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

[Gardenista]

It truly does not.



This does not sound like a hallucination. She screamed. Her hat and wig were left on the ground. Her car was left running, the engine is running, a witness claims another vehicle was seen at the scene.

The people who have a psychotic break often don't just see things (and they certainly don't see a fully formed child walking along the road). Generally, it's AUDITORY hallucinations first. They hear things that aren't there and if they see things, it's generally scary things. In medicine, if someone has new onset visual hallucinations, it's a neurological issue (not mental health) until proven otherwise. That means you rule out seizures, brain tumors, etc before you even consider mental health causes. In some cases, it's a mental health issue, but in the vast majority of the cases, it post-dates auditory disturbances OR is part of a PTSD picture rather than an actual first-break psychosis picture.

Now could she have had auditory hallucinations too that we don't know about? Sure, but I'd expect that would have been disclosed or language would have centered around her having mental health issues. Instead, LE and family seem to indicate foul play is suspected and IMO, I believe that's way more plausible.

You might want to research the Teleka Patrick case.

 

[tara83]

I think it's way too early to diagnose mental health problems when we know nothing about this woman.

 

[caradana]

I think it's way too early to diagnose mental health problems when we know nothing about this woman.

No one is diagnosing. Some are postulating. I am confident police will consider every possibility, and I am confident we are capable of talking about this without throwing the old-school shame shade into it. If she had a mental health crisis, would we judge? I like to think we’d exhibit giant compassion and post words of support.

 

[DAMages]

You might want to research the Teleka Patrick case.

Yes, but in that case, Patrick's mental illness was established and documented for years (it contributed to her divorce; it got her a restraining order filed against her). There's no indication Carlee had those ongoing problems. And what @BeginnerSleuther is offering is a doctor's perspective on what the first onset of that kind of crisis might look like. Not that it's impossible, just that it's super unlikely to come out of nowhere with that presentation. I think that's valuable information.

 

[Inthedetails]

No one is diagnosing. Some are postulating. I am confident police will consider every possibility, and I am confident we are capable of talking about this without throwing the old-school shame shade into it. If she had a mental health crisis, would we judge? I like to think we’d exhibit giant compassion and post words of support.

With gentleness, I will say that WS in my long experience are not judgmental about mental breaks, mental health issues, etc. In fact, I could honestly say I've become even more compassionate and ready to recognize mental-health related issues because of what I've learned on WS, and I think I was pretty compassionate to begin with. WSers are victim friendly, as I'm sure you know.

My opinion and observation.

 

[caradana]

With gentleness, I will say that WS in my long experience are not judgmental about mental breaks, mental health issues, etc. In fact, I could honestly say I've become even more compassionate and ready to recognize mental-health related issues because of what I've learned on WS, and I think I was pretty compassionate to begin with. WSers are victim friendly, as I'm sure you know.

My opinion and observation.

Agree totally!!!

 

[Gardenista]

Yes, but in that case, Patrick's mental illness was established and documented for years (it contributed to her divorce; it got her a restraining order filed against her). There's no indication Carlee had those ongoing problems. And what @BeginnerSleuther is offering is a doctor's perspective on what the first onset of that kind of crisis might look like. Not that it's impossible, just that it's super unlikely to come out of nowhere with that presentation. I think that's valuable information.

I should have been more clear. I was referring to the symptoms.

 

[Gardenista]

With gentleness, I will say that WS in my long experience are not judgmental about mental breaks, mental health issues, etc. In fact, I could honestly say I've become even more compassionate and ready to recognize mental-health related issues because of what I've learned on WS, and I think I was pretty compassionate to begin with. WSers are victim friendly, as I'm sure you know.

My opinion and observation.

Same and I'm accustomed to getting killed on threads when I sympathize with crimes committed by those with MH issues. I just take the hits and roll with it now lol.

 

[caradana]

Same and I'm accustomed to getting killed on threads when I sympathize with crimes committed by those with MH issues. I just roll with it now lol.

I like the idea that America, evolved people in America, are now in a place where we can talk about the possibility of mental health crisis without it being viewed as victim shaming or as throwing shade or blame at a missing person. Culture has come a long way on this, at least where I live (reasonably enlightened geography with people who care) … I hope we can talk about this case without shutting down mental health crisis as an avenue of inquiry. We are better sleuthers when we can talk about it openly.

 

[Knox]

With gentleness, I will say that WS in my long experience are not judgmental about mental breaks, mental health issues, etc. In fact, I could honestly say I've become even more compassionate and ready to recognize mental-health related issues because of what I've learned on WS, and I think I was pretty compassionate to begin with. WSers are victim friendly, as I'm sure you know.

My opinion and observation.

I searched for shade and judgement, found nothing of the sort. Thanks for posting this.

