On July 13, 2023, Carlee Russell contacted 911 emergency number to report a toddler walking along Interstate 459 in Hoover, Alabama. 

When police arrived at the scene, no one was there. Her car was still running with her phone and wig left behind.

A massive search was launched for Russell, involving local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies.

 On July 15, Russell returned home on foot. She had an injury to her lip, a tear in her shirt, and $107 in cash in her sock. Carlee told detectives she was abducted by a man with orange hair who held her captive. Investigators now say there is no proof of a toddler, or the abduction.

Russell claimed that she had been kidnapped by a man and held against her will before escaping her alleged abductor.
However, police soon began to have doubts about Russell's story so did others when the story just wasn’t making any sense. 

New York Post article also, provided opinions from a salon patron, Andrea Townsend , about their thoughts on the story. it’s unthinkable that a black woman would ever leave her wig behind in her car. Quoting: 
“When it happened we were in shock. But once we saw the wig, just to know that wig was left behind— we don’t do that. We don’t do that. People were talking about it,” she said. “My husband and I were talking about it. He’s a police officer. He immediately thought something doesn’t sound right,” she added also from New York post article Martha Harton, a nurse from Fayette, told The Post that all black women immediately knew Russell was lying — and it’s because of the wig.

Martha Harton, a nurse from Fayette, told The Post that all black women immediately knew Russell was lying — and it’s because of the wig. it’s unthinkable that a black woman would ever leave her wig behind in her car. Martha the nurse went on to say, 

“A black woman’s hair is her glory. There are three things a black woman has that you don’t mess with: Her kids, her money, and her hair. That’s what gave her away.”

Police say  forensic analysis of Ms Carlees  cell phone, work and home computers found she looked up information about the movie Taken, Amber Alerts, booking a bus ticket from Birmingham to Nashville and “how to take money from a register without being caught”

Russell also  made a number of false statements to police, including that she had been forced to walk for hours and that eat cheese crackers and her abductor had threatened to kill her. Earlier on the  night, of the kidnapping she allegedly smuggled out a bathrobe, toilet paper, and “other items” that belonged to her workplace. Cops say she also made a stop at Target an hour before disappearing, loading up on granola bars and Cheez-Its—snacks that weren’t found in her abandoned car.

On Monday July 24, 2023, Russell confessed to lying about being kidnapped. She admitted that she had made up the story because she was facing financial problems and was afraid of getting in trouble with her parents.



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