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

[Nug_Lyfe]

I made a map of the places of interest. This is a heavily traveled road; I-459 is the bypass around downtown Birmingham. You may notice however, as I did, that this particular small area southbound does not have a parallel access road or surface streets directly adjacent.

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yeah the median of the highway is fairly wooded (so not being able to see the opposite bound lane), plus its really dark on that stretch of hwy and it would be hard to spot a child walking if you werent looking for it. There is no where to turn around where she was other than to go to the exit 10 take 459 north back to the mall on HWY 31 and then turn then get back on 459 S to catch back up where the child was. That would have taken about 5 - 7 miles of driving to do that from her first spot of the child.

 

[sandy_80]

Was the toddler bait? This is so scary.

first thing to come to mind

 

[vls12345]

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.

I think that's the reflector at the start of the guard rail.

Google Map View

Possibly but I am not sure because in the nighttime traffic cam still the gray thing looks like it's before the blue sign. But the map photo shows the guard rail after the blue sign.

I am hoping to view the videos and still shots later today on a bigger, better screen.

MOO.

I am looking at this on a bigger monitor now.

I think that Carlee was stopped right by the mile marker 11.4

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(That is after the food listing sign that includes Waffle House & Starbucks but before the green sign for the Hoover exit & the following blue sign after that. I don't see a guard rail in that section of the road.) Here's a screen shot from google maps (link above) where I think Carlee's car was vs. the (supposed) gray car pulled off into the grass that was further in front of her. Sorry for the terrible text/writing on the photo.

 

[Nug_Lyfe]

<modsnip: not an approved source>

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

I agree with you....i drive that stretch of hwy everyday and it would be impossible to spot a child at night on the highway since it is so dark before that exit. Even if she did, to your point, she would have to turn around and the distance between exits is about 2.5 -3.5 miles. and both of those are pretty busy exits which would take at least 10 min to get back to the exact same point where she originally spotted the child. Something about this doesnt add up.

 

[Ontario Mom]

Carlee Russell: What we know after she vanished on I-459 in Hoover, returned home

Hoover police said they have found no evidence of a public threat after she said she was kidnapped.

www.al.com

"“Her car door was open,” Talitha said. “They found her phone on the ground, along with her wig and her hat...Her purse was still in the car. Her Apple watch was in her purse and her Air Pods as well.”

Her phone, wig and hat supposedly being found on the ground could be evidence of a struggle IMO

It could be evidence of a struggle, depending on which side of the car they were found.

jmo

 

[Knox]

Traffic cam footage of Carlee Russell’s car on I-459 investigated as search continues​

• Updated: Jul. 15, 2023, 2:43 p.m.

The search for Carlee Russell continues, and Hoover police said they are reviewing traffic footage for any clues about her disappearance nearly 48 hours ago.

The video comes from Traffic Cam Archive, an online company that captures, catalogs, archives and sells traffic camera footage.

The footage shows what police confirm is Russell’s red Mercedes driving slowly on the shoulder lane of Interstate 459 in Hoover Thursday night with her flashers on.

“We have looked at the video,’’ Hoover police Chief Nick Derzis said Saturday. “It’s not the greatest.”

The chief said they are working to get the video enhanced for more clues into Russell’s disappearance.

“We’re working closely with the family making sure they know exactly what we’re doing,’’ Derzis said. “They’re fielding a lot of leads themselves and they’re forwarding those leads to us.”

“Since our news conference yesterday we have followed up on many leads and are still employing all the resources of the Hoover Police Department toward locating Carlee,’’ Lt. Daniel Lowe said in a press release.

Traffic cam footage of Carlee Russell’s car on I-459 investigated as search continues

Russell, 25, has been missing since she reported seeing a child walking on the interstate in Hoover.

www.al.com

 

[Gardenista]

Really curious if there is any water in the woods that surround the highway. It's hard to tell on the maps.

 

[NeverPersonal]

VIDEO: Traffic camera video on I-459 at time of Carlee Nichole Russell's disappearance

www.wbrc.com

things i think i see:
a flashlight in the grass before 1min in, right hand side.

right hand side, 1:50. could be a reflection but it really looked so odd to me.

i wish the camera was better. someone HAS to have dash cam.
wanted to mention the amber alert posted pages back from louisiana seems to have had nothing to do with this case.

