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

[Van Helsing]

Here's an over head view of the area.

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What are your thoughts on where she could have been taken?

Assuming a loner homeless person, since he didn't take her car, I would look around the business around that exit. If he wanted to keep her, I would look in nearby wooded areas, and along the interstate(s). JMO

 

[Fuhgetabouddit]

The video is nice to have, but we still don’t have confirmation that it is her vehicle, right?
What if: That car doesn’t belong to her. It belongs to another person who maybe thought they got a flat tire (passenger side, obviously) and pulled off to check it. The cops pulled up behind, like we see in the final frames of the video, either because they saw a person with hazards on and wanted to help, or because they were responding to Carlee’s call and expected that car to be hers.
Until we get solid confirmation, either from LE stating that the video is of Carlee, or we can see more of the video that proves itself to align with Carlee’s exact circumstances, take it with a grain of salt.

Good points, it’s just that the times all match up here to Carlee’s timeline. The car on the shoulder and stopping, the 911 call, police arriving. It all happens within the same span of time we were given for her.

 

[Dénouement]

The video is nice to have, but we still don’t have confirmation that it is her vehicle, right?
What if: That car doesn’t belong to her. It belongs to another person who maybe thought they got a flat tire (passenger side, obviously) and pulled off to check it. The cops pulled up behind, like we see in the final frames of the video, either because they saw a person with hazards on and wanted to help, or because they were responding to Carlee’s call and expected that car to be hers.
Until we get solid confirmation, either from LE stating that the video is of Carlee, or we can see more of the video that proves itself to align with Carlee’s exact circumstances, take it with a grain of salt.

What doesn't match up for you?

When officers arrived at the location, they found Russell's red Mercedes still running on the side of the road. There were no signs of the woman or the child she was trying to help.

Carlee Russell: What we know about the woman who vanished on Alabama highway

Carlee Russell was on the phone with a family member when she pulled over to check on a child she saw walking on side of the Alabama interstate. The last thing her family heard was her scream.

www.fox5atlanta.com

EDIT: IS there any news of an update?

 

[gremlin444]

TCA | Select Video

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birmingham.trafficcamarchive.com

The preview shows frames taken from 8 or 9 points during the hour time period.

If you click on preview 9-10 pm, and advance through to a frame taken at 9:39, you see a car pulled off in the spot that is the same as the video that was posted. That car wasn't there in the frame from 9:34. Advance forward to 9:44, and the cop lights are there.

The reason this is relevant is because if you go to this morning's video from that spot:

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You see multiple people and cars pulled over in that same area looking like searchers between 10 a.m. and 11:30 am today. Seems to be way too much of a coincidence that searchers would be in that exact location today that matches the video footage that popped up last night if it wasn't pertaining to Carlee.

 

[vls12345]

Jumping off this post:
Post in thread 'AL - Carlethia “Carlee” Russell, 25, 911 call reported toddler walking on side of interstate, car found, she & toddler gone, Birmingham, 13 Jul ‘23' AL - AL - Carlethia “Carlee” Russell, 25, 911 call reported toddler walking on side of interstate, car found, she & toddler gone, Birmingham, 13 Jul ‘23

It shows another car parked further in front of Carlee's -- pulled all the way over into the grass.

If that was someone up to no good, could they have grabbed her, gotten her in their car, and driven off? If so, she could be anywhere. And that's maybe why there isn't sign of her in the wooded area. Imo.

As far as who or why someone would do this (especially not knowing who would pull over or stop, if anyone), I have no ideas.

 

[Knox]

Probably. The local news has been surprisingly quite today. I'm thinking the resolution will be soon.

Some follks at the Find Carlee Russell page are doing some pretty impressive work on enhancing video stills. LE has far better resources, so you may be right.

Find Carlee Russell | Facebook

Find Carlee Russell official page.

www.facebook.com

This is a public find page, family is posting there. Enhancements are in the comments on a post from CT

 

[ohyourethatguy]

I don't think much about any theory makes sense right now.
My most likely theory is she saw something that she thought was a child, pulled over, and stumbled across something nefarious happening, and got pulled in to the woods. I can't see how she disappeared in to thin air of her own accord with no clues left behind

My personal theory is a variation on this. Just my opinion, of course.

Someone realizes their child is gone, and they're absolutely freaking out. They finally track him to the road, and see this child speaking to a random stranger standing there with an open car door. <modsnip>

The stranger reacts, and hits her or something similar, maybe with a heavy flashlight (?) causing her to scream and drop her phone. They panic and drag her body into the woods, and eventually back to their house, just before cops get there.