Wonder if LE will give an update this evening? Hoping valuable tips are pouring in, I've also thought maybe someone had something on their drive cam theat could help. Locals are saying this is a busy highway!!

 

[TTF14]

How about we just remove the stigma of the disease and treat it like any other disease that could have an affect on her. If she had just had knee surgery, it would be a possible factor (ie. she could have fallen). Nobody's criticizing her.

 

[Knox]

Before she disappeared Thursday night in Hoover, Carlee Russell was in Harpersville, where she left police officers there with an impression of a “smart, courteous” woman despite a brief interaction, the town’s police department said Friday.

“We were honored to spend time with this smart, courteous and honoring young woman yesterday,” the department said on social media. “She was handling some business in the Town of Harpersville yesterday and we were so impressed by her respect, poise, good attitude and her drive to become a nursing student and help others.”

Carlee Russell left imprint on Alabama police department before going missing

"We were able to tell her how much we thought of her and that she would do well in life," the Harpersville Police Department said.

www.al.com

 

[Knox]

Harpersville Police Department​

We were honored to spend time with this smart, courteous and honoring young woman yesterday. She was handling some business in the Town of Harpersville yesterday and we were so impressed by her respect, poise, good attitude and her drive to become a nursing student and help others.

We were able to tell her how much we thought of her and that she would do well in life.

When this news broke, so did our hearts. This world needs many many more young women and young men like her.
Our hearts are anxiously awaiting hopeful news while our prayers are with her family, friends and community. Please join us in prayer for her safe return.

 

[tara83]

I just don't get good vibes with this at all sad to say.I think someone grabbed her and have vibes of the Memphis case.

 

[Knox]

Curious if Carlee was handling business at the HPD Office yesterday? Is that what the post implies, or just that she was IN Harpersville yesterday and interacted with an officer in a non-official capacity?

 

[Arkay]

I would certainly not argue mental health with @BeginnerSleuther, as I am not a physician.

However, I’m wondering if Carlee did in fact suffer an auditory hallucination, perhaps for the first time and therefore undiagnosed?

IMO anything nefarious could have occurred here. I am speculating that if she did in fact hear voices, she may have thought she was being told to tear off her own wig and hat, or “heard” something that made her bolt out of the car and leave the engine running and the car door open.

Something definitely seems to have terrified her.

It could be that after little Émile in France, I just don’t want to believe there is an epidemic of toddlers walking alone and going missing.

The circumstances here, on a highway, IMO preclude that there was an actual toddler there.

 

[GooseyPie]

Harpersville Police Department​

We were honored to spend time with this smart, courteous and honoring young woman yesterday. She was handling some business in the Town of Harpersville yesterday and we were so impressed by her respect, poise, good attitude and her drive to become a nursing student and help others.

We were able to tell her how much we thought of her and that she would do well in life.

When this news broke, so did our hearts. This world needs many many more young women and young men like her.
Our hearts are anxiously awaiting hopeful news while our prayers are with her family, friends and community. Please join us in prayer for her safe return.

This is really odd.

 

[tara83]

This is really odd.

Why?

 

[AubrieC]

<modsnip: not an approved source>

Can a local spot a camera in the area? ALGO Traffic

The coordinates where the police are at currently (based off of this tweet) is: 33.364629, -86.843675
Just copy paste that into google maps. Its not a forestry area but its def a bit wooded. There is shopping centers and neighborhoods just beyond the trees. The restaurant, Taziki's is a 9 minute drive to this spot. The current time for sunset is
7:58 PM and it doesn't look like there are street lights on the highway? So it could've possibly be kinda dark out there at 9:30pm? I'm sure locals could chime in about that.

However, I'm curious as to why she didn't stay on the line with the 911 operator and contacted her family on the phone instead. I wonder what she told the operator.

What worries me a little bit is the possibility of the child being bait, as a few of you have mentioned. As bizzare as that is.

Clip from this article: Alabama - htcourts.org.
"Human trafficking is a big deal across Alabama. It is a significant issue in Birmingham, the state, and the region. Human trafficking is not only confined to the 1-20 corridor, as suggested by many media reports. This vice is spread across Alabama, in vast cities and rural areas, occurring in several variations. According to the Global Slavery Index, there is an estimate of more than 6000 human trafficking victims every day in Alabama, including forced labor and sex trafficking."

In November 2022, an undercover human trafficking operation in West Alabama was discovered and 6 people were arrested. That's my biggest concern for Carlee right now.

6 people arrested after undercover human trafficking operation in West Alabama

The West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force conducted a two-month undercover human trafficking operation that led to the arrest of six men on 12 felony charges.

www.wbrc.com

 

[caradana]

Why?

Because drawing the attention of a police department in a smaller town is an event in itself. She was engaged in some activity that drew their notice. This isn’t like a pick up a prescription and buy a chapstick kind of interaction. It was probably positive, but it was also probably uncommon and memorable.