Found Alive AL - Carlethia “Carlee” Russell, 25, 911 call reported toddler walking on side of interstate, car found, she & toddler gone, Birmingham, 13 Jul ‘23

[Fuhgetabouddit]

I hope LE can get something from that video. Surely, they can see what you all do? I can definitely see (what I think are) other figures in the still shots.

edited to add - I wish I could watch it over and over but the lights are too much for me.

I just don’t think they would have released this footage if they were able to identify anyone or anything else but Carlee and her car. If they did see what others are claiming to see, they would have done so with some sort of public plea and descriptions of who or what we are supposed to be on the lookout for. They would never release a video that would be a crucial part of an investigation without any context.

 

[Palisades]

This happened late in the evening on July 13. News picked up the story early morning the 14th. Hopefully, witnesses driving by in this video have now seen the story and called in what they saw, even if it was just Carlee’ vehicle pulled over.

 

[Inthedetails]

I just don’t think they would have released this footage if they were able to identify anyone or anything else but Carlee and her car. If they did see what others are claiming to see, they would have done so with some sort of public plea and descriptions of who or what we are supposed to be on the lookout for. They would never release a video that would be a crucial part of an investigation without any context.

Maybe. But I always remember the case of a missing college student (so sorry I don't remember her name!). LE released a video of her last known sighting at sort of an outdoor mall type place at night. WSers (and perhaps others in the public) spotted someone watching her - and that person turned out to be the killer! And they linked him to another murder, which LE seemed to dismiss at first but it turned out to be true.

I hope someone can remind me of the victim's name. I think the first victim's name was Morgan. I don't remember the name, though I do remember thinking WSers were off-base seeing things in the video....but they were right!

jmo

 

[Snail-Overlord]

This is horrifying. The fact that the brother’s gf heard a scream before the line went quiet actually sent a chill down my spine.

IMO there’s no evidence Carlee had a psychotic break of any kind. Stranger abductions may not be common, but psychotic breaks are not terribly common either. And people having a psychotic episode will usually show strange behavior and disorganized speech. They won’t always react to their own hallucinations in a way that makes sense. It doesn’t sound like her brother’s gf noticed anything strange about her speech or anything else. She reacted in a way that seems normal for someone who saw an unattended child on the highway.

Her wig being removed suggests a struggle. Somebody could have come up behind her, grabbed her by the hair and then covered her mouth to stop her screaming.

All MOO.

 

[Rosiebones]

Has any child of that age been reported missing in the area?

 

[gdeyefaith]

I noticed in one video it looks like she has her hazard lights on for quite some time riding down the highway. Did she see the child from such a distance? There were a lot of cars behind her so I’m sure they would have seen the wandering child as well? It seems that she was expecting someone to be waiting there on side of the highway and put her flashers on early and was riding slow as to not miss them. JMO.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Officials say around 8:20 p.m. Thursday night, just an hour before Carlee Russell disappeared, she left her job for the day in The Summit.

Russell then took a turn onto Highway 280 as she headed towards The Colonnade. That’s where she made a stop to grab a bite to eat before heading on the road to go home.

“She left Tatzikis about 9 she called me around 9:19,” said Talitha Russell, Carlee’s mother. “She apparently was getting close to home.”

After grabbing her food, Russell then made her way onto I-459 heading South.

After passing the Hoover flyover near the Galleria, officials say she reportedly noticed a child that looked like a toddler walking alone along the side of the interstate near mile marker 11 right before exit 10.

Officials give timeline leading up to the disappearance of Birmingham woman

HOOVER, Ala. (WIAT) — Officials say around 8:20 p.m. Thursday night, just an hour before Carlee Russell disappeared, she left her job for the day in The Summit. Russell then took a turn onto …

www.cbs42.com

*sounds on the fly. with this description, I now have fell off the fence and don’t think it was staged at all… she’s gone and so is the child.

 

[Rosiebones]

I wonder if she was making a prearranged meeting with a friend and her toddler for pick up due to an abusive situation. The question "Are you okay?" could have been directed at the mother. The scream, wig, and other items left could be due to discovery by the abuser of the meeting.

