Global Courant
Carlee Russell admitted she didn’t see a toddler wandering by the side of the highway and lied about kidnapping in a hoax that sparked a nationwide effort to find her, a lawyer for the Alabama woman said Monday.
Nicholas C. Derzis, Hoover Police Chief, read out the statement from Russell’s attorney at a press conference, in which the 25-year-old nursing student said she had not been kidnapped, as the nation was led to believe when she disappeared on July 13. Russell said she hadn’t left the Hoover area.
She returned home about 49 hours after calling 911 and reported seeing the child on the highway.
“My client apologizes for her actions to this community, to the volunteers who searched for her, to the Hoover Police Department and to other agencies as well,” the statement said.
Russell was supposed to be interviewed by police with her lawyer on Monday, but the department got the statement instead, Derzis said. The department hopes to reschedule the interview and speak to Russell for more information.
“We’re still trying to pinpoint where she was during those 49 hours, but I’m glad we got this. At least this will hopefully reassure some of the super sleuths on social media about what everyone thinks happened,” Derzis said.
“We know that, by his own admission, it didn’t happen,” the chief added.
The police are in consultation with the public prosecutor’s office about possible criminal prosecution, according to Derzis.
Russell disappeared after calling 911 just after 9:30 p.m. to report seeing a toddler on Interstate 459 South, Hoover police said. She had also called a relative to report seeing the child and said she was going to help the child before the relative lost contact with her, police said.
Authorities had said they were unable to verify Russell’s initial statements after she returned home two days later.
Investigators, with help from the Secret Service, analyzed Russell’s cell phone for the days leading up to her disappearance. Officials did say that before she disappeared she had searched the internet about paying for Amber Alerts, how to withdraw money from a cash register without getting caught, and the movie “Taken.”
Police also said Russell told them she was forced into an 18-wheeled truck and taken to a house where a man and woman told her to strip naked and then took pictures of her.
This is a to develop story. Check back later for updates.
