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 #3

[hparker36]

That would be risky if it wasn't already under contract. There could still be showings on available listings. If she had access to a vacant home under contract, that is very possible.

Im sure all homes on the market have electronic records of who enters the home for showings, inspections etc. LE would be wise to run records on her mom's keycard, or whatever is currently used to access homes on the market.

I wouldn't put it passed her to take her mom's keycard and use it to stay in a home she knows is vacant and under contract.

My thoughts exactly!!!!

 

[imstilla.grandma]

"A decision has not been made," says the source, who spoke to The Messenger on the condition of anonymity. "The investigation is ongoing, to figure out why the heck it all happened in the first place."

The police source insists that "everyone wants to be very sensitive about this case."

"Because if this story isn't true, there can be many reasons why she would make something up," says the source.

"Some of those reasons mean that she should be arrested," the source continues. "Others mean that she needs a different kind of help."

As for whether investigators believe Russell may have broken any laws, the source says they are "still deciding."

"It's really hard to say right now what will happen," adds the source.

Police 'Still Deciding' Whether to Charge Carlee Russell After Finding Kidnap Story Doesn't Add Up (Exclusive)

'The investigation is ongoing, to figure out why the heck it all happened in the first place'

themessenger.com

 

[White_Mountains]

This reminded me.... After retiring a friends husband worked for a realtor and met home inspectors to let them into the property instead of the realtor doing so himself.

It's not uncommon for agents to have associates perform tasks not required by law to be handled by a licensed agent.

ETA. In my friends case, he picked up the keys from the agent before meeting the inspector at the property.

Good point. When we bought our house, the listing agent’s husband let the home inspection person in to the house.

 

[MistyWaters]

Awh, I see. So she could have had water onboard from another source. It seems to be a detail that hasn't been specifically addressed by LE or MSM?

Other items? LE hasn’t released full and complete information, likely that’s intentional. Notice they didn’t even specify IF the $107 cash was lifted out of the cash register nor if it was believed to be a larger amount.

BBM

“On July 13, 2023, before leaving her place of employment, Carlee stole a bathrobe, a roll of toilet paper, and other items from the business..”

Toilet Paper, Cheez-Its, and a Bathrobe Revealed During Press Conference: Carlee Russell Update | The World Around Jae and Beyond | NewsBreak Original

(Alabama)- Today, July 19, 2023, a press conference about Carlee Russell was released to the public in Alabama. The release began with police giving details about Carlee's whereabouts before the incident, during her time on the phone with a dispatcher, and Carlee's version of the incident that...

original.newsbreak.com

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Eric Guster, a Birmingham attorney, spent years as a criminal defense attorney.

“She says she was kidnapped, and a kidnapping didn't happen. (They say) our citizens are safe. There's not a kidnapper out there. So, they use every other synonym for lie except saying she lied," Guster said.

“Imagine going and searching for someone, and they're off doing something else, and they're never in danger. And you're thinking about saving this person's daughter, and yours was not saved. Beyond angry, super livid. That would be me," Guster said.

“It's going to be much more difficult for African American women to be believed, and it may actually decrease the number of actual reports of things because people are already afraid that they won't be believed," Guster said.

“If I was Carlee’s attorney, I would speak for her," Guster said. "I would not allow her to speak to the police because anything she says can and will be used against her. I would speak for her. I would go to the mayor; I would go to the police chief and figure out if there's something we could do. That's what I would do.”

Guster said the police chief outlined three crimes they believe Russell committed: theft, lying to authorities and filing a false police report. He said he's shocked she hasn't already been arrested.

Birmingham attorney outlines possible crimes Carlee Russell may have committed

Eric Guster noted that right now, Carlee Russell needs an attorney to advise her on how to respond to the police.

www.wvtm13.com

 

[Seattle1]

I’m not sure there are no exceptions to checking into a hotel without ID, especially with 3 star and lower hotels. What of a young woman who fled from a potential domestic violence situation and left her purse at home but has cash to pay for a room? Would she be refused? If one reserves a hotel online and pays in advance, yes then they indeed want to see ID to ensure the room is going to the right person. But otherwise if a hotel is getting payment in cash for a room, why would they require ID any more than a retail outlet would for a purchase?

