A 26-year-old nursing student in Alabama who claimed she was kidnapped after spotting a toddler on the freeway admitted Monday she made up the whole story.
Carlee Russell claimed she was abducted on July 13 after stopping to check on an infant at 9:30 p.m. 49 hours later, she showed up at her parents’ house and told the police that she had been kidnapped, while recounting a lengthy story about the fight for freedom.
But on Monday, Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis read out a statement from Russell’s attorney, in which she admitted fabricating the story.
“There was no kidnapping on Thursday, July 13,” he said.
“Carlee again asks for forgiveness and prayers.”
Derzis said police are still working on the case and prosecutors are still deciding whether to file criminal charges.
There was no indication of a motive for her disappearance or information as to where she had been for 49 hours. She said in the statement she was alone.
Carlee Russell, the Alabama nursing student who claimed she was kidnapped after spotting a toddler on the freeway, admitted she made the whole story up
Hoover Police Chief Nick Dervis revealed Monday that Russell has admitted to fabricating her kidnapping story
After returning home, Russell stopped cooperating with police, but initially told police that she was abducted by a white man with “orange hair” who appeared from between the trees on the side of the road off I-459 after she saw a “little boy in a diaper” walking down the street around 9:30 p.m. Thursday.
On Wednesday, Derzis said they could not confirm Russell’s story and wanted to speak to her to clarify details.
She refused to show up for a second interview.
It also turned out that Russell was researching the Liam Neeson film Taken and asked if she was too old for an Amber Alert. She was also looking for a one-way bus ticket to Nashville.
Her boyfriend, Thomar Simmons, was initially among those desperate to find her and expressed his relief when she showed up – but he deleted all trace of her on social media after Wednesday’s press conference.
It is not believed that Russell’s family knew about her plan.
On July 17, the day after she returned to her parents’ home, they recalled finding Russell in “bad shape.”
Russell was reported missing on July 13 after making a bizarre call to 911 claiming she had found a toddler by the side of the road
Russell disappeared off a freeway, sparking a nationwide manhunt that ended 49 hours later when she returned alone to her parents’ home
Police in Hoover, Alabama, said on July 19 they had found no evidence to support these claims
“She was fighting for her life,” said her father Carlos, BBVA Bank’s vice president of underwriting.
Russell left work at the Woodhouse Spa in Birmingham, Alabama, around 8:20 p.m. Thursday after stealing a robe and toilet paper.
Then she stopped to get food for herself and her mother.
Russell drove toward Hoover and called 911 at about 9:30 p.m. to report the missing child, who was traveling on Interstate 459.
After Russell called 911, she reportedly called her sister-in-law to let her know she was checking on the child.
The family member lost contact with her at around 9:36 p.m., but the line remained busy.
Responding officers found Russell’s abandoned car nearby, along with her cell phone, purse, wig and Apple Watch, but no sign of her or any child.
Hoover Police said they never received further calls from someone missing a young child.
Two days later, Russell returned to her family’s home alone.
Derzis said there appears to have been a significant amount of planning.
“It was a complicated deal when you talk about calling 911 and saying there was a child on the freeway,” he said Monday.
Derzis could not say how much the 49-hour search had cost and if she would be forced to pay back the money.
Scores of volunteers, uniformed officers, and K-9 teams spent days searching for Russell with helicopter support.