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

[Snail-Overlord]

As a side note, the fact that she got close enough to ask “Are you okay?” suggests to me that it was in fact a toddler or at the very least a person that she saw. IMO

 

[Teche]

It’s strange leaving her Apple Watch and being able to see a small child in the dark of night while traveling at a high rate of speed.
Does she have major stressors in her life- nursing program, grades, or romantic relationship??

 

[iamnotagolem]

As a side note, the fact that she got close enough to ask “Are you okay?” suggests to me that it was in fact a toddler or at the very least a person that she saw. IMO

I've been thinking maybe it wasn't a toddler but an adult on their knees. That would make it an easier situation to abduct someone from. Dealing with a toddler could be problematic. Maybe the adult stood to grab her when she asked "are you okay" and that's why she screamed.

The fact that no other drivers reported seeing a toddler/human alongside the road doesn't really mean too much IMO. For one, a lot of people aren't observant, for two, it's dark and unless you're a passenger looking off to the side of the road you probably aren't noticing anything in the ditch. There are a lot of deer where we live so I habitually watch the ditch.

 

[iamnotagolem]

It’s strange leaving her Apple Watch and being able to see a small child in the dark of night while traveling at a high rate of speed.
Does she have major stressors in her life- nursing program, grades, or romantic relationship??

They should be able to tell if she took off the watch after the stop, if that's the case then it lends more to the theory that it was a voluntary disappearance rather than abduction. If she wasn't wearing the watch prior to the stop then it doesn't really seem strange.

 

[Fuhgetabouddit]

If anyone wants to see what the camera looks like in the daytime, you can see it live here:

Traffic camera from video

I am interested to know just how fast she was driving on that shoulder. Whatever her speed when comparing to the traffic around her, it doesn’t appear to be slow enough as to be looking for a small child. She doesn’t appear to slow at all until coming up on the spot that she stopped the car.

 

[Fika]

It’s strange leaving her Apple Watch and being able to see a small child in the dark of night while traveling at a high rate of speed.
Does she have major stressors in her life- nursing program, grades, or romantic relationship??

I don’t think it’s strange about apple watch. I own one and did for years and I often take it off and put it in my backpack or pocket.
Battery could have died which happens to me a lot that I forget to charge it fully or need a break from wearing it so I don’t get irritation under it after all day of wearing.
Also on her way home she could not have needed it anymore if she for example used watch to monitor steps etc.

I don’t think leaving watch in purse is strange or suspicious at all.

What I do find strange after seeing video is how long she was slowly driving before stopping . It’s not possible she could have seen a child from so far and drive to him/her slowly. It’s just odd. IMO

 

[Deleted member 306806]

I've been thinking maybe it wasn't a toddler but an adult on their knees. That would make it an easier situation to abduct someone from. Dealing with a toddler could be problematic. Maybe the adult stood to grab her when she asked "are you okay" and that's why she screamed.

The fact that no other drivers reported seeing a toddler/human alongside the road doesn't really mean too much IMO. For one, a lot of people aren't observant, for two, it's dark and unless you're a passenger looking off to the side of the road you probably aren't noticing anything in the ditch. There are a lot of deer where we live so I habitually watch the ditch.

It has only been 2 days! potential witnesses might not have contacted police or know what they saw was reportable until yesterday.

any idea if the neighborhood backing up to the highway was searched? from the arial street view, it looks like someone could park in the neighborhood, then come through the woods. Also wonder about RSOs In that area.

 

[Fuhgetabouddit]

*Wondering why she had a hat on at dark. Did she usually wear a hat?
eta:
“We currently are investigating every possibility,’’ Hoover Police Department public information officer Lt Daniel Lowe said during a press briefing on 14 July. “We’re certainly leaving nothing off the table.”

She called 911 when she had pulled over after spotting what she said was a three- or four-year-old child, her mother said.

An officer was dispatched to the scene within three minutes.

Woman who reported toddler on the side of a highway returns home after going missing

‘Additional information will be provided when it becomes available’ after missing woman returns home

www.independent.co.uk

If her wig wasn’t glued or fastened down, that would be the reason for the hat.

 

[txsleuth70]

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

This is not completely umcommon. I'm am RN and nursing school is very competitive. Ofc, I graduated 20 years ago, but there were 600 applicant for less than 90 spots when I applied. She could have been waitlisted both times and kept applying until she was accepted somewhere. She could have not had all the pre-requisites yet the first time she applied, GPA not yet high enough, there could be so many reasons.

 

[NeverPersonal]

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

This is not what human trafficking looks like (I have been trained to spot signs from multiple places of employment multiple times by sex crime detectives & others working with them like victim advocates).
They don't take 25 year olds off the street and conduct a high-risk "bait" situation.

How do traffickers keep their victims under control?​

Human traffickers use various forms of force, fraud, and coercion to control and exploit victims. This includes the imposing of debt, fraudulent employment opportunities, false promises of love or a better life, psychological coercion, isolation, addiction, and violence or threats of violence.
Trafficking is a power and control dynamic. Victims become trapped and fear leaving for many reasons, including psychological trauma, lack of documentation, shame, emotional attachment and dependency, distrust of systems and law enforcement, or physical threats to themselves or their families.