I wouldn’t rule it out quite yet and by now LE likely know the truth anyway.

Agree. While hotels ask for your ID and form of payment when checking in, this doesn't have to be a Government issued ID. My kids have checked in at hotels with their College IDs on reservations I booked online. IMO, CR using a fake ID would also work-- especially if she booked/prepaid online.

 

[Inthedetails]

Agree. While hotels ask for your ID and form of payment when checking in, this doesn't have to be a Government issued ID. My kids have checked in at hotels with their College IDs on reservations I booked online. IMO, CR using a fake ID would also work-- especially if she booked/prepaid online.

A few years ago, I wanted to check-in and pay for a room in cash (just because I had cash onhand) and I still had to use a credit card to check in. When I checked out, they said they could reverse the charge and I could pay in cash, but it wasn't that big of a deal so I didn't bother. The point is, I couldn't check-in to a hotel room with cash-only. (I don't recall if I had to show an ID - I just remember I had to hand over a credit card.)

jmo

 

[MistyWaters]

Carlee Russell: A missing Black woman and a social media frenzy, explained

What the viral story of a missing Alabama woman says about all of us.

www.vox.com

…….When a story about a possible crime sparks national attention to the extent this one did, it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The reactions are informed not only by the facts of the case, but filtered through broader contexts that exist outside of the particulars of the incident. And those responses can tell us a lot about the culture in which we live.

The public concern about Russell’s case was driven in part by the understanding that Black women rarely receive the same amount of attention that white women get when they go missing. It was also driven by the frightening details around her disappearance, including the reports of a lost child. America has been consumed by a moral panic about the idea of human traffickers lurking in the shadows, ready to kidnap unsuspecting women and children and sell them into sexual slavery.

The outsized fear is driven by internet conspiracies and misinformation, social media, politicians, and pop culture. But the reality is that the people most at risk of human trafficking are those who are already vulnerable because they live at the margins of society, sometimes as children in the foster care system, or as undocumented immigrants, or as people struggling with addiction or homelessness. They are often forgotten because the authorities don’t always identify them as victims.

And in this case, it seems clear that while our culture is obsessed with salacious sounding crimes – we’re also, whatever the truth of this case turns out to be, deeply fascinated by the idea of scam artists.

There are, unfortunately, countless real stories of missing Black women and children, like Relisha Rudd, an 8-year-old child who went missing in Washington DC in 2014 and still hasn’t been found. As the Black and Missing Foundation stated this week: “We must remain vigilant and not lose sight of the bigger picture while we await additional information.” For years, the foundation “has been sounding the alarm on the plight of missing Black and Brown people, from around the country, and their stories rarely go viral…Let’s keep hope alive for these families and channel our efforts to bringing them home.”

The public, and the media, will likely move on from Russell’s story soon. Finding Rudd, and other missing children and adults, remains just as urgent as it was before social media discovered the Russell case, and will remain just as important once it moves on.

 

[Chewy]

I’m with you 100% and great sleuthing of nearby real estate.

Thanks. I found a way to map it by erasing all the street names just so people can see how easy it would have been to cut through the trees and walk to the house.

Also I blurred the interior of the porch just so I can show the windows and how easy it would be, <modsnip - speculation outside the boundaries of the known facts of the case
> to simply unlock one of the windows <modsnip> to be able to slide it open at night and sneak in.

Again ALL of this is JMO and Just a Theory. But I do think a lot of the details line up that make it make sense. Just sleuthing until we get the facts. If this is what happened LE should be able to find security footage or ring camera evidence.


<modsnip - not victim friendly> JMO

 

[meanmaryjean]

You would not.even have to leave a window open if you.knew the code to the little box on the door that holds a key for the realtor to show the home.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

A former FBI special agent believes Carlee Russell's claim that she was abducted when she went to help a toddler on an Alabama interstate is nothing more than a "fantasy."

"The whole thing doesn't make sense. It almost sounds like a fantasy in her own mind,"

What stuck out to him was her claim that her abductors didn't tie her hands up to avoid leaving marks on her wrists.

