Carlee Russell Police Statement Raises Questions as Missing Woman Found

Questions have been raised following a statement released by police in Alabama about a woman who was reported missing after she said she stopped to check on a toddler she had seen walking along a highway. She returned home two days later.

Russell, 25, was reported missing on Thursday night shortly after she called 911 and then a family member to say she had spotted a young child walking on the side of Interstate 459 in Hoover, a suburb of Birmingham, and was stopping to check on him.

Carlee Russell's boyfriend wrote in a post on Instagram that she had been kidnapped and was "fighting for her life" for the two days she was missing, but the police statement made no mention of a possible abduction and said detectives "are still gathering and evaluating evidence in this case."

In a Facebook post on Sunday, the Hoover Police Department said they received a call at around 10:45 p.m. on Saturday reporting that Russell had returned home on foot. She was taken to UAB Hospital and discharged on Sunday morning, AL.com reported.

The department has not provided any details about Russell's whereabouts during the time she was missing and no information has been released about any efforts to locate the toddler she reported seeing. The statement also made no mention of there being a suspect in connection with her disappearance.

"We have spoken to Carlee once and are following up on that information, however we are not able to publicly share the details from our initial interview," Hoover Police Captain Keith Czeskleba told Newsweek on Monday.

"We will follow up with her again to attempt to get a better understanding of the past 48 hours and will provide what information we can when we are able to do so."

In the statement, police said Russell had left work at The Summit mall in Birmingham at around 8:20 p.m. on Thursday. She then ordered food by phone from a nearby business at another mall, The Colonnade, and went to pick it up, police said.

Detectives have worked to retrace her steps from the time she left The Colonnade until she called 911. "At this point in the investigation, we have not been able to locate anyone with Carlee from the time she left The Colonnade until the 911 call was made," police said.

Russell called the emergency services at 9:34 p.m. and then called a relative at 9:36 p.m. to report seeing a child in a diaper on the side of the interstate.

"She went missing during that conversation sometime after 9:36 PM, after telling both the 911 operator and the relative she had seen a male toddler in a diaper on the side of I-459 and was stopping to check on him," police said.

"Traffic-camera footage was obtained which depicted this portion of the incident, and that footage is still being analyzed as part of the investigation in conjunction with the 911 call to accurately determine the timeframe."

Police said Russell's 911 call was the only report they received of a child on the interstate.

Officers arrived at the scene within minutes, and found Russell's wig, cell phone and purse on the road near her car, but did not find her or a child in the area.

Police said they took an initial statement from Russell following her return, but "the details of that statement are a part of the ongoing investigation, which is expected to continue over the next few days."

They added: "During the initial portion of the investigation detectives were able to retrace nearly all of Carlee's steps until the point she went missing and are confident that will continue to be the case."

Police said the statement "contains all the information the Hoover Police Department is able to release at this time. As we continue to investigate, we will release information that is determined to be factual and pertinent to the public."

Carlee's boyfriend, Thomar Simmons, wrote on Instagram: "She was literally fighting for her life for 48 hours, so until she's physically and mentally stable again, she is not able to give any updates or whereabouts on her kidnapper at this very moment." Police did not comment on the statement.

Newsweek reached out to Simmons via Instagram for comment on Monday.

Russell's mother, Talitha Robinson, posted a statement on Facebook on Sunday afternoon, but it did not shed any light on what happened when Russell went missing.

"God is faithful and He has answered our prayers. We are so grateful to each of you for all the acts of kindness, generosity, and compassion you have shown. Our baby is safe!!!!!!!!!! Thank you, Father God," she wrote.

Robinson asked for privacy "to allow us to just love on our daughter and each other with our close family and friends. Also, please consider the fact we have not slept for three nights and we are mentally and physically exhausted."

Some social media users noted that the statement from Hoover police raised questions about the case.

"The Hoover PD has released a statement about the disappearance of Carlee Russell. Please pay attention to the details. They are not done with this investigation," one person wrote in a tweet with more than 180,000 views.

Another user wrote that "what's really telling is that the HPD release does not mention anything about efforts to locate this toddler, or whether the public is in danger of a suspect at large. Basically, they mention nothing about a crime happening."

Another Twitter user said the "silence from the police speaks volumes."

They wrote: "I will respect their investigation and just sit back and wait. We're hours in since she showed up at her house. No press conference, no suspect details, no update on a toddler, no sketches."

Update 7/17/23, 9:52 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Keith Czeskleba.

Update 7/17/23, 8:20 a.m. ET: This article was updated with an image of Carlee Russell.