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

[hparker36]

Also, IMHO, I think the police owe the public some sort of statement regardless of what’s happening behind the scenes. If they don’t believe there is a danger to the public, there’s no issue with them saying that and still continuing with their investigation.

Since the Idaho murders, I no longer trust LE comment: "There is no danger to the public".

 

[hparker36]

Just because she called from the RRI doesn't mean she was in a room or had a room there. She could have been in the parking lot. She could have asked someone for help in the lobby. It might be a landmark used to state where she was.

Well someone out there knows the answers. Seems like media would be all over the RRI!

 

[thebedbug]

YES! I now THINK the call about the woman with a baby screaming was from Carlee’s SIL.
I didn’t think I would be MORE baffled when additional information came out, but I am. I wish they could release the actual 911 calls. Listening to dispatchers relaying information adds another layer of confusion for me.

I guess since we can now talk about the scanner...

It could be a call from the SIL - however they police do mention the SIL had a connection with Carlee's phone open well after the 2nd 911 call was reported. Sure - it could've been on another line, but I think it also leads to the likely possibility that 2nd call was from someone else.

What I'm unclear about in the way it is dispatched is if the location provided is from the caller OR from the police detecting the location of the call.

* for example, if it was then Carlee's mom calling. she wouldn't be able to give some street location - she would've mentioned the highway.

* if it was a local neighbor... well that changes things a bit if there was actual yelling and a kid sighting 10 minutes after Carlee vanished.

* and... if it was an accomplice to a hoax calling to try and make it seem more real... and they didn't realize their location would be identified. oops!

Of course, the police surely know all of this.

 

[Cindizzi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1681408152494014464

 

[Ontario Mom]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1681408152494014464

Sure does make you wonder what they uncovered and handed over to LE.

 

[oceanverde]

Statement from Carlee's mom via WBRC (more at the link but pertinent about the Red Roof Inn)
"There is one terrible and heartless hoax we want to address out of several. I received a text at some point from someone claiming to be Carlee and that she was at the Red Roof Inn. However, when my family went there and knocked doors and looked for her and there was no indication Carlee was there nor that she had ever been there. Any further questions or comments about the case will need to be directed to Hoove Police or the ABI."

Brittany Dionne WBRC

Carlee Russell's mom releases a statement to WBRC News. Says she hopes Hoover PD is searching for Carlee’s abductor. Addresses Red Roof Inn incident: “There is one terrible and heartless hoax we...

www.facebook.com

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

Thanks for this and I doubt I do have the courage to try again! LOL!

I guess the way I see it is if she sees this child in the dark going 70mph she is already past that child when she pulls over and calls 911. So this child is in imminent danger and she sits for 3 minutes with 911 instead of getting out of her car with her phone and walking back to the child. Makes no sense.
Then she drives forward slowly while talking to her friend again instead of going back for the endangered child. Makes no sense.
I know some are saying but that’s when she was taken and that explains all the strangeness. But with all that traffic, not one person saw anybody else near her car.
Lack of urgency once she was “found” is the key.

You're welcome!

Also keep in mind early on it was suggested she may have spotted the child while driving at a high speed, then gotten off that exit and doubled back to slowly approach it and stop. At some point some felt the timeline may have supported a double trip. Is there an official timeline here on WS to refer to, does anyone know?

 

[Ontario Mom]

Statement from Carlee's mom via WBRC (more at the link but pertinent about the Red Roof Inn)
"There is one terrible and heartless hoax we want to address out of several. I received a text at some point from someone claiming to be Carlee and that she was at the Red Roof Inn. However, when my family went there and knocked doors and looked for her and there was no indication Carlee was there nor that she had ever been there. Any further questions or comments about the case will need to be directed to Hoove Police or the ABI."

Brittany Dionne WBRC

Carlee Russell's mom releases a statement to WBRC News. Says she hopes Hoover PD is searching for Carlee’s abductor. Addresses Red Roof Inn incident: “There is one terrible and heartless hoax we...

www.facebook.com

I hadn't heard before it was a text. Surely LE is all over that phone number to find out who did that, if it wasn't actually Carlee.

 

[PromPeace12]

Back in my pre-web sleuth college days, I "rescued" a girl from the side of the road after her boyfriend had kicked her out of the car. I realized pretty quickly that it was probably a stupid idea, but thankfully she turned out to just be a nice girl down on her luck. Now being on this website, I realize it was a really stupid idea to put myself in that situation at 20 years old. But even with being less naive now, I would probably still stop for a toddler in the dark. I hate that this case has now made me second guess that choice.

I was in this situation once. Thanks if that was you!! I left him and a whole lot better now. Chances slim it was you but thanks to you kind hearted people that help.

I once gave a woman a ride who seemed lost. She ended up being super creepy and chanting in some other language and leading me down some weird road. She didn't do anything to me but I was extremely lucky in both situations.

 

[Snail-Overlord]

Statement from Carlee's mom via WBRC (more at the link but pertinent about the Red Roof Inn)
"There is one terrible and heartless hoax we want to address out of several. I received a text at some point from someone claiming to be Carlee and that she was at the Red Roof Inn. However, when my family went there and knocked doors and looked for her and there was no indication Carlee was there nor that she had ever been there. Any further questions or comments about the case will need to be directed to Hoove Police or the ABI."