"Why would they care if there were marks on her wrists? Why would that be an issue for them? I mean, if you're going to abduct somebody. I mean, it's going to be known that they were abducted. So why would you worry about the marks on her wrist? That doesn't make any sense to me," Gilliam said

Former FBI Agent Says Carlee Russell's Claims Sound Like a 'Fantasy In Her Own Mind'

Former FBI agent says Carlee Russell's abduction story "sounds like a fantasy in her own mind."

themessenger.com

 

[White_Mountains]

Here's a little insight into 'being in nursing school'. A two year (or four year for that matter) program is seldom that. Two years is how long the clinical part takes - but to even get accepted it is generally at LEAST a couple semesters of prerequisites, standardized nursing school admission testing, etc. (I described this in a previous post)

Virtually no one goes from high school to RN in 2 years UNLESS they have taken a LOT of dual enrollment credits during high school.

ALSO (and this is big) - we used to get family members of patients in our all the time who told us they were 'in nursing school'. 99% of the time- they were enrolled in prerequisite courses only- and had not even qualified yet for the actual clinical nursing part. (No shame in that- just not what one would generally describe as 'in nursing school')

My point is- take 'in nursing school' with a LARGE grain of salt.

I have heard many students or parents of students say “in nursing school” when they are enrolled in prerequisites.

I am a nursing professor at a university that has a traditional BSN program and although I have a doctorate now, I started in an associate degree program and it took me only 2 years/4 semesters (without any of the prerequisites completed). When I taught in an associate degree program, I saw a couple of students who came to us directly out of high-school, but you are right, it is not the norm for an associate degree student to be accepted directly into the associate degree nursing program. There are many reasons for that but that would take me far afield.

The program I currently teach in accepts students into the nursing program directly from high school rather than waiting until they are a sophomore or junior to apply. Again, that differs from many BSN programs.

I wonder if Carlee may have had many of the prerequisites from her bachelor’s degree. It’s possible that if she was planning to apply to nursing school, she had the forethought to wrap some prerequisites into her degree. Of course, she hasn’t demonstrated any forethought recently, so…who knows.

 

[Chewy]

You would not.even have to leave a window open if you.knew the code to the little box on the door that holds a key for the realtor to show the home.

Someone pointed out that in Alabama the agent has to put in some sort of ID number. But there might be something to this as well. Perhaps it notifies the agent when their password has been used. <modsnip - not victim friendly>
JMO

 

[Cubby]

Awh, I see. So she could have had water onboard from another source. It seems to be a detail that hasn't been specifically addressed by LE or MSM?

Might be a long shot, but if she stayed in a vacant home, and if the current owner had a final reading for the water bill before they moved out, investigators might be able to look at water usage for a period of time while the home was vacant AND not shown.

 

[Chewy]

A former FBI special agent believes Carlee Russell's claim that she was abducted when she went to help a toddler on an Alabama interstate is nothing more than a "fantasy."

"The whole thing doesn't make sense. It almost sounds like a fantasy in her own mind,"

What stuck out to him was her claim that her abductors didn't tie her hands up to avoid leaving marks on her wrists.

"Why would they care if there were marks on her wrists? Why would that be an issue for them? I mean, if you're going to abduct somebody. I mean, it's going to be known that they were abducted. So why would you worry about the marks on her wrist? That doesn't make any sense to me," Gilliam said

Former FBI Agent Says Carlee Russell's Claims Sound Like a 'Fantasy In Her Own Mind'

Former FBI agent says Carlee Russell's abduction story "sounds like a fantasy in her own mind."

themessenger.com

It's really the way the details don't add up. I could see them not binding her just because they didn't have zip ties. But then why would they BLIND FOLD HER and leave her in the back of the truck. If they didn't bind her hands she could just take off the blind fold. Makes no sense.

 

[Notthisshipsister]

An idle thought... I'm just wondering where that bathrobe is going to be found (the woods? RRI? Inside of an empty house?) Or was she wearing it when she got home?

 

[MistyWaters]

There's always a bit of truth in a lie. I think we will learn that CR did indeed stay at RRI -- just not the one her family showed up at.

