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]

This is what I'm thinking. Three options.

1) into another vehicle. If there's a camera, which there clearly is, they'd be able to see that someone else stopped and left again between her and the police.
2) ran across 459 and disappeared on the other side. Very hard to do safely judging from the video, and would be on camera.
3) went into the woods. Is either still there or went into the neighborhood on the other side. Why go into the woods? Either you are following someone, you are fleeing, or you are forced. From the loss of the wig and hat, moo is that it's one of the second two. A struggle and she escapes briefly and runs that way, or a weapon is on her and she complies. Who forced her or who did she run from? Someone who was already there, since there's no other car arriving. How did they get there? They came from the woods.

Are there homeless in that area? What a random thing to stop on the side of the highway and have someone lying in wait. Mind boggling.

 

[Chili Fries]

I think it's very likely that the "man" the truck driver saw next to Carlee's car was actually Carlee herself. At about 1:15 of the video a truck passes by while Carlee is right next to the passenger side of her car.

 

[Mrs Parrott]

I just looked her up, she's not licensed yet in Alabama.

I saw on her social media that she started nursing school in January, after being rejected by the first two schools she applied to.

 

[MsPooh]

While watching the video, at 3:40-3:50 ish there are some weird random lights coming towards the camera from behind her car..it drives down the hill a bit further away from the road and has like an ATV headlight or something. The lights do not appear at any other time in the video, so I don't think they are reflections of any kind. This is terrifying and I hope and pray she is ok.

 

[marloweclover]

Are there homeless in that area? What a random thing to stop on the side of the highway and have someone lying in wait. Mind boggling.

I wouldn't call it a bad neighborhood. If you look at Google street view of roughly 4950 Sulphur Springs Road, Hoover, you'll get a sense for it. Could there be homeless in the woods, sure, but it's not a place I'd assume they had encampments.

 

[Knox]

I think it's very likely that the "man" the truck driver saw next to Carlee's car was actually Carlee herself. At about 1:15 of the video a truck passes by while Carlee is right next to the passenger side of her car.

But he said the man was in a gray car? There was no car seen in the video.

 

[Fuhgetabouddit]

As far as I remember the witness reported seeing two cars and a man, but Carlee was not in sight. So this dude might be a suspect, but I doubt it, you do not chilli around the car of a person you just kidnapped, you leave area with your victim in tow as fast as possible.

It's more probable the brown skinned man was just a concerned citizen, who stopped seeing an abandoned car, checked the situation and then, for whatever reason decided to leave without calling the LE.

This seems impossible now that the video has come out. From the moment she stops until the time LE arrived, no other cars were visible. Once LE arrived, I am certain they never left her car unattended.

 

[vls12345]

I think she had to have driven by, thought she saw a child, exited to go around (while calling LE), then by the time she went back an exit and was re-approaching the "sighting" area, she pulled over with her hazards flashing as she slowly drove along to find what she had previously spotted. That's the impression I have based on the video; I feel like she drives on the shoulder for a bit because of that. MOO.

I wonder if LE would be able to identify her car in other cameras at the exits she would have used if she did go around?

Did they bring any kind of search dog out to try to follow a path through the woods? Have they completely canvassed the neighborhoods through the trees, any camera footage those houses may have had, etc.?

 

[Fuhgetabouddit]

While watching the video, at 3:40-3:50 ish there are some weird random lights coming towards the camera from behind her car..it drives down the hill a bit further away from the road and has like an ATV headlight or something. The lights do not appear at any other time in the video, so I don't think they are reflections of any kind. This is terrifying and I hope and pray she is ok.

That is the blinker reflection from another car. Look to the left of flowing traffic, it’s in sync.

 

[Mrs Parrott]

Something is odd about this though. There’s no reports of any other calls about a child walking beside the interstate. I suppose police could be keeping quiet about that but why? If there were multiple reports it would lend credence to what she supposedly saw and place even more urgency on the situation. If there were multiple calls and when they arrive there’s no child and a missing woman whose car and belongings were still there, wouldn’t there be more urgency? I don’t know, maybe I’m just naive but it seems like they’d be going about this differently if there was evidence of a child missing too. Then we have video now of her car stopping with no one else around, no child anywhere that I can see and no other car pulling over until the police arrive. It’s just odd. I don’t know if this is a mental break, some kind of drug induced psychosis (also seems unlikely) or a staged disappearance but at least from the video it doesn’t look like there’s anyone else involved. That is, if that IS her vehicle stopping.

