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

[StarryStarryNight]

Just some rambling thoughts.

—I just really cannot fathom a child as a lure to try to get someone to stop. Too many variables, too many eyes.
—A homeless person would be the only possibility of someone just being there when she pulled over and taking advantage of that situation. But I think she would have been found fairly quickly. Where is a homeless person going to take her?
—a mental break of some sort does not explain why she is gone. If she had such a break, took her wig off, walked off confused and needing help, it seems to me she would have been found quickly wandering around very close by.
—her car is there, but she is not. She had to have left or was taken away by a car to disappear that quickly. I hope LE is checking security video of that immediate area and the entrance ramps back into the interstate.

I’m praying she is found quickly whatever the circumstances.

 

[MntnHiker]

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

 

[helpfulcharlie]

I hope LE will be able to enhance these videos enough to try to get something more out of them. They theoretically should be able to match the timelines up of the call and the video

I have a feeling that if someone took the existing video and simply removed the frames where her hazards are on full brightness, you might get a video with more continuity regarding what's going on around the vehicle. The hazards in this video are extremely distracting. I'd try it myself if I had time.

 

[lizziginne]

I'm a paediatric doctor, and if I thought I saw a child on the side of the road I'd loop back and look again. I've done it for animals previously.
Nothing in this says psychosis - as many others have said you don't just start a psychotic break with hallucinating a child. Psychosis has an insidious onset, with abnormal behaviour and noticeable symptoms of paranoia and/or agitation prior to the start of hallucinations. Even then visual hallucinations are a very late signs with auditory hallucinations starting first.
Doesn't seem a planned/voluntary disappearance because why call 911?
Acute drug ingestion/drug induced psychosis is possible, but I think unlikely given Carlee had recently started nursing school, and appeared to work hard to get herself there.
Which leaves foul play or an accident, and I think there would be good evidence of an accident. Highly suspicious that this was some sort of lure to get someone of pull over, or she stumbled upon something she wasn't meant to see

 

[Lucy6226]

If you look at the preview for the 10am to 11am feed from today, you can see that some people are out searching. I hope they find some clues.

Eta: If you look for the previews/footage from the 13th, the footage from 5pm to 8pm is not available.

Eta: Previews from the night of the 13th seem to show police lights for a couple of hours.

On the morning of the 14th, starting with the 9am time frame, you can see a large search effort.

I wonder why the footage between 5-8 is not available? Police might have a potential suspect IMO

In the Sarah Everard case WEs saw a car pulled over with hazard lights on via traffic cams. It was a white car so was dismissed as WC had a black car. However the footage was removed and turned out it was his hire car.

 

[vls12345]

I wonder why the footage between 5-8 is not available? Police might have a potential suspect IMO

I had the same thought.

 

[justice_hunter]

So according to the released video we have:

- Carlee's vehicle traveling for a long distance with hazard lights flashing.
- No other vehicles pulling over near her.
- No gray car or man.
- No child visible.
- No visible abduction or struggle taking place.
- Carlee moving around the vehicle and disappearing shortly after.

To me, if we're going to talk about an abduction, you need to present some evidence that it took place. So far, there's none. The fact that there were that many vehicles on the interstate at that time, I just can't suspend my disbelief enough to think a violent abduction was taking place where they slapped off her wig and watch, and presumably stuffed her in a vehicle, and nobody reported seeing this. Nor did they report seeing the supposed child.

I don't understand why so many people here are being dismissive of the psychotic break theory when we've seen cases almost exactly like this that ended up being psychotic breaks. Teleka Patrick, Elisa Liam, Lars Mittank, and so on.

If Carlee is the only person who reported seeing a child, and possibly hundreds of other passing motorists did not, the most likely explanation is that she didn't actually see one.

Something about this whole scenario stinks to me. I feel as if she was pulling up exactly to that mile marker, almost as if she was possibly meeting up with someone at the marker. The way she pulls off the highway, rides the shoulder for a bit, then stops right in front of the marker is interesting. Also, if she really saw a child, why was she digging around in the rear passenger side of her car? I'm not so sure if this is really an abduction, mental break, or a planned meeting that went sideways. It's all really strange. I just hope she's OK.

 

[ArmchairDefective]

This definitely sounds like a mental health break.

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.....

Unfortunately I think you're probably right. With as much traffic as was on the road at the time, if no one else saw a child (or anything that resembled a child), I think we can reasonably conclude that there was not one.

Does anyone have a Google Earth aerial view of the area where the car was found? I'm curious what the landscape nearby looks like -- are there houses, ponds, etc?

 

[vls12345]

Many are speculating that other drivers should have seen or noticed something but I think it would be very easy for other drivers to not see anything.

Between very bright lights intermixed with large, very dark swaths, plus the fact that many are likely driving 60+ mph, unless someone glimpsed the right spot at exactly the right time, they likely didn't see anything. I think a better bet would be any dashcam footage that could be reviewed and, hopefully, enhanced.

MOO.

 

[Palisades]

Unfortunately I think you're probably right. With as much traffic as was on the road at the time, if no one else saw a child (or anything that resembled a child), I think we can reasonably conclude that there was not one.

Does anyone have a Google Earth aerial view of the area where the car was found? I'm curious what the landscape nearby looks like -- are there houses, ponds, etc?

