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

[squareandrabbet]

I thought it was $107.

JB Biunno opined we are obviously free to believe that the police were alluding to CR having stolen the $107 from the register; but points out that they were very careful not to SAY it.

they probably have to avoid literally describing her as someone who has committed a crime, as long as there are no charges.

That's 10.2 miles per hour. That's a 6 minute mile pace. Pretty good for toddler in diaper, even if "they" are as big as a four year old.

All jokes aside, I think we all know that any real toddler would be meandering around like a goose at quarter speed in pitch black grass at nearly 10pm, not racing fit to beat the band like he’s gleefully escaping Mom at a store; and that’s allowing for the fact that any parent of said toddler would have since come forward thanking Carlee for trying to help.

it’s not like there was some kind of car crash and parents killed/desperately looking for some child, or LE would have mentioned that fairly early… I mean, first and foremost, it’s pitch black outside of the headlight beams; the kid couldn’t see.

Are personality disorders mental illness? I mean, clearly something is going on with this woman. Normal people do't do this.

Well, they are… but we’ve never used it to wholly excuse criminal behavior before.

there is no “I‘m a histrionic narcissist looking for attention and thus not responsible“ defense, IMO.

 

[PromPeace12]

Is it common for SS and FBI to get involved in missing persons cases? Some cases it seems the families plead for FBI to get involved. Why the involvement so soon with CR?

 

[Ltiger4]

Great points. I was talking about this case tonight with family. What type of person creates such an elaborate scenario and then has to keep up the charade for days or longer, in order to get attention or deal with stress or whatever? It’s fascinating and frustrating.

It is disordered thinking, right? Bizarre.

Here is this gorgeous young woman with a job, a career path and a huge support network of friends and family. But she still pulls this nonsensical scheme.

I mean the only thing that gave me pause from the cynical view that this was a hoax was that she called 911 right before disappearing. I mean, she couldn’t know how quickly they’d be there. She was on the phone for a bit, pretending she was there on the side of the road with a child. So risky. What would she have done if the cops pulled up right behind her as she was on the phone with dispatchers, pretending to be looking at a child who wasn’t there?

It’s even crazier when we hear how calm she was on the 911 call.

BBM - yes! This is why I believed her. Who does this? It’s really, really strange. I guess in hindsight, it truly is an indicator of attention seeking behavior. The cops need to be called for it to blow up big. She was searching for info about Amber Alerts, after all. So big attention was the goal? I guess?

 

[stmarysmead]

Carlee’s social media indicates a few things to me.

One, a young woman who had an expensive lifestyle of evening gowns, travel, an expensive car…all apparently funded FOR HER by asssumedly…her loving indulgent family. She bragged that her Father would ‘find a way’ to give her anything she wants. That enabled her to present herself like a celebrity…or one of the Rich Kids of Instagram.

At 25, however, she is still in school, but has a lifestyie, not of a student, but of someone, like her parents, who have EARNED success. IMO, she has EARNED nothing, but has been mightily indulged. But finding a way to get big money on her own, without the structure of living at home…may be the foundation for this alleged HOAX.

IMO, judging by the photos she posts, she REALLY craves attention. We live in a time where attention on social media…as an influencer…can bring celebrity status…and big money. My guess the motivation for this stunt was this goal.

After her ‘heroic attempt’ to rescue the child and two day ordeal where she ‘fought for her life”…why Interviews, a book deal, a life as a social media influencer…would all set her free and rolling in cash.

And visions of lavish attention probably danced through her head.

This was in incredibly cruel and selfish caper. All of us who saw the excruciating pain in her parents first interview…can only be outraged at her treatment of them. Now they are in a position of protecting her and damaging their own reputations. Every parent understands what a heartbreaking choice that is.

I believe she planned all this for self-aggrandizement…and money. And, in doing do, she has damaged the public’s trust that the next REAL victim will desparateky need.

She is no teenager. I hope they charge her and garnish her wages for a very long, long time till every penny is paid back.

 

[Elliot_Alderson]

Do not forget her iWatch that was in her purse. Who takes off their iWatch and puts in your purse before an abduction? I am sure that when LE saw that, they started to question the whole scenario. If it had been thrown on the ground they might have thought differently. When I read that statement I was like, hmmm really, who would do that. My iwatch is like a lifeline.

