'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Days after Carlee Russell mysteriously reappeared at her parent's home after disappearing for two days, police uncovered new evidence that has intensified hoax theories online. As previously reported, Carlee Russell, a 25-year-old woman who sparked a statewide search after disappearing from an Alabama highway on Thursday, July 14, returned home safe two days later on Saturday night.
Russell’s family believed that she was abducted, as the nursing student who left her job and picked up food on her way home, called 911 and her sister-in-law to report a wandering toddler on the interstate before she disappeared. Shortly after, Hoover police launched a frantic search for the missing woman, which was called off after they received a call from family members around 10:45 p.m. on Saturday stating the 25-year-old had returned home on foot.
Police have now revealed that they have not found any evidence to back up the claim of a toddler wandering along I-459 where the nursing student mysteriously vanished after she called 911. In a press release on Tuesday, Police said:
“The Hoover Police Department has not located any evidence of a toddler walking down the interstate, nor did we receive any additional calls about a toddler walking down the interstate, despite numerous vehicles passing through that area as depicted by the traffic camera surveillance video.”
The revelations have heightened people's interest in the story, with many doubling down on theories that the missing woman orchestrated the whole incident which is now widely believed to be a hoax. The recent development in the case prompted a social media user to comment:
"Carlee Russell is in trooouubblleeee smh. This investigator pieced together video evidence and said EXACTLY what is now coming to the light. There was NEVER a child roaming around the highway on its own."
Netizens react as police reveal evidence negating Carlee Russell's wandering child claims
Carlee Russell’s family have also come under the scanner as they were caught providing conflicting reports to law enforcement officials regarding her reappearance at her parent's home.
Shortly after Russell returned home on Saturday, her family reportedly called the police and told them that the nursing student was breathing but unresponsive. However, police released information that went against the phone call. Authorities said that when first responders showed up at Russell’s home she was conscious and speaking and was taken to UAB hospital for evaluation.
In light of new evidence, netizens reiterated Carlee Russell's hoax theories claiming that the 25-year-old fabricated the whole ordeal.
Police revealed that shortly before she disappeared, Carlee made a stop at Target and picked up snacks. However, Shortly after police converged on the location where Russell had placed the concerning 911 call on Thursday, July 13, they found her car abandoned on the side of the road with some of her belongings – including her wig and phone. The snacks were reportedly not found anywhere near the area.
The admission has led netizens to opine that the supposed abduction was premeditated.
As people continued to postulate over the incident, the fervent interest in the case reached a disturbing level as netizens revealed that amateur sleuths were caught trying to access Russel’s medical records.
Carlee Russell's family's Red Roof Hotel claims explored
Carlee Russell’s case has become fodder for conspiracy theorists who had a field day with investigators' latest revelations in the case. Police said that on Saturday, July 15 officers were dispatched to the Red Roof Inn on Montgomery Highway in Vestavia Hills after family members of Russell showed up at the motel, claiming they had received a call from her that she was there.
However, police revealed that she was not found at the hotel. Instead, Russell was caught on surveillance video walking alone on the sidewalk on the night she reappeared at her parent's home.
As conspiracy theories began to run rampant online, police said that they are still reviewing the evidence in the case to determine precisely what happened in the 48 hours that Rusell went missing.
“Numerous evidentiary items are still being evaluated, and those items are key in the process of determining exactly what took place in the approximately 49 hours Carlee was missing, but also what took place prior to her disappearance.”
Authorities said that they have yet to interview Russell in the case as they are waiting for her to be made available. Police said that additional information pertaining to the incident will be discussed at a press conference on Wednesday, July 19.
Meanwhile, Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama said that over $63,000 in reward money raised to help find Carlee Russell will not be refunded to donors despite her safe return.
