The Strange Tweets and Suspicious Searches of Carlee Russell: An Abduction Tale Unraveled

Police in Alabama are skeptical of Carlee Russell’s account that she was abducted last week on the shoulder of an interstate highway, citing her apparent research into kidnappings online before the occurrence. During a press conference, Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said that detectives were “unable to verify” much of the 25-year-old’s statements.

On Wednesday, Mr. Derzis recounted Ms. Russell’s odd search history, claiming that she had looked up the movie Taken and Amber Alerts, which he said raised suspicions that she may have staged her supposed incident. She tweeted a slew of incoherent ramblings before vanishing for 49 hours.

At 8:55 p.m. on July 13, the day she disappeared, she tweeted: “today was a GREAT day God be looking out im telling you!!” Within the next minute, Ms. Russell had written, “someone to tell you ‘i love you’ and don’t got a reason.”

In her final tweet, she said, “yeah i want a family now.” This was at 9:19 p.m. Minutes later, at 9:30 p.m., the Alabama woman contacted 911 to report that she was escorting a missing child down Interstate 65.

What Happened?

The Hoover Police Department reports that at 8:20 p.m. on July 13, Ms. Russell left her job at The Woodhouse Spa at the Summit, a high-end mall in Birmingham. According to AL.com, she picked up some dinner at Taziki’s at the neighboring Colonnade mall before heading south on Interstate 459.

Afterward, Ms. Russell allegedly saw a small child, maybe 3 or 4 years old, wearing diapers and walking down the shoulder of the roadway somewhere about mile marker 11. The time was 9:34 p.m. when she called 911 to report seeing the kid. Then, she called her brother’s girlfriend to let her know she was on her way to check on the baby.

Despite the fact that the connection was still active, Ms. Russell was unable to reconnect with the relative. According to AL.com, the girlfriend then heard what sounded like a scream, followed by interstate traffic sounds.

The police claim that Ms. Russell was captured on traffic cameras pulling over to the shoulder. Hoover Police Department released a statement on Friday morning saying the child was not seen on the tape and that they had not received any additional reports of a missing child.

Talitha Russell said that when police arrived, they found her red Mercedes still running with her stuff, which included a wig, phone, Apple Watch, and pocketbook, but neither her nor her baby.

Carlee Russell said an orange-haired man abducted her. The police say they have no way to confirm any of it.
Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell went missing on July 13 after reporting to 911 that she had observed a child wandering along the shoulder of Alabama’s Interstate 459.

According to the Hoover Police Department, the 25-year-old told dispatch that she had pulled over to check on the youngster and had contacted a relative before losing contact. Ms. Russell and the child were unable to be seen when police arrived five minutes later with the car still running.

The missing woman’s family and law enforcement launched a desperate hunt for her and appealed to the public for information. The police were alerted that Ms. Russell had arrived home on foot a little over 48 hours later. She told police that a Caucasian male with “orange hair” abducted her and held her captive in a house and semi-trailer.

Hoover Police Department spokesperson Nicholas Derzis questioned Ms. Russell’s assertions at a press conference on Wednesday and claimed that she was declining to be interviewed.

Read on for up-to-the-minute news and in-depth analysis on California events:

What Really Happened to Carlee Russell?

Carlee Russell disappeared after she reported seeing a baby boy in diapers on the shoulder of a busy highway and phoned 911 about it. Bevan Hurley writes that the police have expressed severe doubts about her claim.

Why Did Carlee Russell Return Home?

Ms. Russell walked back to her house on the 15th of July. Ms. Russell is seen entering her family’s home alone on surveillance footage taken in the area. “As you can see, there are many questions left to be answered, but only Carlee can provide those answers,” Mr. Derzis stated. According to Mr. Derzis, police have wanted to re-interview Ms. Russell but have been turned down.

What Was Carlee Russell’s Intention in Disappearing?

It’s unknown why Ms. Russell chose to vanish, but Mr. Derzis believes her activities leading up to her disappearance provide clues about her state of mind. Investigators were able to see Ms. Russell depart her place of employment with materials she was not authorized to have by using tracking information, internet search history, and surveillance camera footage.

A bathrobe and toilet paper were also given. She started out by picking up some snacks at Target and dinner at a nearby restaurant before hitting the highway. But there’s more: Ms. Russell’s online activity reveals some intriguing details.

According to Mr. Derzis, Ms. Russell Googled questions like “Do you have to pay for Amber Alert or search?” and “how old someone has to be for an Amber Alert to be issued?” in the hours and days before she vanished.

She looked up tips on “How to steal money from a register without getting caught,” as well. One-way bus tickets out of Birmingham and the film Taken, which is about the kidnapping of a young woman, were also sought after.

Where Did Carlee Russell Go in the Two Days She Was Missing?

Ms. Russell informed authorities that a man described only as having “orange hair” appeared from the trees, grabbed her, and bundled her into another car, where she remained captive for the next 49 hours. Ms. Russell related the horrifying details of being taken in another truck and then to a house where she was allegedly stripped naked and photographed.

However, law enforcement was unable to confirm Ms. Russell had been kidnapped. Authorities have no idea where Ms. Russell went for the past two days.

