Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell, a 25-year-old nursing student who went disappeared for two days, she told police she had been kidnapped, but police have found no evidence of a crime, Alabama officials said Wednesday.
Investigators have not been able to verify most of Russell’s statement about his capture, Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said. Police said that before his disappearance, Russell made several “very strange” online searches, including whether you have to pay for Amber Alerts, how to get money out of a cash register without getting caught and the movie “Taken,” which is about a woman who is kidnapped and the ensuing quest to save her from her captors.
There were also searches related to Birmingham bus station and bus tickets from Birmingham to Nashville.
Russell disappeared Thursday night after calling 911 to report seeing a child on an interstate in Alabama. Russell returned home two days later and the incident gained national attention. He gave a brief statement to police when he returned home, but officers did not ask for details out of respect for Russell and his family.
“We have requested to interview Carlee a second time, but have not been granted that request,” Derzis said. “There are many questions left to be answered, but only Carlee can provide those answers.”
Investigators have found no evidence of a child in the roadway, the Hoover Police Department said Wednesday. The department never received another 911 call about a toddler on Interstate 459, although several vehicles passed through the area Thursday night.
While on the phone with a dispatcher about the boy, Russell drove his car about 600 yards, the distance of about six football fields, Derzis said. He told the dispatcher there was a boy in a white shirt and diaper on the freeway. Russell said that as far as he could tell, he wasn’t wearing shoes.
“Six football fields, to think that a little kid, barefoot, maybe 3 or 4 years old, could go six football fields without going into the driveway, without crying, it’s hard for me to understand,” said Derzis .
Police on Wednesday played audio of Russell’s 911 call, during which he said he was in his car following the boy. Russell said in the call that he would watch over the boy until the police arrived.
He hung up on the dispatcher and called a relative. The family member “lost contact with” Russell during the call, “but the line remained open,” Hoover Police Lt. Daniel Lowe said at a news conference Friday.
Russell’s mother then called the police and said that Russell had been on the phone with a relative and that the relative heard Russell screaming.
Hoover officers arrived on the scene five minutes after being dispatched, police said. Russell had left, but officers found his car, cell phone, wig and purse. Her Apple Watch was in her purse.
After returning home Saturday night, Russell spoke briefly with police, but they were unable to interview him again in the days that followed.
Russell told police a man had come out of the woods and mumbled that he was checking on the boy, Derzis said. She told officers the man picked her up and forced her over a fence and into a car.
Russell said the next thing she remembers is being in the trailer of a truck with the man, who she said had orange hair, and a woman. He also said he could hear a baby crying.
Russell told police she escaped, but they recaptured her and put her in a car and blindfolded her. She said she was not tied up, adding that her alleged captors said they did not want to leave prints on her wrists.
Russell said she was then taken to a home, where she was stripped. He said he thinks pictures were taken of him. The next day, he said, the woman fed him cheese crackers and played with his hair.
Russell said at some point she was put back into a vehicle. He claims he was able to escape while in the West Hoover area and ran through the woods to get home. When the police arrived, he had a small cut on his lip and a tear in his shirt. There was over $100 in cash in the right sock.
Derzis said he believes Russell’s parents believe what Russell has told them and that he spoke with them before Wednesday’s press conference to let them know what he would share with the public.
Asked if he would say if a crime had been committed, Derzis said no.
“I wouldn’t say I’m frustrated,” Derzis said. “I’m very happy with Carlee’s house and that’s the main ingredient here.”
He said there is no reason to believe there is a threat to the community.
During the search, police worked to build a timeline of events leading up to Russell’s disappearance.
“We pretty much know exactly what happened from the time he left work to the 911 call,” Derzis said.
He left his workplace at a business in Birmingham, about 10 miles from Hoover, around 8:20 p.m. local time Thursday, officials said. Surveillance video shows her leaving her workplace with a bathrobe, a roll of toilet paper and other items, all of which police said she kept “hidden.”
Russell then ordered food from a nearby business at The Colonnade Mall and picked it up. He stopped at a Target on Highway 280 to buy some granola bars and Cheez-Its. He remained in the parking lot until 9:21 p.m
At 9:34 p.m., she called 911 to report a toddler on the freeway, saying she had stopped to check on the child, police said. The call ended quickly and Russell called a family member.
The police have reviewed the images from the traffic cameras in the area at the time of the alleged kidnapping.
“We don’t see anyone on the interstate other than their car and then someone coming out of their driver’s side,” Derzis said.
Police sent the video to the FBI and asked the agency for help in enhancing the footage.
Snacks and items Russell took with her when she left work were not in her car when police arrived at the scene. They were also nowhere to be found in the area.
“This investigation is not over,” Derzis said. “We are still working on this case and we are working on this case until we highlight all the evidence that will help us explain the 49 hours that Carlee Russell was missing.”
More Aliza Chasan