I think LE is checking hotel IP addresses, apps, food deliveries, etc. They will know where she was staying, with or without CRs cooperation. I'm reading she unblocked her bf on social media not long before she showed up at home so she dropped many crumbs in her 48-hour stay-away-cation. I also think the bf is currently cooperating with LE. JMO

Hoover PD called in FBI, Secret Service, and other resources early. It's important the message gets out that you can't pull pranks like this and think you'll get away with it by being shielded at home and not answering questions.

The text message supposedly from Carlee will undoubtedly/has been traced as to the origin and sender. It will be interesting to know who sent it and what location was it sent from, if Carlee did she obviously had a 2nd cellphone or was she with someone else. This text was earlier in the day of the same evening she arrived at her doorstep.

BBM
“Robinson-Russell also addressed claims that family members were seen at a Red Roof Inn while Russell was missing looking for her. She says that she received a text from someone claiming to be her daughter saying she was at the Red Roof Inn. Family members showed up, but there was no indication that she was ever there, according to her mother.”

Police unable to verify parts of Carlee Russell’s account from her disappearance

Hoover's police chief described the investigation as ongoing, but they do not believe there is an active threat to the public related to the case.

www.nbc15.com

 

[MistyWaters]

An idle thought... I'm just wondering where that bathrobe is going to be found (the woods? RRI? Inside of an empty house?) Or was she wearing it when she got home?

Very good point, I wondered that too. How is it known what she stole as LE say the items were concealed. I doubt the spa does a bathrobe and toilet paper inventory count at the end of each day.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1681751967775744002

 

[Seattle1]

Carlee Russell: A missing Black woman and a social media frenzy, explained

What the viral story of a missing Alabama woman says about all of us.

www.vox.com

…….When a story about a possible crime sparks national attention to the extent this one did, it doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The reactions are informed not only by the facts of the case, but filtered through broader contexts that exist outside of the particulars of the incident. And those responses can tell us a lot about the culture in which we live.

The public concern about Russell’s case was driven in part by the understanding that Black women rarely receive the same amount of attention that white women get when they go missing. It was also driven by the frightening details around her disappearance, including the reports of a lost child. America has been consumed by a moral panic about the idea of human traffickers lurking in the shadows, ready to kidnap unsuspecting women and children and sell them into sexual slavery.

The outsized fear is driven by internet conspiracies and misinformation, social media, politicians, and pop culture. But the reality is that the people most at risk of human trafficking are those who are already vulnerable because they live at the margins of society, sometimes as children in the foster care system, or as undocumented immigrants, or as people struggling with addiction or homelessness. They are often forgotten because the authorities don’t always identify them as victims.

And in this case, it seems clear that while our culture is obsessed with salacious sounding crimes – we’re also, whatever the truth of this case turns out to be, deeply fascinated by the idea of scam artists.

There are, unfortunately, countless real stories of missing Black women and children, like Relisha Rudd, an 8-year-old child who went missing in Washington DC in 2014 and still hasn’t been found. As the Black and Missing Foundation stated this week: “We must remain vigilant and not lose sight of the bigger picture while we await additional information.” For years, the foundation “has been sounding the alarm on the plight of missing Black and Brown people, from around the country, and their stories rarely go viral…Let’s keep hope alive for these families and channel our efforts to bringing them home.”

The public, and the media, will likely move on from Russell’s story soon. Finding Rudd, and other missing children and adults, remains just as urgent as it was before social media discovered the Russell case, and will remain just as important once it moves on.

All true. Begs the question if CRs case would have captured the nation if she wasn't young, beautiful, and a woman of means.

 

[mickey2942]

Agree. While hotels ask for your ID and form of payment when checking in, this doesn't have to be a Government issued ID. My kids have checked in at hotels with their College IDs on reservations I booked online. IMO, CR using a fake ID would also work-- especially if she booked/prepaid online.

This is very true. I work for a customer service business now, "ID" has a whole new meaning. We accept photo ID that is absolutely minimal. Have a piece of paper with your name and a picture? Fine. Whatever. Paying with cash? No problem. As long as it is less than $10,000. More than $10,000? No problem we will just set up a few different invoices.