Something about this is reminding me of the young college student in Baton Rouge who parked her car on the Mississippi River bridge, and jumped off the bridge. It wasn't psychosis, but depression, feelings of failure, and not being good enough. Initially, everyone chimed in with crazy theories of abduction, but there was a lot law enforcement held back. That said, foul play is also very plausible.

 

[Fuhgetabouddit]

I think she had to have driven by, thought she saw a child, exited to go around (while calling LE), then by the time she went back an exit and was re-approaching the "sighting" area, she pulled over with her hazards flashing as she slowly drove along to find what she had previously spotted. That's the impression I have based on the video; I feel like she drives on the shoulder for a bit because of that. MOO.

I wonder if LE would be able to identify her car in other cameras at the exits she would have used if she did go around?

Did they bring any kind of search dog out to try to follow a path through the woods? Have they completely canvassed the neighborhoods through the trees, any camera footage those houses may have had, etc.?

If LE are giving us the correct timeline that they arrived to her in under 4 minutes, that means she was just then making that phone call to them on the shoulder with her hazards flashing. And would’ve also called her brothers girlfriend as the video plays on.

 

[vls12345]

It's also possible the report by the trucker was a mistake. I just don't give that report much weight at this point after seeing the video. Imo.

 

[Knox]

I think she had to have driven by, thought she saw a child, exited to go around (while calling LE), then by the time she went back an exit and was re-approaching the "sighting" area, she pulled over with her hazards flashing as she slowly drove along to find what she had previously spotted. That's the impression I have based on the video; I feel like she drives on the shoulder for a bit because of that. MOO.

I wonder if LE would be able to identify her car in other cameras at the exits she would have used if she did go around?

Did they bring any kind of search dog out to try to follow a path through the woods? Have they completely canvassed the neighborhoods through the trees, any camera footage those houses may have had, etc.?

But she was on the phone with brothers girlfriend. She heard Carlee talking to the child, but didn’t hear a response. So where does that fit in with what we saw in the video?

 

[Mobilian]

You can definitely see a shadow of someone walking towards her car shortly after she parks and walks to the passenger side. They come from behind and the reflection can be seen on the blue sign that's lists gas stations, restaurants, etc. There could have been a car parked just outside of the camera angle.

 

[vls12345]

But she was on the phone with brothers girlfriend. She heard Carlee talking to the child, but didn’t hear a response. So where does that fit in with what we saw in the video?

Could she have called LE while she was going around, hanging up with them after reporting the sighting? Then calling her brother's girlfriend while she is driving on the shoulder and getting out of the car/asking the child a question/screaming and dropping her phone?

 

[Chili Fries]

But she was on the phone with brothers girlfriend. She heard Carlee talking to the child, but didn’t hear a response. So where does that fit in with what we saw in the video?

An obvious possibility is that there was no child and that Carlee was having a delusional episode. Not say that's definitely what happened but it fits with the video and Carlee could still be alive, confused and vulnerable to danger even if she hasn't met with nefarious activity.

 

[Knox]

Could she have called LE while she was going around, hanging up with them after reporting the sighting? Then calling her brother's girlfriend while she is driving on the shoulder and getting out of the car/asking the child a question/screaming and dropping her phone?

Here’s the link. ‘We are trusting God’: Family of 25-year-old woman possibly abducted staying positive

I think it fits what is seen in the video? Your thoughts?

 

[neesaki]

MOO... could what she saw have been a preexisting situation? The problem came through the trees from the neighborhood and once she got involved, she followed or was taken back that way? It's July in Alabama, I'm originally from within 50 miles of right there, and that's going to be some dense, nasty vegetation, but it's possible there's a trail through known to those who have reason to use it. It's not actually very far to the other side.

From the photo shown earlier, I can’t imagine anyone walking off through that thick, dense wooded area. No telling what varmints, snakes, etc. are hanging out in there! Also, Is it swampy? Either way I also can’t imagine anyone hiding out in there to abduct someone either.
So how did she disappear?
It’s baffling …..I‘m at a total loss.

 

[ConfusedPopsicle]

Something about this is reminding me of the young college student in Baton Rouge who parked her car on the Mississippi River bridge, and jumped off the bridge. It wasn't psychosis, but depression, feelings of failure, and not being good enough. Initially, everyone chimed in with crazy theories of abduction, but there was a lot law enforcement held back. That said, foul play is also very plausible.

I think law enforcement is holding back but it does look like foul play imo. Looking at the screenshots posted earlier it seems there were other people there. The video threw me off at first but I think it’s just my phone not being as clear. This is really scary, praying she’s found safe soon!

 

[katydid23]

I don't think she was delusional or having a breakdown----she had just finished a shift at work and stopped and picked up takeout---I don't think there were any reports that she was having mental issues during that time.