Carlee Russell found alive: Alabama woman returns home after disappearance and searches after reporting child on interstate
Sunday, July 16 2023 11:35
HOOVER, Alabama. — A 25-year-old Alabama woman returned home Saturday evening after being the focus of a two-day search by police and family members who reported her missing after she stopped to check on a child walking along the street. Highway.
Police said Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell had returned to the home she shared with her parents in Hoover, AL.com reported late on Saturday.
Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said Russell arrived home alone and was taken to hospital for evaluation, reported AL.com.
Russell’s whereabouts were not immediately clear since around 10:45 pm Thursday when he called 911 and a family member said he saw a small child walking on the side of I-459.
Police found Russell’s car and cell phone but were unable to locate him or a child in the area.
Hoover Police Lieutenant Daniel Lowe said family members on the phone with Russell lost contact with him although the line remained open. A witness reported possibly seeing a gray vehicle and a man standing outside Carlee’s vehicle, but they had no additional information.
Police are asking people to report any information they may have about his disappearance, while family members organize a search of the area.
Talitha Russell told AL.com that her daughter was heading home in a community about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Birmingham after leaving work and stopping to get food. She was on the phone with her sister’s boyfriend when she said she saw a child on the side of the road.
“My son’s girlfriend overheard him asking the child, ‘Are you all right?’ She never heard the child say anything but then she heard our daughter scream,” said Talitha Russell. “From there all you hear on her phone is background noise from the states.”
During the search, there were two separate bounties of $20,000 and $5,000 for information helping to return Hoover safely, police said.
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