened, they tracked him with an atm withdrawal. Just some guy she knew from school, obsessed, mental health issues. Leading up he had left roses on her car, stuffed animals, other things like that.

Not saying that happened here, just that weird things do happen.

See, exactly. Idk why everyone thinks every case follows an exact formula, especially with how strange circumstances are sometimes. Different case, different pd, different investigation. I have hypothesized this sort of scenario in our group chat on this, perhaps a man watching her and took her and got FREAKED when he saw how crazy intense the news got over this.

 

[NeverPersonal]

I think you’re spot on here — I’m just saying drawing massive amounts of attention to yourself isn’t the best way to get a break.

In that scenario, massive amounts of attention would more likely be the goal.

In my own opinion only, this doesn’t fit as a psychotic break or a mental health breakdown. For me, that leaves 3 main options left. Innocent mistake that snowballed, intentional act with possible planning, or foul play.

In my opinion only, the actions of the police the last 24 hours do not indicate they feel that there is any risk to the public.

Makes me feel like if there indeed was an act of aggression it was perhaps targeted toward Carlee specifically. But the cops also said not to be scared one bit when Bryan Kohberger was on the loose :/ and to "travel in pairs" as if they forgot he murdered 4 people at once by himself.

Sometimes the stuff cops say in these scenarios doesn't make sense because they want to make sure the public doesn't panic, etc.

MOO

 

[Knox]

But truckers can verify it with the cameras on their trucks.

Not all truckers have on board systems.

 

[whitelilac]

Gray showed a full hour of the traffic camera video. Watch at about 33:50, the time on the clock is 9:34pm when she makes the 911 call.

Also watch at 9:30 pm where you will see someone with their right turn signal on and then there is a jump cut in the video and you can't see what happens

Just thinking aloud....I know...holes in this scenario.

Is it possible that Carlee was stopped on the side making the 9:34 pm 911 call and the call to her SIL, before her car comes into view, and that something happened then, when she screamed?

So when the car actually comes into view it was not Carlee who was driving, that whoever was driving, abandoned the car by the side to flee into the woods or wherever, or maybe met up with the abductor later....in that residential area?

Meanwhile Carlee was taken away. Two people involved. One driving his own car, with Carlee, and the accomplice driving the red Mercedes.

Could the grey car have actually been seen by the trucker also before Carlee's car comes into view ?

So in this scenario, why dump the car further along the road? To stage it further along so as to avoid any evidence left where Carlee may have been taken? To confuse that trucker witness who they noticed in case he reported it afterwards?

I also don't remember which call was made first, 911 or the SIL?

That blackened section of the video has to mean something...what did it show?

 

[NeverPersonal]

From post # 240 : @athenna ; Good point regarding the food !
I'd imagine LE have impounded and searched her car by now ?
Omo.

I read on the last thread that some people watching the traffic video for longer said her car was there for hours after the fact...

newbie here. I have a theory supported by nothing but my imagination. I mention it only to illustrate my question. My theory is that Carlee was either knowingly or unknowingly used to gather information on human trafficking or was used to somehow strengthen a harpersville officer's status with traffickers.

my question is how do you balance desire to provide assistance on case where someone might be in danger with knowledge that there is a lot potentially going on you rightly know nothing about?

has there been any analysis of the types of cases websleuths is most helpful on? Sadly, there are a lot of cold cases, missing people, etc. contributing something to any of them is a good thing, right? but how to pick one?

this is not how trafficking works or what trafficking looks like.

i am professionally trained in spotting signs of human trafficking (in every way, situational, physical, mental)
we've discussed this already in the previous threads about this but here is additional information.

Recognizing the Signs

As the U.S. anti-trafficking movement has grown in our understanding of this diverse and complex crime, we are learning more about how specific people, such as medical professionals, teachers, truck drivers, and restaurant personnel, in addition to friends and family members, can help identify...

humantraffickinghotline.org

Generational trauma, historic oppression, discrimination, and other societal factors and inequities create community-wide vulnerabilities. Traffickers recognize and take advantage of people who are vulnerable.

People may be vulnerable to trafficking if they:

• Have an unstable living situation
• Have previously experienced other forms of violence such as sexual abuse or domestic violence
• Have run away or are involved in the juvenile justice or child welfare system
• Are undocumented immigrants
• Are facing poverty or economic need
• Have a caregiver or family member who has a substance use issue
• Are addicted to drugs or alcohol

 

[NeverPersonal]

I have not seen a single claim on any platform or website about the boyfriend. He wasn’t even known to most until later. MOO

There's pictures and videos of them together looking cozy and her parents liked his social media posts with him and Carlee.

 

[SUNchips]

Sure, it’s possible the authorities feel there’s no risk to the public bc they’ve pretty much concluded there was no kidnapping.

But it’s also at least as likely IMO that they have a really good idea of what happened, who was involved, and are in the process of collecting enough evidence to make an arrest. If this is the case, there’s also no real risk to the public bc they know what’s going on.

I agree with you. I think if this was a kidnapping of some kind that the perpetrator(s) are already in custody. Like when Carlee got back to her house, she told the cops who/where the kidnapper was and they got arrested OR they were arrested and that’s how Carlee was able to escape. That would be the only way I could see this being a kidnapping without LE giving the public any info as of now.

 

[Gardenista]

Just thinking aloud....I know...holes in this scenario.