The following is a collection of links to news articles published by the California Examiner related to the aforementioned topic:

Why Did Carlee Russell Tell Police There Was a Toddler?

Ms. Russell reportedly told a 911 operator minutes before she vanished that she had pulled over and activated her hazard lights to help a lost kid crossing the freeway. She mentioned that the kid was wearing a diaper and a t-shirt, but no shoes. A kidnapping claim followed in which she implied the child was used as bait.

However, authorities have stated that they have found no indication that a child was wandering along the freeway by themselves. Despite the high volume of traffic, no one reported a child missing, no traffic cameras had spotted a child, and no one had phoned police about a toddler.

Ms. Russell’s story that she stopped to check on the child was likewise disproven. According to data gathered from her phone, she walked the equivalent of six football fields while making her 911 call.

Odd Tweets and Search History Adds Confusion to Case

Carlee Russell’s tweets, in addition to her search history before she disappeared, add to the mystery surrounding her disappearance. The investigation discovered that Ms. Russell searched up “how to take money from a register without getting caught,” “Amber Alerts,” and “booking a bus ticket from Birmingham to Nashville” before going missing.

An additional tweet from 10 July provides context and may show tension in her relationship. To her boyfriend, Ms. Russell wrote, “I always say one thing i WONT do is stay with someone who cheated on me like you went and had sex with someone else and think it’ll be sweet one day?? Definitely not! She also tweeted a few days prior, “everyone wants to feel wanted.”

After Ms. Russell miraculously resurfaced, her boyfriend Thomar Latrell Simmons commented on Facebook in her defense, saying he believed her account of being taken. After writing that she had been “fighting for her life for 48 hours,” he deleted the post.

She may have been dissatisfied with her position, as evidenced by a tweet she posted two days previously that read, “my job is really starting to get on my dang nerves.” The proprietor of the spa where she worked, Woodhouse Spa, told police on Thursday that he had given them “everything we uncovered.”

On July 19, Ms. Russell reportedly tweeted, “I’m thankful I know how to identify when the enemy coming for me now, makes life a lot easier.” This was reported by the New York Post. Unfortunately, the article has been removed. On Wednesday, police said they were “unable to verify” most of Ms. Russell’s assertions about what happened before and during her abduction.

In the Carlee Russell case, an attorney from Alabama said the police are using “every other synonym for lie except saying she lied.” An Alabama attorney has detailed the possible offenses that Carlee Russell committed during her 49-hour abduction after police were unable to corroborate her story.

Police have released the 25-year-old’s internet search history, which seems to cast doubt on her kidnapping claims. Longtime criminal defense attorney and Birmingham resident Eric Guster told WVTM13 that the case piqued his curiosity. He elaborated that the cops were sending a loud and clear message.

She claims to have been kidnapped, but no such thing occurred. Our people are safe, so they say. No one is planning to kidnap you. He told the local news outlet, “They can’t call it a falsehood if they call it anything other than a synonym for lie.

Before going missing, Carlee Russell tweeted several strange messages.
Carlee Russell, 25, tweeted a series of odd messages before being missing for 49 hours.

At 8:55 p.m. on July 13, the day she disappeared, she tweeted: “today was a GREAT day God be looking out im telling you!!”

Within the next minute, Ms. Russell had written, “someone to tell you ‘i love you’ and don’t got a reason.”

In her final tweet, she said, “yeah i want a family now.” This was at 9:19 p.m. Minutes later, at 9:30 p.m., the Alabama woman contacted 911 to report that she was escorting a missing child down Interstate 65.

After returning home, Ms. Russell said she had been abducted by a man with “orange hair.” She claimed she had barely survived the encounter and showed up on foot at her parents’ house with $107 in her right sock.

Mother of Kidnapped and Murdered Alabama Teen Speaks Out After She Helped in Search for Carlee Russell

After Alabama officials looked into the unusual circumstances surrounding Carlee Russell’s alleged disappearance, the mother of murdered girl Aniah Blanchard issued a frightening warning.

The disappearance of 25-year-old Ms. Russell, whose car was discovered on a highway after she called 911 to report a lost child, has baffled police authorities and the general public. Ms. Russell mysteriously reemerged at her parents’ Hoover home 49 hours later, saying she’d been kidnapped and narrowly escaped.

Hoover police and the FBI are in charge of the inquiry; so yet, no signs of a child wandering along the roadway have been discovered, as the investigators have pointed out. During a press conference earlier this week, authorities said that Ms. Russell’s online searches previous to going missing put doubt on her claims.

These searches included the 2008 film Taken, Amber alerts, and “how to take money from a register without getting caught.” Authorities have highlighted that there is currently no evidence of such a danger, but that the circumstances surrounding the claimed kidnapping first generated speculation that kidnappers were using a new trick involving youngsters to draw in victims.

Angela Harris, whose daughter Aniah was killed when she was 19, founded a foundation to educate the public about safety and assisted in the hunt for Ms. Russell. She has since urged the public to be patient and vigilant as authorities investigate.

The California Examiner is the only source you need for immediate information about the Golden State.

You can expect up-to-date news and informed commentary on what’s occurring in the Golden State right here:

Scroll to Top