It was posted back in the thread - I think around pages 10-13.

 

[Megnut]

If we assume she saw something in a brief flash of light and circled back, what she saw may have been unique to her brain processor. Many passersby may have seen nothing or processed it very differently and discarded it.

What if there was someone there? An adult who, in that accidental moment of illumination sat down which Carlee's brain processed as human, as a small human, as movement (not up and down but side to side like walking because, at the time she saw it, she was  moving)? No ruse, not someone with a toddler or a doll or bait but someone who wasn't planning on being seen or anyone stopping but when siddenly there was an unaccompanied female right there, it became a crime of opportunity.

Any escapees on the loose? Any predators in the vicinity? Any regular hitchhikers?

I think Carlee did see something, I think she called to it, I think she screamed when suddenly it was full size and upon her and I think whoever took her took advantage of a passing semi to block them from view, pulling Carlee deeper into the shadows.

From there, I haven't got a theory...

Jmo

 

[vls12345]

Does anyone have a Google Earth aerial view of the area where the car was found? I'm curious what the landscape nearby looks like -- are there houses, ponds, etc?

33.364629, -86.843675

Coordinates listed in 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

 

[Palisades]

If we assume she saw something in a brief flash of light and circled back, what she saw may have been unique to her brain processor. Many passersby may have seen nothing or processed it very differently and discarded it.

What if there was someone there? An adult who, in that accidental moment of illumination sat down which Carlee's brain processed as human, as a small human, as movement (not up and down but side to side like walking because, at the time she saw it, she was  moving)? No ruse, not someone with a toddler or a doll or bait but someone who wasn't planning on being seen or anyone stopping but when siddenly there was an unaccompanied female right there, it became a crime of opportunity.

Any escapees on the loose? Any predators in the vicinity? Any regular hitchhikers?

I think Carlee did see something, I think she called to it, I think she screamed when suddenly it was full size and upon her and I think whoever took her took advantage of a passing semi to block tfrom view, pulling Carlee deeper into the shadows.

From there, I haven't got a theory...

Jmo

I took a look at the RSOs in Hoover AL and none were closer that 2 miles. None in the neighborhood that backed up to that part of the highway, provided the map earlier in thread.

 

[Inthedetails]

This morning I was leaning toward staged disappearance, but why pick such a busy road? A smaller road with less traffic and the same scenario of a toddler would seem easier.

So I'm back with my original stance of baffled.

jmo

 

[DatelineFan]

Just caught up on the thread and I remain baffled. Folks have made fair points about the Apple Watch. I never thought she planned to disappear, but it does make sense that she took her watch off because it died, etc.

I can’t explain the child sighting. I believe she may have been mistaken, but genuinely thought she saw a child. I’m wondering if something startled her and she ran after she screamed. I’m not sure what could have happened after running. Maybe she fell? Someone took her? I feel like she may have ran, and she’s nearby somehow…

ETA I think Knox mentioned the food. I, too, wonder if the food was in the car

 

[Megnut]

If you look at the preview for the 10am to 11am feed from today, you can see that some people are out searching. I hope they find some clues.

Eta: If you look for the previews/footage from the 13th, the footage from 5pm to 8pm is not available.

Eta: Previews from the night of the 13th seem to show police lights for a couple of hours.

On the morning of the 14th, starting with the 9am time frame, you can see a large search effort.

I wonder why the footage between 5-8 is not available? Police might have a potential suspect IMO

In the Sarah Everard case WEs saw a car pulled over with hazard lights on via traffic cams. It was a white car so was dismissed as WC had a black car. However the footage was removed and turned out it was his hire car.

I had the same thought.

If LE pulled it, perhaps it's evidentiary and there's a vehicle and or person visible in that time-frame, which they're developing on the down-low and don't want to broadcast.

I hope there's a lead.

And it leads to her safe recovery.

Jmo

 

[Van Helsing]

I wonder why the footage between 5-8 is not available? Police might have a potential suspect IMO

In the Sarah Everard case WEs saw a car pulled over with hazard lights on via traffic cams. It was a white car so was dismissed as WC had a black car. However the footage was removed and turned out it was his hire car.

It may be that a homeless beggar or transient may have been camping there. That broad general area is a very affluent area of Birmingham. She disappeared very close to The Preserve and Trace Crossings in Hoover. She works at The Summit which is in Vestavia Hills, bordering Mountain Brook. The Colonade is also in Vestavia Hills. There are a lot of popular businesses at that exit and along 150. Maybe there is a lot of opportunity for begging and theft in the area. "Camping" at night on the interstate right-of-way, the person would be less likely to be harassed by Hoover police. Where did he take her? The person would be very familiar with ingress/egress to and from that location. JMO.

 

[vlbay]

In the traffic cam video, does anyone see what looks like a car parked off the road toward the trees just ahead of Carlee's? The only time you see it is at 1:54 when a truck drives by. There are a lot of weird shadows, but it jumped out at me. I tried to take a screen shot.

 

[samsmom]

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Woman Calls 911 to Report Seeing Child Along Highway, & Disappears | Carlee Russell

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[mfmfan77]

I hope it was just a psychotic break and she’s found safe in those woods but what really are the odds of that happening? I hope she’s okay. She’s been on my mind non-stop.