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 #3

[GoBuckeyes]

I think the tweet you're referencing is from 2022. We don't know what her state of mind was just before this. For the record though, public humiliation is a risk factor for suicide, so I do hope her family supports her through this.

It doesn't appear that she's lacking in any way as far as family support. I think she'll get through this.

 

[squareandrabbet]

Yikes. Car license plates? We usually are in rental cars or Uber. We have never been asked for license plates. I don't think?? Our rooms are usually paid in full before we even arrive. I think that the policy says that you have 48 hours to cancel and get a refund. We travel quite a bit, oftentimes with my husband's job.

He is in Birmingham right now and I'm sure doesn't have a clue about Carlee or the aftermath. In fact, I know a lot of people there; and they are not familiar with her case, which I find kind of strange.

JMO.

I've been asked before, and at more than one chain, but I'm usually not driving places (I live in Manhattan).

When I get asked, I usually offer my local host's license plates, if I have reason to think the host is going to park for any length of time at the hotel while visiting me/picking me up.

I had always assumed it was to notify the hotel so as to avoid any threat of someone calling a tow truck on my hosts for unauthorized local parking; now that this has been questioned, I don't really know, lol.

Or maybe it's the policy at the chains I've been at, but isn't the policy for/at Hiltons.

Now I'm wondering if the question gets asked for lawsuit/liability reasons.

 

[Jemma]

Not a lie...

JMO.

I mean….. she didn’t leave them
in the car! Snacks are life!

 

[Jemma]

Hope she’s out of a job and hope she also gets the book thrown at her. As soon as I saw that highway footage I knew it was a farce.

same!!

 

[GoBuckeyes]

CR's last Tweets were on July 13, 2023, and when I first heard she located a toddler in a diaper on the Interstate, I thought of her final tweet (Tweets are posted in PT):

https://twitter.com/x/status/1679676911373492226

https://twitter.com/x/status/1679671233594490880

https://twitter.com/x/status/1679671036839698432

Didn't she go missing on the 13th? TIA

 

[Synergizer Bunny]

Well education does instill some knowledge & wisdom IMO but I remember one of my professors asking us what getting a degree tells others about you. The answer was that it tells others you can persevere.

I did get a Computer Science degree. It was back in the IBM Mainframe/COBOL days. Without that degree, I would not have had the ability to work for big telecommunications companies in that field. I later earned my MBA which taught me quite a bit about business and finance. So, I feel that education is the key to success if you apply yourself when you are in school.

My recommendation to kids of today is to work on degrees that can be used in the business world (i.e., business, computer science, engineering, medical). Unless you are going to get a doctorate in Psychology, it probably is hard to get a decent paying job. That's just my opinion.

I'm not sure Carlee really wanted to be a Nurse or if her Psychology degree may have had credits that pushed her in that direction. From her 2020 post, it sounded like she applied to several Nursing programs and was rejected. Do you get rejected because of your grades? What are the requirements for getting into Nursing school?

JMO.

 

[Seattle1]

Didn't she go missing on the 13th? TIA

Yes, Thursday, July 13.

 

[squareandrabbet]

Agreed. I can't imagine seeing a toddler on the interstate, at any time of day or night, with no one else stopping, and not get out of my car and put the child in my car. I'd lock the doors, call 911, and wait for the LE. To me, that's when her story started falling apart.

This is the part and hole in the story.

People were trying to entertain it, so as not to jump to conclusions/victim blame, but what with nobody else seeing any such child and nobody reporting missing any such child...

It was possible, or at least in the theoretical realm, that an adult somehow pretended to be a toddler... or that she saw/heard a creeping skunk rustling through tall grass, or something where you only see half of what is going on.

it was also possible that someone took a toddler out in harness as a lure... not at all *probable* IMO; but "vaguely possible"; staying out of sight.

Obviously, some clearer highway cam footage would have removed far more doubt from the off.

But then, when people started leaking part of her cover story on social media, and her cover story contained no further mention of the luring toddler once she got swept off into the bushes by <modsnip>; well, that's problematic.

Somebody that putatively caring and worrying about a stranger infant/toddler... well, for the stranger-toddler not to make an appearance in the alibi story; and for Carlee not to be saying "I kept asking after the baby/they left the baby with me, and the baby's presence was the only thing that was comforting me/keeping me from hysterics", or anything even remotely like that, etc., etc. - well, that's a veritable semaphore of red flags IMO.

The baby disappears from the story/scenario, and all of a sudden she's not the least bit worried about his fate??? ... odd.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

I give everyone who spoke at the presser a great deal of credit. Not one of them cracked a smile or got the giggles. I just don't think I could have gotten through that with a straight face. This appears to be the model PD!!

