Carlee Russell, the Alabama woman who falsely claimed she was kidnapped while helping a child on the highway, could face criminal charges for the deception that led to the activation of state resources.
The case of the 25-year-old nursing student has captured the attention of local and national media since she lost track of her on July 13.
Russell disappeared after calling the 911 emergency system to alert that he had spotted a minor wandering along I-459 South.
After the call, the female allegedly got out to check on the child’s condition and called a relative who ended up losing contact with her, despite the fact that the line remained open.
When agents arrived at the scene, they found his car and some of his belongings, such as his cell phone. Neither the woman nor the child were at the scene.
During a press conference on Monday, Hoover Police Chief Nicholas C. Derzis reported that it was all a fabrication.
The police spokesman read a public statement that Russell sent through her lawyers in which she confessed that she was not kidnapped.
Russell revealed that he never left the Hoover area.
The young woman returned home about 49 hours after the 911 call.
“My client apologizes for her actions to the community, to the volunteers who searched for her, to the Hoover Police Department, and to other agencies,” the statement referenced by Derzis states.
However, so far there is no data on where the woman actually was during that time.
“We are still trying to determine where he was during those 49 hours, but I am glad we received this (the statement). At least it puts some of the super sleuths on social media at ease as to (…) what everyone thinks happened,” Derzis said.
“We know that (the kidnapping) did not happen because she admitted it,” he added.
Possible charges against Russell
After discovering the farce, the Police evaluate with the Prosecutor’s Office the possibility of filing charges.
Russell is supposed to have been interviewed by agents yesterday. Instead, the department received the written statement. The authorities will schedule another date for the meeting.
Russell’s defense indicated that his client acted alone and without assistance. However, they did not specify where she was, with whom and what led her to lie.
Russell’s parents, Talitha and Carlos Russell, told TODAY last week that their daughter was unwell when she returned and appeared to have suffered serious trauma.
“There were times when he had to fight for his life physically and times when he had to fight for his life mentally,” Talitha Russell alleged. “She’s back,” she added.
In her initial remarks to authorities, Russell claimed that she had been forced into a flatbed truck before being taken to a house, where a woman and a man had forced her to undress and took photos of her.
As part of the investigation involving Secret Service personnel, the woman’s mobile phone was examined in the days prior to her disappearance. Supposedly, before she disappeared, she did internet searches on paying for Amber Alerts, how to get money from a cash register without being detected, and the movie Taken.