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

[Knox]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1422239078570082

Let's try this PC link.

 

[MrsWatson]

I think something is off here, maybe Carlee had a psychotic break, seems like she is under a lot of stress. That is an expensive car she is driving wonder if she has to make payments.

Could you please provide the link to what type of car she was driving? I haven't seen that mentioned in any of the articles. TIA.

 

[Knox]

Video at link below: Carlee Russell's family describes her

Interview with Carlee's parents (midway down the page).

Carlee Russell facing misdemeanor charges after lying to law enforcement

"Actions can have consequences and that's why we're here today," Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said.

www.wvtm13.com

I'm mystified, I just can't believe this is a random abduction. Some are questioning whether there was really a child, but she called 911 to report it, then called a family member who heard her speaking to a child. Then the scream and ...

Her car was left running, her wig & cell phone found outside her vehicle. The trucker who reported seeing a gray car and a man standing there. All that points to an abduction. Again I'll ask - is there anyone who Carlee had a recent conflict with or breakup? Has she mentioned to any girlfriends that someone was giving her creepy vibes?

 

[NervousNellie]

Video at link below: Carlee Russell's family describes her

Interview with Carlee's parents (midway down the page).

Carlee Russell facing misdemeanor charges after lying to law enforcement

"Actions can have consequences and that's why we're here today," Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said.

www.wvtm13.com

I'm mystified, I just can't believe this is a random abduction. Some are questioning whether there was really a child, but she called 911 to report it, then called a family member who heard her speaking to a child. Then the scream and ...

Her car was left running, her wig & cell phone found outside her vehicle. The trucker who reported seeing a gray car and a man standing there. All that points to an abduction. Again I'll ask - is there anyone who Carlee had a recent conflict with or breakup? Has she mentioned to any girlfriends that someone was giving her creepy vibes?

For clarification, it's reported by her family member that they only heard Carlee speaking to a child. No reply from a child was heard over the phone, just a scream after she asked the question.

Search continues for Carlee Russell: Woman vanished in Hoover after reporting child walking on I-459

Russell reportedly stopped to check on the child and has not been heard from since.

www.al.com

“My son’s girlfriend heard her asking the child, ‘Are you Ok? She never heard the child say anything but then she heard our daughter scream,’’ Talitha Russell said. “From there all you hear on her phone is background noise from the interstate.”

 

[modesty blaise]

Would a toddler answer to are you ok?
Something is really off. Someone older but dressed as a kid maybe? Could be she thought she saw a child for what ever reason and a predator just happened to be nearby?

 

[NervousNellie]

I'm confused by the timing... when did she pull over? did she turn around at some point to go back? (wouldn't she have to?) if you were driving down the highway you'd be going pretty fast, and it's not like you'd see a toddler on the side of the road from afar - at least at 9:30 at night. So by the time you figure out what you've seen, you've already gone by. Why didn't the 911 operator keep her on the phone if she was already pulling over at that point?

 

[ElizB]

I'm mystified, I just can't believe this is a random abduction. Some are questioning whether there was really a child, but she called 911 to report it, then called a family member who heard her speaking to a child. Then the scream and ...

I think the family member heard her speak to the child but didn’t hear the child reply. That said, there were signs of a struggle and her car was still running when the police found it.

 

[Alibaba25]

Interstate 459 where she pulled over would not have the ability to turn around. Exit 10 which was where she was heading is a big and busy exit, and the exit before does not have a quick reentry. It would take 10-12 minutes minimum to turn around where she was.

 

[Knox]

I've edited my post, the PC was already posted.

 

[Knox]

I think the family member heard her speak to the child but didn’t hear the child reply. That said, there were signs of a struggle and her car was still running when the police found it.

Here's a direct quote, I didn't mention that there was a reply from the child in my post.

“In the process at some point she got out of the car and my daughter-in-law could hear her asking the child if they were OK. The child did not respond, or at least she did not hear her respond, he or she respond. And then she heard our daughter Carlee scream and from there on all we could hear was noise...background noise in her phone which we later found out was noise from the interstate,” said Talitha Russell.

‘We are trusting God’: Family of 25-year-old woman possibly abducted staying positive

Police say officers who were already en route to the location of the initial 911 call located the woman’s vehicle and some of her belongings nearby, but were unable to find her or a child in the area.

www.wbrc.com

 

[Knox]

Angela Harris awoke Friday morning to the news that a young woman in Hoover was missing.

It was a gut-punch, a feeling she knows all-too-well.