 

[nancy57]

While driving on a highway at 65 mph or faster in the dark and seeing something on the side of the road, it would be a fleeting glimpse. We know she didn't slam on her brakes and back up to see what she saw. If the vehicle in the video is indeed her car, we know she pulled off to the side of the highway at a slower pace. After seeing the toddler, did she get off at the next exit, get on the highway in the opposite direction, exit again and enter the highway where she thought she saw the toddler? Knowing the 911 and the brother's gf conversation is key here. Did she say, "I'm going back to see what that was?" Or was someone in the car with her already, they made her slow down, they told her to call someone she knows and 911 and told her what to say? (This doesn't make sense but I'm trying to think of different scenarios.)

 

[PromPeace12]

Wonder if there is interstate video before this video we are seeing. Maybe the gray vehicle incident happened further back, if at all. Also, what are the chances someone was already in her car at the point we see the video? Had she picked up the child already & the child telling her, parent is further up? "Are you okay?" maybe directed at an adult.

Or did someone target her and was already in car from the previous location, the food place, she was at? The mom said she spoke to her at 9:19. The 911 call was at 9:34. (I'm confused why 911 didn't stay on the line with her.) But also that's a 15 minute gap where other factors may be at play. Idk. Just rattling off random thoughts.

So sad police was there just a minute or so later and she was already gone.

 

[NeverPersonal]

Unless she was failing in her nursing career.

Seems not to be the case. Victim til proven otherwise is the rule at WS btw.

 

[squareandrabbet]

If her wig wasn’t glued or fastened down, that would be the reason for the hat.

Or maybe the headlight or glare gets to her.

 

[Quill]

Maybe. But I always remember the case of a missing college student (so sorry I don't remember her name!). LE released a video of her last known sighting at sort of an outdoor mall type place at night. WSers (and perhaps others in the public) spotted someone watching her - and that person turned out to be the killer! And they linked him to another murder, which LE seemed to dismiss at first but it turned out to be true.

I hope someone can remind me of the victim's name. I think the first victim's name was Morgan. I don't remember the name, though I do remember thinking WSers were off-base seeing things in the video....but they were right!

jmo

Hannah Graham was the girl in the video at the outdoor mall. Morgan Harrington was also a victim, but not the first. The first survived her attack. Jesse Matthew was the serial rapist/murder.

 

[Fuhgetabouddit]

This is not what human trafficking looks like (I have been trained to spot signs from multiple places of employment multiple times by sex crime detectives & others working with them like victim advocates).
They don't take 25 year olds off the street and conduct a high-risk "bait" situation.

How do traffickers keep their victims under control?​

Human traffickers use various forms of force, fraud, and coercion to control and exploit victims. This includes the imposing of debt, fraudulent employment opportunities, false promises of love or a better life, psychological coercion, isolation, addiction, and violence or threats of violence.
Trafficking is a power and control dynamic. Victims become trapped and fear leaving for many reasons, including psychological trauma, lack of documentation, shame, emotional attachment and dependency, distrust of systems and law enforcement, or physical threats to themselves or their families.

Yes, all of this. They use highly vulnerable individuals who do not have any semblance of a stable life. Those individuals tend to go from home to home, or homeless altogether. Those are the type of individuals who won’t be looked for with a fine toothed comb.

 

[chipwhitley]

i'm trying so hard but I'm just not seeing movement and people in the video like others are seeing. I see her go around the back of her car and possibly open the front or rear passenger door. Then that's it.

I don't find the apple watch in her car strange. Sometimes I really want to take mine off. Especially since she works at a spa she probably washes her hands a lot, maybe she takes it off because of that.

This is so bizarre! I hope she is found soon.

 

[NeverPersonal]

Yes, all of this. They use highly vulnerable individuals who do not have any semblance of a stable life. Those individuals tend to go from home to home, or homeless altogether. Those are the type of individuals who won’t be looked for with a fine toothed comb.

EXACTLY. Unfortunately, social media has a huge role in everyone thinking everything is human trafficking, and bad events have occurred because of this (i.e. the lady shooting her Uber driver in TX thinking he was taking her to Mexico just because she saw a sign for Mexico while travelling on the BORDER of TX... sigh...)

 

[Quill]

This is not completely umcommon. I'm am RN and nursing school is very competitive. Ofc, I graduated 20 years ago, but there were 600 applicant for less than 90 spots when I applied. She could have been waitlisted both times and kept applying until she was accepted somewhere. She could have not had all the pre-requisites yet the first time she applied, GPA not yet high enough, there could be so many reasons.

Thank you for adding this. I am not a nurse, but many of my daughter's friends are. It is so common to go in with good grades and still get wait-listed. One of my daughter's friends got wait-listed at every school she applied to and it was very discouraging. She just kept trying until she got in and she was very successful in her courses; finished with flying colors and is now a nurse....in Birmingham. I just wanted to say this because it seems that there is a misperception that because she didn't get in on her first tries that somehow she was "failing" at something. Not necessarily true.

 

[thebedbug]

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

This doesn't sound like a scheme that could target anyone specific.