Police Say No Evidence of Toddler Near Highway in Carlee Russell Case

Police investigating the disappearance–and subsequent 
reappearance–of Alabama woman Carlee Russell released new 
details on the investigation Tuesday night, revealing that while 
they were able to speak briefly with the 25-year-old after she 
turned up at her home 49 hours after an eerie 911 call, they are 
now waiting “for her to be made available to obtain a more 
detailed statement.”

Russell disappeared last week after calling 911 to report a 
child walking on the interstate in Hoover, Alabama. According to 
an earlier statement from police, after the 911 call, she phoned 
a family member to report the same details. The family member 
“lost contact with her, but the line remained open.” Police 
found her car abandoned—still running with her belongings 
inside, sparking fears she had been abducted.

She then turned up at her home approximately 49 hours later–and 
details of what happened to the nursing student are slim, though 
her parents told the Today show that their daughter was abducted 
and left mentally and physically traumatized.

On Tuesday night, Hoover police said that before her 
disappearance, Russell stopped in at a Target on Highway 280 to 
buy some “snack food type items.” Those items were not recovered 
in or around her car where her keys and wig were discovered, 
police said.

They claim that despite heavy traffic in the area, and 
surveillance footage, police have been unable to verify 
Russell’s report of a toddler walking down the interstate.

Then, in more security footage taken from her neighborhood just 
before she arrives home, Russell is seen “walking down the 
sidewalk alone.” Police have not yet described additional 
details from the video.

While initial 911 reports indicated Russell was “unresponsive 
but breathing,” police say first responders found her “conscious 
and speaking.”

“That was the term used in the initial dispatch of the Hoover 
Fire Department to the residence, and the information about her 
condition was simply a dispatcher relaying information from what 
a 911 caller told the emergency communicator,” police said.

Numerous items of evidence are “key in the processes of 
determining exactly what took place in the approximately 49 
hours Carlee was missing,” police said, adding that the unnamed 
items are under evaluation.

While police were able to speak with Russell briefly after her 
reappearance, it is unclear when they may speak with her again.

A press conference is scheduled Wednesday where police are 
expected to discuss the case in more detail.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/police-reveal-not-previously-
discussed-carlee-russell-case-details