my thoughts and questions as a long-time-amateur-crime-follower/longtime missing persons advocate/person trained to spot and confront sex trafficking head on:
*potentially planned by someone who didn't want a home as a crime scene, figured interstate would be harder to prove?
*was anyone tailing her?
*NOT sex trafficked. doesn't fit victim profile or dynamics of a trafficker
*i dont think she'd lie about a child being out there. doesnt seem like something she'd do. doing a victim assessment myself, her profile doesnt match with her lying about something like this
*doesn't seem to be a mental break imo. this wouldnt make sense, she would've been found near the side of the road - where would she have gone if its a mental break? there is nowhere to really hide but the woods?
*if she was in the woods with someone wouldnt she be screaming more?
*family heard ONE scream then she's gone?!
*did she have a good relationship with the persons she was on the phone with?
*NOT the same vibe as teleka patrick. a black woman going missing in completely different circumstances with no history of mental health issues we know of doesn't jive with what happened to teleka
*could be random but were they planning to just take ANYONE? you'd have to be ready to take whoever?
*whoever it was had to be hiding in the high grass with a getaway vehicle nearby for the cops not to be able to find her after the 3 min arrival time. absolutely insanely short time frame to go missing.
*any conflicts with anyone in her life?
*ever an issue with a stalker or ex-bf?
*i initially thought random but now i'm leaning toward personal.
*if it was random, it'd probably be a guy with a child as bait hoping a woman would stop. if a man stopped, perhaps they run up and "find" their child and say oh my gosh they just ran away, so sorry, thank you for stopping!! but this would be risky as cops could be called regardless?

-

would love responses to these, any opinions welcome of course

 

[Snoop Sister]

I agree with you....i drive that stretch of hwy everyday and it would be impossible to spot a child at night on the highway since it is so dark before that exit. Even if she did, to your point, she would have to turn around and the distance between exits is about 2.5 -3.5 miles. and both of those are pretty busy exits which would take at least 10 min to get back to the exact same point where she originally spotted the child. Something about this doesnt add up.

Totally agree…something does not add up. Very odd.

 

[NeverPersonal]

Well, this is quite strange. You can streetview the stretch of the highway where Carlee pulled over. It’s right by/before a sign for Hoover/Bessemer and after a blue food exit sign with Waffle House in the top left corner.

There are shots from Jan 2023 which shows a gray car pulled over almost exactly where Carlee pulled over. Most likely coincidental, but if you track the street view movement, the car suddenly appears, so parked in that spot as the street view vehicle was approaching the area. I tracked back looking at oncoming traffic and could not see that same gray car heading towards the area on the interstate

Screenshots attached of the car not in frame, and then in frame in the next jump in movement, and screenshots looking back right before the jumps where the car appears.

Other notes that I see in steetview however, the ditch is much more narrow than I thought from the traffic cam video.

Having trouble uploading all screenshots in one post, but here are the shots of oncoming traffic prior to the gray car appearing parked.

I can’t find the post with the kind member who previously shared this footage, but thank you. *edited oopsie wrong link, here’s the right one:

Watch Carlee 2 | Streamable

Watch "Carlee 2" on Streamable.

streamable.com

That is much better quality! You can clearly see her get out and go to the rear passenger side and open the back door before moving up towards the front of the passenger side. It looks like she is standing there before getting closer to the high grass part? I can’t seem to make out any other people or lights from other cars possibly pulling up behind her car but out if view of camera. Also she is quite close to the lanes and there is a lot of traffic going by. I have to believe someone saw something more than we know.

THANK YOU for all the media.

well, no side road, just trees. so weird... figured there'd be a side road. i am lost on this case. someone took her through the trees and got her so far out of the area she couldn't scream when police got there 2 mins later?

seems we dont see the child because she stopped BEFORE not AFTER the kid's location?

 

[Knox]

I am looking at this on a bigger monitor now.

I think that Carlee was stopped right by the mile marker 11.4

Google Maps

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goo.gl

(That is after the food listing sign that includes Waffle House & Starbucks but before the green sign for the Hoover exit & the following blue sign after that. I don't see a guard rail in that section of the road.) Here's a screen shot from google maps (link above) where I think Carlee's car was vs. the (supposed) gray car pulled off into the grass that was further in front of her. Sorry for the terrible text/writing on the photo.

View attachment 434907

Thanks, so Carlee was on SB 459, not NB 459?

 

[ConfusedPopsicle]

I don't know what to think of this case.
I've watched that video countless times and I'm not seeing the various "other people" some folks are seeing.
I see one person, the person who exited the driver side and walked around the back of the car to the passenger side.
But I also cannot figure out how she went from calling 911 to report a child on the highway, then just vanished into thin air.
Nothing about that makes a bit of sense.

jmo

If you go back to page 8,there’s screenshots that show other people there. Watching zoomed in on my phone, it’s hard to make sense of much of anything but these screenshots are surprisingly clear.