Brittany Dionne WBRC

Carlee Russell's mom releases a statement to WBRC News. Says she hopes Hoover PD is searching for Carlee’s abductor. Addresses Red Roof Inn incident: “There is one terrible and heartless hoax we...

www.facebook.com

So according to Carlee’s mom, the RRI tip was a hoax. That explains the “THIS IS NOT TRUE” comment.

Also, what a cruel hoax…

 

[Gardenista]

Statement from Carlee's mom via WBRC (more at the link but pertinent about the Red Roof Inn)
"There is one terrible and heartless hoax we want to address out of several. I received a text at some point from someone claiming to be Carlee and that she was at the Red Roof Inn. However, when my family went there and knocked doors and looked for her and there was no indication Carlee was there nor that she had ever been there. Any further questions or comments about the case will need to be directed to Hoove Police or the ABI."

Brittany Dionne WBRC

Carlee Russell's mom releases a statement to WBRC News. Says she hopes Hoover PD is searching for Carlee’s abductor. Addresses Red Roof Inn incident: “There is one terrible and heartless hoax we...

www.facebook.com

Seems it would have been better to have the police go to the RRI instead of go there themselves.

 

[oceanverde]

Seems it would have been better to have the police go to the RRI instead of go there themselves.

If it was my kid missing and they contacted me or I thought they did, nothing would stop me from going there myself. I wouldn't be thinking clearly.

 

[Ontario Mom]

So according to Carlee’s mom, the RRI tip was a hoax. That explains the “THIS IS NOT TRUE” comment.

Also, what a cruel hoax…

Wouldn't it have to be someone that knows Carlee's mom's number, to be able to text her in the first place?
I'm guessing that narrows down who the hoaxer might have been.

Agreed, rotten, cruel hoax.

 

[kwash]

Without wanting to derail the thread too much, I wanted to say that I once picked up a young woman on busy 395 near DC during rush hour.

It was snowing pretty hard and I was in the left lane heading south when I saw a young woman with a large suitcase struggling to cross the center barrier from the NB lanes into the SB lanes. I slowed down and asked her if she needed help, to which she replied she needed to get somewhere to charge her phone. I told her to get in the back seat. She did and proceeded to make a call to someone to tell them her boyfriend had kicked her out of the car and she was running out of phone battery, but someone had picked her up and she would call back when she could. I asked her if she wanted a ride to the Metro (subway) and she said that would be great, but she needed to buy a phone charger first. There was a Best Buy at the next exit (which you could see from the highway) so I pulled in and she left her suitcase in the backseat while she ran in to buy a charger. I waited several minutes and began to get nervous so I took her suitcase into the store to look for her. I found her in the bathroom charging her phone (I assumed she couldn't afford the charger so took one from the shelf to use in the bathroom). I gave her $10, which should have covered a taxi to the Metro, and left. I've often wondered if everything was on the up and up or if I got lucky trying to be a good Samaritan.

All this to say that sometimes people are wandering on the side of the road and sometimes people do stop to help them as we can see from some of the experiences shared here.

 

[K9Enzo]

Since the Idaho murders, I no longer trust LE comment: "There is no danger to the public".

LE cannot guarantee anyone’s safety. Even departments with fast response times, they are still responding to an event. The public should always be vigilant & aware of their surroundings. imo

 

[Gardenista]

If it was my kid missing and they contacted me or I thought they did, nothing would stop me from going there myself. I wouldn't be thinking clearly.

There were 6 car loads of people. One of those people could have called LE

 

[hparker36]

LE cannot guarantee anyone’s safety. Even departments with fast response times, they are still responding to an event. The public should always be vigilant & aware of their surroundings. imo

Thank you.

 

[arielilane]

Carlee Russell's call about missing toddler raises questions: Ex-detective

Criminal justice professor Joseph Giacalone told Newsweek that what police are not doing is more telling than what they've made public regarding Carlee Russell.

www.newsweek.com

7/18/23 AT 6:07 AM EDT

[...] Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD Sergeant SDS (Supervisor Detective Squad) and now a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, told Newsweek he always follows the lead of law enforcement when judging a case—and in this case what the police are not doing is more telling than what they've made public.

"They've made no public statements about this," he said. "They basically just said, 'OK, she's at home. We brought her there,' and that's it. But here's the other thing—we don't see a big search going on for this abducted child." [...]

 

[StarryStarryNight]

You're welcome!

Also keep in mind early on it was suggested she may have spotted the child while driving at a high speed, then gotten off that exit and doubled back to slowly approach it and stop. At some point some felt the timeline may have supported a double trip. Is there an official timeline here on WS to refer to, does anyone know?

LE released a statement yesterday I think saying she called 911 at 9:34pm, was talking with her sister in law at 9:36pm and CR disappeared shortly after that.
I don’t think that gives her any time at all to double back around. Plus, she would have been leaving that child by the road for probably at least ten minutes while she did that, which would mean that not only did she leave the child in danger for at least 10 minutes but she didn’t bother calling 911 during that time either. Just doesn’t make sense.

 

[Quill]

There were 6 car loads of people. One of those people could have called LE

That sounds crazy chaotic. Do you have the link for that info?