Granted, this is complicated and it requires a ton of things to go a very specific, lucky way for the perpetrator, but I can't think of anything else that fits the fact pattern. The only other thing that makes sense is a mental breakdown, but then I still can't figure out why she hasn't been found. This isn't Maura Murray in rural New Hampshire; it's a wealthy suburb in an MSA of 1m+ people.

 

[duckcat]

For those who are putting a lot of stock into the abduction theory, let's flesh that out. How would that work exactly?

Were they in a vehicle? If so, why don't we see it?

If there's no other vehicles present, would the abductors hide in the woods? If so, how did they know someone was gonna pull over in that exact spot on the interstate?

Did they know her or was this random? If they knew her, why did they target her on a busy interstate rather than at her home or near her place of employment? And as I asked above, how did they know she was gonna stop in that exact spot?

Nothing with the abduction theory makes any sense AT ALL.

If whatever person or object that she saw was near that area, they know that’s where she would stop. As for where or how, the area that she stopped her car is less than 500 ft from a totally separate neighborhood and road, right through a clearing. It could take as few as 2-3 minutes on foot to reach the road.

A long stretch of land leading up to this point blocks the neighborhood with a steep hill (3rd image attached) but the land levels out right where she parked, opening up to a clearing with houses visible. Seems like an intentional area.

 

[goofreak]

What doesn't match up for you?

I didn’t say it doesn’t match up. I said it does match up, but until we have some sort of confirmation about it, we shouldn’t just assume it’s factual when it could be explained away in some other fashion.

The only thing that doesn’t make sense is the extremely short amount of time between the last time we “see” her and when we see LE in frame. It’s not even enough time to get an unwilling person out of earshot. So… if that’s her car in the video I’m thinking that she was either dead before LE showed up, or was somehow prevented from making noise. Or, she left willingly. I just don’t think people would have been able to get her body out of the area and not been caught in that timeframe.

MOO

 

[ArmchairDefective]

Edit: link for traffic cam

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birmingham.trafficcamarchive.com

Thanks very much for the pictures. They're super helpful for context.

My best guess at this point is a hit and run after Carlee pulled over to investigate whatever it was she saw or thought she saw. I'm praying, however, that she simply wandered off and will be found safe somewhere soon.

 

[youreinmybubble]

Is there a camera further up the highway where the car is coming from? Could it be possible everything - if anything - happened off camera and then moved up to make a scene?

 

[Van Helsing]

Jumping off this post:
Post in thread 'AL - Carlethia “Carlee” Russell, 25, 911 call reported toddler walking on side of interstate, car found, she & toddler gone, Birmingham, 13 Jul ‘23' AL - AL - Carlethia “Carlee” Russell, 25, 911 call reported toddler walking on side of interstate, car found, she & toddler gone, Birmingham, 13 Jul ‘23

It shows another car parked further in front of Carlee's -- pulled all the way over into the grass.

If that was someone up to no good, could they have grabbed her, gotten her in their car, and driven off? If so, she could be anywhere. And that's maybe why there isn't sign of her in the wooded area. Imo.

As far as who or why someone would do this (especially not knowing who would pull over or stop, if anyone), I have no ideas.

I think that's the reflector at the start of the guard rail.

Google Map View

 

[DrQ]

IMHO This is sad and disturbing. In the early stages of cases, information is limited and many times confusing. They have the 911 call. Anything may have happened. There have been cases where a person helping ends up being hurt or abducted. Hope she is found safe.

 

[T4Tide]

I called an investigator yesterday with info about a vehicle/person we saw beside the road on 459 prior to this happening with Carlee between 8:30-9pm. My kids (20,16, and 9) nor I could remember the exact location and it was nothing nefarious… just a car with a guy standing outside the passenger side door. We also were on the last leg of a 10hr drive back from Disney World so things kinda all ran together in our minds. I decided to call anyway to describe the guy we saw just in case it correlated in anyway. I have not gotten a return call from anyone.

Having driven this area plenty of times, I promise that the flow of traffic in the video is deceiving. While it was misting rain, traffic is much more swift than it appears there. Just being on the side of the road would make you nervous.

I don’t know what to think, but I do know that the likelihood of someone placing a “bait” child walking down this particular interstate and “catching” the exact type of desirable person (attractive, young, and most of all alone) is slim to none. There are thousands of drug users, runaways, etc in this area that make excellent candidates for trafficking victims. Contrary to the popular social media driven perception, traffickers don’t want someone everyone is going to be searching for in 3 minutes. That’s WAY too much trouble.

 

[Knox]

TCA | Select Video

Browse video for a camera. Add hours of video to your shopping cart.

birmingham.trafficcamarchive.com

The preview shows frames taken from 8 or 9 points during the hour time period.

