Carlee Russell investigation: Alabama woman admits she lied about being kidnapped
Rachel Schilke
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Carlee Russell, an Alabama woman who went missing for two days, admitted that she lied about being kidnapped.
Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis read a statement from Emory Anthony, Russell’s attorney, on Monday afternoon during a press conference. In the statement, 25-year-old Russell admits she was not abducted.
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Russell went missing on July 13. After arriving home safe two days later, she told police she had spotted a toddler walking along the interstate and was snatched by an orange-haired man.
“My client has given me permission to make the following statement on her behalf. There was no kidnapping on Thursday, July 13, 2023. My client did not see a baby on the side of the road. My client did not leave Hoover area when she was identified as a missing person. My client did not have help in this incident, that this was a single act done by herself. My client was not with anyone or any hotel with anyone from the time she was missing,” Anthony’s statement read, per Derzis.
“My client apologizes for her actions to this community, the volunteers who were searching for her, to the Hoover Police Department and other agencies as well as to her friends and family. We ask for your prayers for Carlee as she addresses her issues and attempts to move forward, understanding that she made a mistake in this matter. Carlee, again, asks for your forgiveness and prayers,” the attorney’s statement continued.
Derzis had questioned several details of Russell’s alleged abduction, focusing on internet searches relating to Amber alerts, a one-way ticket to Nashville from Birmingham, and details about the movie Taken, which involves an abduction.
Russell had claimed she was forced into several vehicles before escaping and running through the woods to get back to her home. She arrived on foot at her front doorstep on July 15.
The Hoover police chief said he planned on meeting with Anthony and that charges are “currently in discussions” and would be announced if and when they were filed. Police did not provide any motive for Russell’s apparent lying.
Derzis added that Russell’s admission would not stop officers from investigating her whereabouts on the night she went missing.
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Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama said in a statement before Russell’s admission that it would return the $63,000 raised to help find her once the investigation is completed. If the reward is “not validated, we will be contacting each donor to refund the monies donated” to locate Russell, the organization said.
It is unclear whether the money will be refunded since Russell admitted she lied, but the investigation will continue.