Alabama police have not found any evidence to back up the claim of a child wandering along I-459 the night Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell, 25, mysteriously vanished after she called 911, according to newly released details.
“The Hoover Police Department has not located any evidence of a toddler walking down the interstate, nor did we receive any additional calls about a toddler walking down the interstate, despite numerous vehicles passing through that area as depicted by the traffic camera surveillance video,” the press release sent out Tuesday night.
The nursing student had left her job at Woodhouse Spa in The Summit, a shopping center in Birmingham, Ala., at around 8:20 p.m. before ordering food at a nearby restaurant, picking it up and heading down the road to Target.
After leaving Target, Russell called 911 dispatch to report the toddler on the interstate at 9:34 p.m. and later reiterated the claim to her sister-in-law, with police adding she went missing during her second phone call around 9:36 p.m.
Police officers arrived on the scene five minutes after being dispatched and found Russell’s wig, cell phone, and purse along the roadway, with an Apple watch located inside the bag.
Police said Russell, 25, had purchased snacks from a Target on nearby Highway 280, but the items weren’t found inside her car or beside her phone and wig found at the scene of her disappearance.
Following Russell’s return home Saturday night, investigators obtained surveillance video from the neighborhood, which allegedly show her walking down the sidewalk alone.
Police also released information that went against the phone call someone inside the house made after Russell returned home as the initial call stated she was unconscious but was up and talking when emergency personnel arrived.
At 10:44 p.m. on Saturday, emergency dispatch received a call from Russell’s residence of an “unresponsive but breathing” person, but upon arrival at the home, first responders found Russell conscious and speaking and took her to UAB hospital for evaluation.
Police say there are many items still being looked at that could help in determining what happened while Russell was missing.
“Numerous evidentiary items are still being evaluated, and those items are key in the process of determining exactly what took place in the approximately 49 hours Carlee was missing, but also what took place prior to her disappearance,” police said.
Police could not identify if anyone was with Russell in the moments leading up to her disappearance.
Members of Russell’s family have claimed the child was used as “bait” by human traffickers to get her out of the vehicle and kidnap her.
Experts have contradicted those claims saying there is no evidence of traffickers using a child as bait to lure women.
“As far as we are aware, this is not a tactic that traffickers use,” Sabrina Thulander a spokesperson for Polaris, the organization that runs the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
Police have yet to conduct a full interview with Russell, saying they are “waiting for her to be made available to obtain a more detailed statement about the sequence of events during that timeframe.”
The department says it plans to release more information at a press conference scheduled for 2:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday.