What? People take their Apple watches off all the time.

 

[MistyWaters]

Is it common for SS and FBI to get involved in missing persons cases? Some cases it seems the families plead for FBI to get involved. Why the involvement so soon with CR?

This case involved a lot of IT data analysis in drilling down a timeline - cellphone, traffic cams, CCTV, etc which usually local police departments don‘t have a high need to specialize in simply because their everyday jobs don’t require it. So it makes more sense for them to call in professional support who come trained along with the necessary software, working along side the local force who conducts the pieces of the investigation requiring physical contact. IMO.

 

[MistyWaters]

some hero, eh?
Somebody yesterday used the word 'caper' as description for a hero who flies in to rescue the damsel and swears undying love.
She's better off without him, is all.

Or him, without her.

 

[Inthedetails]

Or him, without her.

My motherly advice is they go their separate ways unless they like a life of chaos, which some people do.

jmo

 

[Snail-Overlord]

Y’all I went to take out the trash and could hear my nextdoor neighbors gossiping about this case lol. I cannot believe how big this got

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

Are personality disorders mental illness? I mean, clearly something is going on with this woman. Normal people do't do this.

Keep in mind, I was replying to a post saying she was in a mental health "crisis." I'm saying there's no indication of a "crisis" related to her mental health, meaning no indication she broke with reality, she was having a "breakdown," she was depressed or suicidal, she was psychotic, etc.

Additionally, it's not accurate to call anything that "normal" people don't do mental illness. It doesn't work that way. Personality disorders are in the DSM because they deviate from societal norms with a psychological linkage that can cause distress in everyday life, but actually most mental health professionals don't consider them "mental illness." For example, you can be a Type A personality (OCPD personality disorder) without being mentally "ill." You can have a dependent personality disorder and not be mentally "ill." It's just your personality type and it can cause problems in your everyday life, but it isn't like you're actually "ill." It's not like depression or anxiety. Some of the Cluster B types get into the mental illness realm, but without all the facts, I wouldn't call someone mentally ill.

The DSM lists out all mental health conditions, but if you actually read the whole thing, there are a number of things in there that aren't considered true mental illness -- stuttering, for example, is in the DSM. So is learning disabilities, phobias (scared of heights? Scared of spiders? I doubt most would call that a mental illness), separation anxiety in children, etc.

Plus, you can't label someone with a personality disorder based on one specific action so even if we did consider it a mental illness, we couldn't make any diagnosis based only on this as this isn't the sum total of her personality.

 

[SMK777]

Ahead of the presser, Eric Guster, a Birmingham-based former criminal defense lawyer and civil litigator, told Yahoo News that he had doubts about the story from the beginning.

“On Thursday I was scared. I said to myself, ‘They are snatching [this woman] off the side of the road 20 minutes away from my house.’ Then Friday it hit me — this doesn’t make any sense,” he said, explaining that Interstate 459, where Russell’s car was found, has a speed limit of 70 mph and it would be nearly impossible to spot a small child at night. “By Friday afternoon I knew it was a hoax. I knew it was a lie.”

Guster, a legal analyst who since Monday has been hosting Facebook live videos in which he discusses the case, now believes criminal charges are imminent.

“I expect them to bring a tsunami of charges,” he said. “I expect them to likely have all the videos and show all of her movements and how she made this up, to let the world know that Hoover is a safe place.”

Hoover, an affluent community, is home to about 92,000 people, according to the latest census data. Of that population, 70% are white and about 19% are Black. The median household income is just shy of $100,000. But Guster says race relations in the community have historically been tense, particularly following the 2018 police killing of 21-year-old Emantic Bradford Jr., a Black man.

“They were taking the attacks on their police department very personally … and they're going to drop the hammer on her,” Guster said.

Carlee Russell case: Police admit they don't believe she was ever abducted

Nearly a week after the sudden disappearance of Carlee Russell, the Alabama woman who went missing last Thursday, police said they don't believe she was kidnapped, due to a bevy of mounting evidence.

news.yahoo.com

 

[mzmarymac]

As a white mother of a black daughter who leaves for college in a month, I am extremely angry at Carlee at this time. It is not a secret that pretty white blonde girls typically get the most media attention when they go missing. Not trying to be a jerk about it. Just a fact. Now here we have this young, beautiful black woman who goes missing, garnering massive national attention, and it turns out to be a huge hoax. She has done her fellow young black women a huge disservice by creating this mess of a story, potentially harming others who are actually in need of attention to their cases. Just saying.