And, like she has done repeatedly since her daughter, Aniah Blanchard, was abducted and murdered nearly four years ago, Harris jumped into action.

She quickly rallied her troops, and she got in touch with Talitha and Carlos Russell, parents of 25-year-old Carlee Russell who vanished overnight in Hoover.

A volunteer command post was set up in the parking lot of the Hoover Met. Harris helped lead a community search in the area where Carlee’s red Mercedes was found running, but vacant, on the side of Interstate 459 Thursday night.

Aniah Blanchard’s mother aids in Carlee Russell search, knows ‘the pain they’re going through’

Russell, 25, vanished when she said she stopped to check on a child she saw walking alone on I-459 in Hoover.

www.al.com

Someone asked about Carlee's car earlier-

 

[Knox]

I'm confused by the timing... when did she pull over? did she turn around at some point to go back? (wouldn't she have to?) if you were driving down the highway you'd be going pretty fast, and it's not like you'd see a toddler on the side of the road from afar - at least at 9:30 at night. So by the time you figure out what you've seen, you've already gone by. Why didn't the 911 operator keep her on the phone if she was already pulling over at that point?

<modsnip: not an approved source>

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

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

I think something is off here, maybe Carlee had a psychotic break, seems like she is under a lot of stress. That is an expensive car she is driving wonder if she has to make payments.

In my (expert) opinion, this is not what a psychotic break looks like.

 

[airportwoman]

Would a toddler answer to are you ok?
Something is really off. Someone older but dressed as a kid maybe? Could be she thought she saw a child for what ever reason and a predator just happened to be nearby?

I was thinking, perhaps a child-sized doll or mannequin? It would be hard to tell if they were "real" or not at 65mph, especially if you're not expecting to see one.

 

[GooseyPie]

BeginnerSleuther, You are right! I now think it was something planned, probably a lover involved, maybe a pregnancy.

 

[justinkjones1993]

In my (expert) opinion, this is not what a psychotic break looks like.

Well what would a psychotic break look like?

Because to me this is exactly the kind of thing that would happen. Woman gets very paranoid, starts seeing things that aren't there, calls the authorities, see something else that isn't there and takes off into the woods.

I went to college with a young woman who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and one night she had a psychotic break on campus, she was banging on dorm windows screaming for someone to save her because "they're trying to rape and eat me". The cameras were checked the next day and she literally was just running around the campus out of nowhere.

Carlee is 25 years old which is almost exactly the age range where schizophrenia starts to present.

That's my theory until someone else can verify they saw a small child on the side of the interstate. I just find it hard to believe on 459 nobody else would see that. Or see an abduction taking place for that matter.p

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

This definitely sounds like a mental health break.

It truly does not.

It would be an insanely risky and bizarre tactic to place a child on the side of a busy interstate on the offhand chance a young attractive woman stops to help. People could call the police, the child could be run over, cops could spot the child and so on. And trust me, 459 is extremely busy. Nobody else saw a kid. Definitely don't think this is trafficking.

There are plenty of examples of people going through mental health breaks that see things that are not there and some even call 911 reporting it.

I would be checking the woods nearby.....

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.

 

[caradana]

In a world where I hope we are all working toward eliminating stigma: I gently lend my opinion that this case is strongly suggestive of mental health crisis. In some ways that would be the best outcome: I hope searchers find her nearby. If my opinion is wrong, and there is foul play at hand here, I pray the offender is quickly caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent. If I lived nearby I would join this search.

 

[nikki80]

I just heard about this case because someone retweeted it and I came rushing here. I pray they find Carlee. This is so scary.

 

[Knox]

“The family member lost contact with her, but the line remained open,” according to the release.

Russell’s mom told the AL.com that her daughter was on the phone with her brother’s girlfriend as she pulled off the highway to check on the child, who looked to be around three or four years old.

“Her car door was open, the engine was running, and they found her phone on the ground, along with her wig and her hat,’’ Talitha said. “Her purse was still in the car. Her Apple watch was in her purse and her AirPods as well.”

Alabama Woman is Missing After Calling 911 to Report a Child Alone Along the Interstate | Oxygen Official Site

Learn more about Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell, who called 911 to report a child on the side of the highway in Alabama, and then disappeared.

www.oxygen.com

Few different details in this article-

• Mentions age of child, not exactly a toddler.
• Apple watch & Airpods were in her purse.

Someone earlier asked if her watch were removed to prevent tracking. Looks like she had it in her purse though.