If you click on preview 9-10 pm, and advance through to a frame taken at 9:39, you see a car pulled off in the spot that is the same as the video that was posted. That car wasn't there in the frame from 9:34. Advance forward to 9:44, and the cop lights are there.

The reason this is relevant is because if you go to this morning's video from that spot:

TCA | Select Video

Browse video for a camera. Add hours of video to your shopping cart.

birmingham.trafficcamarchive.com

You see multiple people and cars pulled over in that same area looking like searchers between 10 a.m. and 11:30 am today. Seems to be way too much of a coincidence that searchers would be in that exact location today that matches the video footage that popped up last night if it wasn't pertaining to Carlee.

Thanks for the tip, here's the shot. But why would we be surprised that the family and/or LE are back at the scene searching today?

 

[vls12345]

I think that's the reflector at the start of the guard rail.

Google Map View

Possibly but I am not sure because in the nighttime traffic cam still the gray thing looks like it's before the blue sign. But the map photo shows the guard rail after the blue sign.

I am hoping to view the videos and still shots later today on a bigger, better screen.

MOO.

 

[Knox]

I called an investigator yesterday with info about a vehicle/person we saw beside the road on 459 prior to this happening with Carlee between 8:30-9pm. My kids (20,16, and 9) nor I could remember the exact location and it was nothing nefarious… just a car with a guy standing outside the passenger side door. We also were on the last leg of a 10hr drive back from Disney World so things kinda all ran together in our minds. I decided to call anyway to describe the guy we saw just in case it correlated in anyway. I have not gotten a return call from anyone.

Having driven this area plenty of times, I promise that the flow of traffic in the video is deceiving. While it was misting rain, traffic is much more swift than it appears there. Just being on the side of the road would make you nervous.

I don’t know what to think, but I do know that the likelihood of someone placing a “bait” child walking down this particular interstate and “catching” the exact type of desirable person (attractive, young, and most of all alone) is slim to none. There are thousands of drug users, runaways, etc in this area that make excellent candidates for trafficking victims. Contrary to the popular social media driven perception, traffickers don’t want someone everyone is going to be searching for in 3 minutes. That’s WAY too much trouble.

Thank you for giving us your boots on the ground report!! Are there homeless living in any of that area? Are you familar with the neighborhood on the other side of the wooded area?

 

[Cubby]

My feeling on this right now is that she saw something on the side of the road that appeared to be a child, exited, got back on the highway, and then slowed, put on hazards, and pulled off on the shoulder to locate that spot again to check and see if it really was a child. IMO, this is my speculation only, it may have actually been an adult sitting or crouching in the tall grass instead but the short height made her initially think child.

I don't necessarily think this person would have been sitting there waiting to abduct someone or hurt someone. But perhaps it was someone who had either been up to no good/done something they shouldn't have or was not in their right mind and when she got out and approached them, they freaked out and attacked her. With how dark it was, I don't find it odd that no one else saw this happen. Not only was it dark, but when driving on a highway, your eyes would likely be on the road. I guess a passenger may have looked over that direction, but would they have seen anything? MOO

Plausible, but how could she be attacked and LE not find evidence of a struggle near the car?

 

[crussell821]

There are people who are not found for *years* after running away from a vehicle into the woods. Have you heard of Maura Murray? Missing since Feburary 2004. Brandon Lawson? Missing since 2013.

Let's not assume she's dead so quickly, but in that unfortunate event, it's not necessarily true you would be found quickly. Not at all.

A side note, but they found Brandon Lawson’s presumed remains last year.

Family Says The Remains Of A Man Who Called 911 Then Vanished In 2013 Have Been Found | Oxygen Official Site

The conclusion of a Texas man’s bizarre 2013 disappearance may have finally arrived, according to the family.

www.oxygen.com

 

[Knox]

I don't think there would have been any kind of stationary object involved, considering all of the news reports I've seen indicate that Carlee reported a child "walking" (not "standing") along the highway. That said, I don't think there was a child involved here at all -- my opinion is that Carlee either saw something that wasn't real (e.g. a hallucination) or mistook something else for a child (e.g. an adult or an animal).

(Edit: This was supposed to be in response to dotr's earlier post but I forgot to attach the quote)

WBRC’s Jonathan Skinner spoke with Russell’s family Friday morning. That interview is below:
Scroll down to video at very bottom of page, listen to what Carlee's Mom describes.

Carlee Russell turns herself in to the Hoover City Jail, charged with 2 misdemeanors

The Hoover Police Department released new details in their investigation of what happened between Carlee Russell’s disappearance last Thursday night, July 13, and her return home on Saturday night, July 15.

www.wbrc.com