 

[lonetraveler]

Especially since her wig was “knocked off” and her mother explained that she wouldn’t look like her pictures, but that her hair would instead be tightly braided.

In my experience, tightly braided hair is difficult to play with. Maybe the cheese cracker-feeding lady also loosened her braids .

Or, of course, maybe it’s that old saw about the tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.

jmo

CR's hair should be full of Cheezit dust.

 

[SMK777]

As a white mother of a black daughter who leaves for college in a month, I am extremely angry at Carlee at this time. It is not a secret that pretty white blonde girls typically get the most media attention when they go missing. Not trying to be a jerk about it. Just a fact. Now here we have this young, beautiful black woman who goes missing, garnering massive national attention, and it turns out to be a huge hoax. She has done her fellow young black women a huge disservice by creating this mess of a story, potentially harming others who are actually in need of attention to their cases. Just saying.

I agree. It’s not what was needed. Law enforcement and the public were taking this case very seriously, and it is hurtful in the extreme that it will now be remembered as a criminal scam.

Of course, her race really has nothing to do with anything about the case, but as you state unfortunately this was a rare case of a black girl receiving massive media coverage, and a scam story doesn’t serve other black girls such as your own daughter well at all. Very sad, and anger-provoking.

 

[Starkville]

Is it common for SS and FBI to get involved in missing persons cases? Some cases it seems the families plead for FBI to get involved. Why the involvement so soon with CR?

Completely guessing here, but perhaps if the case involves two states or crossing state lines, a kidnapping falls under federal jurisdiction?

 

[SMK777]

Completely guessing here, but perhaps if the case involves two states or crossing state lines, a kidnapping falls under federal jurisdiction?

And in addition the toddler aspect as well.

 

[Katherine Isgreat]

What stood out to me about this call is the complete lack of urgency in her voice.
If I saw a small child on the side of a busy highway at night, I'd be terrified for that child and the tone of my voice would 100% reflect that.

The way she's talking, she sounds like she could be talking about doing laundry or what's on her grocery list.
Zero urgency at all, even without knowing what her "baseline" speaking voice sounds like.

jmo

I've heard me on a 911 call before. My apparent demeanor was calm - I was completely panic stricken in reality, but I had the safety of my kid at mind's front.

 

[Inthedetails]

I've heard me on a 911 call before. My apparent demeanor was calm - I was completely panic stricken in reality, but I had the safety of my kid at mind's front.

The calmness doesn't stand out to me as much as other details. I try to imagine what I would do if I really saw a real toddler on the side of a busy highway. I would want to physically make sure the toddler wouldn't get too close to traffic and I would also be concerned about what I should actually do. I envision myself asking the operator if I could bring the child into my car, asking how long it takes for help to arrive, etc.

There was just so little concern and so little action, calm or not.

jmo

 

[imstilla.grandma]

She also purchased Cheez-Its and granola bars from Target during her pit stop between work and going missing.

Who is Carlee Russell and what happened when she went missing?

Carlee Russell quickly hit US headlines when she went 'missing' while on a 911 call where she reported a lone male toddler on the side of the road. But who exactly is Carlee Russell?

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[stmarysmead]

i have such sympathy for these parents that part of me wishes this would all go away. But that would be another ‘indulgence’…’bought’ for her by our concern for her parents.

She wanted an Amber alert…she wanted an uproar, massive attention on HER and she got it. She got a nation praying, fixated on HER while her parents went through a god-awful ordeal. And she KNEW how much they loved her and how they would suffer! That is the awful… truly vile…measure of her ‘character.’

Yes, she conned us all. Yes, she used massive public resources at great public expense. Yes, she created a new cynicism that will burden real victims. But it is that heinous abuse of her loving, indulgent PARENTS that infuriates me the most.

Maybe a stint in prison and the burden of working for YEARS to pay restitution will create some appreciation for all the love and indulgence those wonderful parents showered upon her cruel and ungrateful self. Ugh!