Missing Black Woman’s Brother Speaks Out on Carlee Russell Kidnapping Hoax

The brother of a missing South Carolina woman, Carlee Russell, 25, has spoken out about his feelings on the case. On Monday, WIS stated that Russell lied about being abducted after she allegedly pulled over on an Alabama highway to chat to a child.

According to Travis Ware, whose sister, Alexis Ware, went missing, many people are skeptical that true tales of missing Black women will be taken seriously because of Russell’s absence.

The Ware family believes that Russell should be punished severely for creating a false missing person’s case and that more effort should have been made to locate Alexis Ware. “I’m still angry at the situation,” Travis Ware said.

“For Carlee Russell to actually do this and all these resources, all this time, all this money not only that law enforcement put in but also the community, it pissed me off to be completely honest.” In January of 2022, Alexis Ware was last seen leaving a gas station in Anderson County with her two children and their father.

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Later, police reported finding her vehicle with all of her possessions inside, but no trace of Alexis Ware herself. Alexis Ware’s children’s father was a person of interest because he was the last known person to have contact with her. Authorities, however, found no evidence linking him to her disappearance, WHNS reported in January.

Since then, the FBI has been investigating, but the Ware family hasn’t stopped looking for clues on their own. “Her mother, our dad, and most importantly her kids are the most impacted by this,” Travis Ware said.

“We’ve been reaching out to local media partners and national and even the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department to get some type of answers.” Travis Ware expressed frustration that his sister was being overlooked in favor of his family’s investigation into Russell’s disappearance.

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Sgt. Vicki Rains of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department heads up the agency’s Victim Service Unit. According to her, Russell’s disappearance is being treated as a high-priority issue because of the information that has already been uncovered.

“Yes, it does take attention away from other cases because that’s what we considered a high-priority case,” she said. “We go out, the whole victim services team is out. We call the dogs in typically we would have the drone and air support like a helicopter.”

The police claim that they are actively searching for the missing person around the clock. However, Travis Ware claims that renewed interest in his sister’s case has resulted from the realization that Russell’s case was a fabrication.

“When Carlee Russell did go missing, and it did turn out to be a hoax, a lot of people did draw back attention to my sister’s case. Like this is the case we should be focused on,” he said.

“A Black missing female that’s still missing in real life and real-time. This is what we need to draw our attention back on. So, recently we just started getting more awareness and attention, media-wise. So, it has helped.” There have been no developments in Travis Ware’s sister’s case, he added.

The Wares are awaiting word from the attorney general’s office on whether or not they will accept responsibility for the case. The Black and Missing Corporation estimates that over 200,000 Black persons are now missing in the United States, including Alexis Ware.

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