What We Know About Carlee Russell: Missing Alabama Woman Returned Home After Reporting Lost Child On Interstate - Forbes

Topline

Carlee Russell—the Alabama woman who vanished after stopping on the highway to help a lost child—returned home Saturday night, ending a mysterious disappearance that launched a two-day statewide search for the 25-year-old nursing student.

Key Facts

Russell returned to her family’s home on foot on Saturday night—local police were called at around 10:45 p.m. and transported her to a nearby hospital, the police department in Hoover, Alabama, said in a statement.

On Thursday night, Russell went missing on I-459 in Hoover—a suburban city of about 92,000 located south of Birmingham—after calling 911 to report that a small child in a diaper was lost and wandering along the side of the freeway.

Afterwards, she stopped to check on the child and called her brother’s girlfriend, who heard Russell ask the child—without a response—if they were okay, followed by Russell suddenly screaming and then the sound of the interstate, according to Russell’s mother.

When officers arrived on the scene, there were no signs of Russell or a child, but they found her running car, wig, phone and purse containing her Apple Watch and AirPods at the scene.

Her return home ended a two-day statewide search that caught national attention, sending social media into a frenzy as people speculated on the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.

After she was found, Russell’s boyfriend released a statement on Instagram saying she was “fighting for her life for 48 hours” and mentioning a “kidnapper”—police have not confirmed whether they believe a kidnapper was involved.

Big Number

$63,000. That’s about how much reward money was raised by the nonprofit Crime Stoppers of Central Alabama for anyone with clues into Russell’s disappearance. Following her return, the money is being sent back to donors. Bob Copus, executive director of Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama, told AL.com that Hoover police aren’t “requesting any payouts on this case.”

Key Background

About an hour prior to her disappearance, Russell left work for the day at the Woodhouse Spa, where she worked part-time, CBS 42 reports. After leaving work, she stopped to grab some Mediterranean food and left to head home around 9 p.m. Police released the traffic camera footage of Russell pulling over in her red Mercedes to the shoulder with her hazard lights on. Though the footage is blurry, she appears to exit the driver’s side and walk around to the back to the passenger’s side of the vehicle. The police arrived three minutes after Russell disappeared. Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said Saturday that the department reviewed the video and “it’s not the greatest” in terms of quality, but they will continue to look at all footage for clues. Russell reported a lost boy toddler in a diaper to 911, and police say they have received no other call about a missing child as of Sunday.

What To Watch For

It’s unknown where Russell had been after she vanished, and police have yet to release further details surrounding her disappearance. Police said in a release they were able to take an initial statement from Russell and the “details of that statement are a part of the ongoing investigation, which is expected to continue over the next few days.” In a statement online, the family asked for privacy and promised to give more details “in the near future.”