 

[Arkay]

Cops find no evidence nursing student was kidnapped after three-day manhunt

At a press conference, cops didn't accuse Carlee Russell of maliciously lying, but admitted they were now struggling to believe her story - and said they have witheld some evidence due to her mental health

www.mirror.co.uk

*my favorite part:
Russell told police the next day she woke up and the woman fed her cheese crackers and played with her hair. bbm

Especially since her wig was “knocked off” and her mother explained that she wouldn’t look like her pictures, but that her hair would instead be tightly braided.

In my experience, tightly braided hair is difficult to play with. Maybe the cheese cracker-feeding lady also loosened her braids .

Or, of course, maybe it’s that old saw about the tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.

jmo

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The shock is wearing off. How dare she? I found out about this early one morning and I thought oh my gosh, I’ve got to make a thread and see if we can help. I always start out believing everything until I don’t. I spent the day checking for updates and let my chores go. Just like with Gannon. I believed LS at first too. I feel duped. Again. I’m pissed! How many mothers and fathers would love to have their missing child or young adult to receive this much attention? Outrageous!

 

[CamilleBSP]

I don't think RRI would want people just knocking on all the guest's doors. God only knows what they would see.

IMO they'd rather have her family knocking on doors than the popo.

 

[azure]

How many mothers and fathers would love to have their missing child or young adult to receive this much attention? Outrageous!

I think a large donation to a missing persons organization and a public apology *with appropriate responsibility taken* would be a good first step for Carlee.

Then the legal system can deal with her as they see fit.

 

[CamilleBSP]

I do believe she planned this, but o don’t think it was well thought out. IE people’s reactions, the fact that she was missing going nationwide etc. or maybe she truly thought her parents and boyfriend didn’t care enough to push this far? Or maybe it was payback for someone telling her no? Maybe she figured with a psychology degree she was smart enough to pull it off and figured why not try? We will probably never get the actual truth about why she did this.

We now know she isn't into true crime at all, tbf.

 

[cuffem]

This is the part and hole in the story.

People were trying to entertain it, so as not to jump to conclusions/victim blame, but what with nobody else seeing any such child and nobody reporting missing any such child...

It was possible, or at least in the theoretical realm, that an adult somehow pretended to be a toddler... or that she saw/heard a creeping skunk rustling through tall grass, or something where you only see half of what is going on.

it was also possible that someone took a toddler out in harness as a lure... not at all *probable* IMO; but "vaguely possible"; staying out of sight.

Obviously, some clearer highway cam footage would have removed far more doubt from the off.

But then, when people started leaking part of her cover story on social media, and her cover story contained no further mention of the luring toddler once she got swept off into the bushes by <modsnip>; well, that's problematic.

Somebody that putatively caring and worrying about a stranger infant/toddler... well, for the stranger-toddler not to make an appearance in the alibi story; and for Carlee not to be saying "I kept asking after the baby/they left the baby with me, and the baby's presence was the only thing that was comforting me/keeping me from hysterics", or anything even remotely like that, etc., etc. - well, that's a veritable semaphore of red flags IMO.

The baby disappears from the story/scenario, and all of a sudden she's not the least bit worried about his fate??? ... odd.

I think she tried to cover that by saying she heard a baby crying while inside the 18 wheeler trailer. She did not see the female so supposedly with the child/baby. Just a guess.

 

[musicaljoke]

Probably for liability reasons. If the 911 dispatcher told her to exit the vehicle and CR was injured, the liability would fall on the emergency response/city/dispatcher.

That wouldn't stop me! If I saw a kid on the highway, I'd be out of the car so fast I might even forget to turn it off.

 

[CamilleBSP]

I have two burning questions and then I'm ready to lay this to rest:
1. Where was Carlee during the time she pretended to be missing?
2. What was her interaction with a different county's LE the day before she went missing that was posted about by them on FB and then deleted?

If someone with a better memory than I can recall which PD posted about Carlee, I'll edit my post.

Harpersville PD.

 

[Cindizzi]

Is this the clothing that she was wearing when walking to her parents' home 49 hours later? If not, what was she wearing? Did police collect her clothes (these and any other for evidence?)

JMO.

Good question. I’m not aware of any reports of what she was wearing, but in today’s presser the Police Chief said when EMT’s responded to her house she had a small cut on her lip and her shirt had a tear in it.

 

[CamilleBSP]

do we know her height and weight? i’m short and petit but we’re gonna tussle be for you get me slung, and the id be biting you

5'4", ~160 lb, iirc.

 

[cuffem]

Good question. I’m not aware of any reports of what she was wearing, but in today’s presser the Police Chief said when EMT’s responded to her house she had a small cut on her lip and her shirt had a tear in it.

There was a pic up thread somewhere. Black tee, white baseball cap, either black shorts or leggings I think.