 

[Ontario Mom]

VIDEO: Traffic camera video on I-459 at time of Carlee Nichole Russell's disappearance

www.wbrc.com

things i think i see:
a flashlight in the grass before 1min in, right hand side.

a potential car in the side road, right hand side, 1:50. could be a reflection but it really looked so odd to me. it'd be driving through the grass though.

i wish the camera was better. someone HAS to have dash cam.
wanted to mention the amber alert posted pages back from louisiana seems to have had nothing to do with this case.

my thoughts and questions as a long-time-amateur-crime-follower/longtime missing persons advocate/person trained to spot and confront sex trafficking head on:
*potentially planned by someone who didn't want a home as a crime scene, figured interstate would be harder to prove?
*was anyone tailing her?
*NOT sex trafficked. doesn't fit victim profile or dynamics of a trafficker
*i dont think she'd lie about a child being out there. doesnt seem like something she'd do. doing a victim assessment myself, her profile doesnt match with her lying about something like this
*doesn't seem to be a mental break imo. this wouldnt make sense, she would've been found near the side of the road - where would she have gone if its a mental break? there is nowhere to really hide?
*IS there a side road right next to the interstate?
*did she have a good relationship with the persons she was on the phone with?
*NOT the same vibe as teleka patrick. a black woman going missing in completely different circumstances with no history of mental health issues we know of doesn't jive with what happened to teleka
*could be random but were they planning to just take ANYONE? you'd have to be ready to take whoever?
*whoever it was had to be hiding in the high grass with a getaway vehicle nearby for the cops not to be able to find her after the 3 min arrival time. absolutely insanely short time frame to go missing.
*any conflicts with anyone in her life?
*ever an issue with a stalker or ex-bf?
*i initially thought random but now i'm leaning toward personal.
*if it was random, it'd probably be a guy with a child as bait hoping a woman would stop. if a man stopped, perhaps they run up and "find" their child and say oh my gosh they just ran away, so sorry, thank you for stopping!! but this would be risky as cops could be called regardless?

-

would love responses to these, any opinions welcome of course

I think any lights noticed on the right side of the frame (where the shoulder & grass is) are all reflections of headlights & turn signals bouncing off the highway signs.

Other than that, I'm at a complete loss.
I think she did believe she saw something, but after that, I'm stumped.

 

[NeverPersonal]

There is a truck and multiple cars on the side of the road on traffic view rn - maybe they found something?

TCA | Browse Cameras

Search for intersections and cameras on an interactive map.

birmingham.trafficcamarchive.com

those cars & truck are parked further down, i feel like she used her headlights to walk to the "child" or whatever the hell it was at this point, and that's why we do not see what happened to her.

also - she is not dainty like 4'11, 100lbs like LISK victims, she is 5'4 160lb, so this person likely did not carry her... what the heck could have happened

 

[ohyourethatguy]

Was the toddler bait? This is so scary.

Almost certainly not. Using a child to bait a random stranger on a very busy highway in a wealthy, populated suburb makes zero sense even for the dumbest, most desperate criminals. The ways that would go wrong vastly outnumber the ways it could go right.

 

[Ontario Mom]

If you go back to page 6/7 I believe, there’s screenshots that show other people there. Watching zoomed in on my phone, it’s hard to make sense of much of anything but these screenshots are surprisingly clear.

I've read from the beginning today, and have also watched even in slow motion on my 27" screen.
I see a LOT of artifacts, but nothing that looks like a person, except the one who exited the car.

 

[Snoop Sister]

I don't know what to think of this case.
I've watched that video countless times and I'm not seeing the various "other people" some folks are seeing.
I see one person, the person who exited the driver side and walked around the back of the car to the passenger side.
But I also cannot figure out how she went from calling 911 to report a child on the highway, then just vanished into thin air.
Nothing about that makes a bit of sense.

jmo

Totally agree. I watched the video several times as well. I didn’t see anyone save for the person who gets out of the drivers side of the vehicle and walks around the car to the passenger side and then seems to disappear into treed area.

 

[Soulmagent]

I thought I saw movement to the right of her car, if it’s her. It almost looked like she, or someone, walked down into the ditch.

Those screen shots are terrifying. Definitely more than just her there on the side of the road.

MOO

I thought I did to , looks like someone kinda hanging arround under the sign. You can see movement every now and again under the sign farest from the camera . I hope they release the officers body cam footage.

 

[thebedbug]

how about this?

she stops the car at a pre-determined location. gets out. leaves purse, with watch in it, in the car. walks around to the passenger side. opens the door and leaves it open. drops her wig on the ground. screams. drops her phone on the ground.

then, dressed in all black, just walks off into the woods behind the mile marker around 1:26.

i kind of hope that's what happened. best chance of a happy resolution. i also don't see any evidence that would contradict it... (but, doesn't make it true).

 

[Knox]

I agree with you....i drive that stretch of hwy everyday and it would be impossible to spot a child at night on the highway since it is so dark before that exit. Even if she did, to your point, she would have to turn around and the distance between exits is about 2.5 -3.5 miles. and both of those are pretty busy exits which would take at least 10 min to get back to the exact same point where she originally spotted the child. Something about this doesnt add up.

Correcting my map link going forward.

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