Is it possible that Carlee was stopped on the side making the 9:34 pm 911 call and the call to her SIL, before her car comes into view, and that something happened then, when she screamed?

So when the car actually comes into view it was not Carlee who was driving, that whoever was driving, abandoned the car by the side to flee into the woods or wherever, or maybe met up with the abductor later....in that residential area?

Meanwhile Carlee was taken away. Two people involved. One driving his own car, with Carlee, and the accomplice driving the red Mercedes.

Could the grey car have actually been seen by the trucker also before Carlee's car comes into view ?

So in this scenario, why dump the car further along the road? To stage it further along so as to avoid any evidence left where Carlee may have been taken? To confuse that trucker witness who they noticed in case he reported it afterwards?

I also don't remember which call was made first, 911 or the SIL?

That blackened section of the video has to mean something...what did it show?

That's one of Gray's suppositions and that they moved her car to throw off the police.

 

[whitelilac]

That's one of Gray's suppositions and that they moved her car to throw off the police.

Yes thanks, makes sense. I didn't have sound watching it, so couldn't hear. Did he say anything about the blacked part?

 

[LaborDayRN]

Well THATS interesting. The FBI doesn't just get involved randomly.

In the event that she reported seeing an acutal child, the FBI would definetly get involved.
"The FBI has jurisdiction to immediately investigate any reported mysterious disappearance or kidnapping involving a child. Do not wait to report a missing child."

Parents, Caregivers, Teachers | Federal Bureau of Investigation

Get information on online and offline dangers and learn how to report child abductions and sexual exploitation.

www.fbi.gov

 

[NeverPersonal]

NEW INFO to me I had not seen previously

Carlee Russell's Boyfriend Says She Was Kidnapped, Fought for Her Life

The Carlee Russell case continues to remain a mystery, even after her discovery.

www.tmz.com

For example, the police's statement about how exactly Carlee came to be found -- in which they said they got a call that she had shown up to her residence on foot -- fails to mention the fact that dispatchers in the Hoover-Vestavia Hills area were talking about Carlee possibly being at a nearby motel well beforehand ... a convo captured around 6:53 PM CT.

As you can hear ... the dispatchers describe a caller saying Carlee's family had reached out to say they had gotten a call from Carlee herself -- who apparently told them she was at the Red Roof Inn along the Montgomery Highway ... only about 5 miles north from where she disappeared. The wording's a little confusing, but it seems the caller was a Red Roof worker.

-
WAIT WHAT? Carlee called her family from Red Roof Inn?? I knew about the RRI tip but not that? It's TMZ, so... unsure whether to believe or not

 

[Gardenista]

Yes thanks, makes sense. I didn't have sound watching it, so couldn't hear. Did he say anything about the blacked part?

He's stumped and he said the company owner said the FBI was wondering about it too.

 

[NeverPersonal]

In the event that what she reported was an acutal child, the FBI would definetly get involved.
"The FBI has jurisdiction to immediately investigate any reported mysterious disappearance or kidnapping involving a child. Do not wait to report a missing child."

Parents, Caregivers, Teachers | Federal Bureau of Investigation

Get information on online and offline dangers and learn how to report child abductions and sexual exploitation.

www.fbi.gov

Just because the FBI has jurisdiction to immediately investigate any disappearance or kidnapping doesn't mean they do. They generally need to be called in on a case.

 

[Googlebutts]

NEW INFO to me I had not seen previously

View attachment 435462

Carlee Russell's Boyfriend Says She Was Kidnapped, Fought for Her Life

The Carlee Russell case continues to remain a mystery, even after her discovery.

www.tmz.com

For example, the police's statement about how exactly Carlee came to be found -- in which they said they got a call that she had shown up to her residence on foot -- fails to mention the fact that dispatchers in the Hoover-Vestavia Hills area were talking about Carlee possibly being at a nearby motel well beforehand ... a convo captured around 6:53 PM CT.

As you can hear ... the dispatchers describe a caller saying Carlee's family had reached out to say they had gotten a call from Carlee herself -- who apparently told them she was at the Red Roof Inn along the Montgomery Highway ... only about 5 miles north from where she disappeared. The wording's a little confusing, but it seems the caller was a Red Roof worker.

-
WAIT WHAT? Carlee called her family from Red Roof Inn?? I knew about the RRI tip but not that? It's TMZ, so... unsure whether to believe or not

Thank you. I had heard about this but couldn’t find it

 

[NeverPersonal]

He's stumped and he said the company owner said the FBI was wondering about it too.

I figured if anyone cut the footage, it would be the FBI... Now I'm even more confused.

 

[nightowl1975]

That's one of Gray's suppositions and that they moved her car to throw off the police.

How would you factor in finding her wig and phone by her vehicle if the vehicle had been moved up along the road to dump it?

 

[thebedbug]

For reasons... I believe we aren't allowed to discuss the content of police scanner recordings... even after the fact?

So, I'd say this. If anyone here is not familiar with the police scanner recording from that night... I would check it out.

 

[Lindadanette]

I just had the strangest thought... what if the "first responder" blue flashing light wasn't legit? Would LE release that info? If someone was listening to the police scanner and got there first... Highly unlikely, I know.

 

[Gardenista]

Just a heads up that I haven't listened to all of Gray's live, so there may be info I don't know yet. I'm going to try to watch all of it, but not sure I'll make it because it's almost 4 hours long.