There are thousands of unsolved cases of missing Black people. Liar Carlee Russell's unverified report is rare, advocates say

The doubt surrounding the alleged kidnapping of Carlethia 
“Carlee” Nichole Russell, which Alabama police said they 
couldn’t verify, threatens to overshadow thousands of unsolved 
cases of missing Black people, advocates say

Russell went missing shortly after calling 911 on July 13 to 
report a toddler in a diaper walking along the highway. Police 
said Russell mysteriously returned home on foot around 10:45 
p.m. two days later.

Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said police were unable to 
verify most of the 25-year-old’s initial statement to 
investigators, including a claim that a man with orange hair 
abducted her when she got out of the vehicle to check on the 
child.

Derzis said after finding Russell’s cell phone, police 
discovered web searches for “Do you have to pay for an Amber 
Alert?” and for the movie “Taken.”

“There are many questions left to be answered, but only Carlee 
can provide those answers,” Derzis said at a news conference on 
Wednesday.

Russell’s mother, Talitha Robinson-Russell, said she believes 
her daughter was abducted before returning home. “Carlee has 
given detectives her statement and hopefully they are pursuing 
her abductor,” Robinson-Russell said in a statement to CNN 
affiliate WBRC.

Black families say they often struggle to get the police to take 
their missing person cases seriously. Officers are slow to 
investigate their loved one’s disappearance or immediately label 
them as a “runaway,” they say. On the other hand, cases of 
missing White women and children are treated with urgency and 
thrust into the national spotlight, Black families say.

So the possibility that Russell might have fabricated her 
kidnapping has left many of the people who helped search for her 
frustrated and worried about future missing persons cases.

When asked if Russell’s case could impact searches for missing 
young women of color in the future, Derzis said, “We investigate 
every crime to the fullest just like we have this one.”

According to 2021 FBI data, Black people make up 31% of missing 
person reports but only 14% of the US population. White people, 
meanwhile, make up 54% of missing person reports and 76% of the 
US population.

David Robinson, whose son Daniel has been missing since June 
2021 in Buckeye, Arizona, said it was “very hard” to hear that 
police couldn’t find evidence to support Russell’s story. 
Robinson said he and other families endure a lot of pain 
watching months and years go by with no sign of their loved ones.

Robinson said he struggled to get the police to thoroughly probe 
his son’s case. He ultimately assembled his own search team that 
combed the desert for evidence and clues. He suspects there was 
foul play in Daniel’s disappearance.

He worries that Russell’s case will make it harder for Black 
families to get fair attention. “It damages the problems we 
already have with law enforcement with taking our stories 
serious,” Robinson told CNN.

Derrica Wilson, co-founder of Black & Missing Foundation, said 
she currently has nearly 6,000 cases of missing Black people in 
her database, most unsolved. Russell’s case – and the questions 
surrounding it – is an “anomaly,” Wilson said.

“For our community, we can’t lose sight of the bigger picture,” 
Wilson said. “We are disappointed that there are inconsistencies 
with her (Russell) story especially when there are a staggering 
number of people of color who are still missing and they need 
our help.”

Many disappearances in the Black community stem from human 
trafficking, domestic violence and mental health incidents, 
Wilson said.

Wilson said it’s often an “uphill battle” to get the cases of 
missing Black people amplified and she wants the public to 
continue sounding the alarm.

“We want people to continue making these cases viral,” Wilson 
said. “We can’t allow this case to diminish our efforts that we 
have worked so hard for.”

Black & Missing is tracking numerous cases from 2023 alone that 
have yet to be solved. Here are a few:

Three-year-old Samalea Monet Daniels has been missing since July 
14 in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Samalea was last seen at her 
grandmother’s house and is believed to be with her mother, 
Tianna Daniels, traveling in a gray 2011 Ford Escape with 
Virginia plates N4M45T3. According to WTKR-TV, the child is 
believed to be in danger.

Casey Lavonne Young, 44, has been missing since May 15 in 
Spartanburg, South Carolina. Young was last seen wearing Black 
scrub pants and a gray Spartanburg Regional T-shirt. According 
to the Black & Missing Foundation, Young’s white 2007 Infinity 
G37 has been recovered.

Marlisha Love, 24, went missing on January 6 in St. Louis, 
Missouri. Love’s mother said her daughter told her she was going 
to a friend’s house that night. The friend said Love asked to be 
dropped off at a White Castle and then got into the passenger 
seat of an older model white Chevy Suburban and left the 
location.

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