 

[Snail-Overlord]

I noticed in one video it looks like she has her hazard lights on for quite some time riding down the highway. Did she see the child from such a distance? There were a lot of cars behind her so I’m sure they would have seen the wandering child as well? It seems that she was expecting someone to be waiting there on side of the highway and put her flashers on early and was riding slow as to not miss them. JMO.

I noticed that too but I wondered if she thought she saw something from a distance and then pulled over to the shoulder with her hazards on to get close enough to see what it was? I can’t imagine myself being able to accurately identify something small that far away from me while driving in the dark

IMO

 

[Laughing]

Interstate highways most often have a high, sturdy chain-link fence on either side, running parallel to the road. This is to keep animals etc. from entering the lanes. If she was attacked and pulled into the grass, it seems she would have to be removed in another vehicle that was parked on the highway. I wonder if LE checked for openings in the fencing where she was last seem.

Beg to differ with you, not the Interstates I've traveled.

Snow fence, sometimes, but I doubt that's useful in Alabama?

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[squareandrabbet]

I think it's very likely that the "man" the truck driver saw next to Carlee's car was actually Carlee herself. At about 1:15 of the video a truck passes by while Carlee is right next to the passenger side of her car.

Esp in the pitch black, with her hat and wig knocked off.

I also think in the pitch black the "toddler" could have been anything larger than a rat.

 

[46daze]

On my phone, you can't see much on the video—it all looks like digital artifacts. I re-watched on my fancy 27-in monitor. there is something going on, especially around the 1:40/1:50 mark. There seems to be an extra light by the blue sign around then. I can't watch again now, as it is really creeping me out.

 

[legalmomma]

This happened late in the evening on July 13. News picked up the story early morning the 14th. Hopefully, witnesses driving by in this video have now seen the story and called in what they saw, even if it was just Carlee’ vehicle pulled over.

I also believe that there will be dash cam video from passing truckers or vehicles that will solve this crazy disappearance. I don’t see a gray car. I’m curious if the trucker that reported this siting has also given his dash cam video and been questioned throughly.

 

[lynchmob67]

On my phone, you can't see much on the video—it all looks like digital artifacts. I re-watched on my fancy 27-in monitor. there is something going on, especially around the 1:40/1:50 mark. There seems to be an extra light by the blue sign around then. I can't watch again now, as it is really creeping me out.

I see it as well and it is creepy! It looks like a car backing up, lights turn on, and car continues to back up until lights go off. So strange!

 

[Fuhgetabouddit]

Maybe. But I always remember the case of a missing college student (so sorry I don't remember her name!). LE released a video of her last known sighting at sort of an outdoor mall type place at night. WSers (and perhaps others in the public) spotted someone watching her - and that person turned out to be the killer! And they linked him to another murder, which LE seemed to dismiss at first but it turned out to be true.

I hope someone can remind me of the victim's name. I think the first victim's name was Morgan. I don't remember the name, though I do remember thinking WSers were off-base seeing things in the video....but they were right!

jmo

LE doesn’t work that way here. If you remember the case of Aniah Blanchard, they released a video of just her, even though they also had footage of the suspect around the same time. They intentionally left him out. They knew before they released that video that this was their guy. I can’t speculate as to why it was released that way except that they were setting bait. Possibly hoping that if she were still alive, he would release her once he saw that. Because if I’m not mistaken, he had priors on kidnapping.

The video in this case is much different. We see the entire camera range from the moment she entered the shoulder until LE arrived. They didn’t withhold anything, at least not at this point. But they also offered nothing to go with it. That doesn’t mean they don’t have something prior to this or after this that they are laying groundwork on.

 

[youreinmybubble]

View attachment 434822

* I think I see two people by the door.

That’s a long time before the cops even get there. Where did she go??

 

[squareandrabbet]

LE doesn’t work that way here. If you remember the case of Aniah Blanchard, they released a video of just her, even though they also had footage of the suspect around the same time. They intentionally left him out. They knew before they released that video that this was their guy. I can’t speculate as to why it was released that way except that they were setting bait. Possibly hoping that if she were still alive, he would release her once he saw that. Because if I’m not mistaken, he had priors on kidnapping.

The video in this case is much different. We see the entire camera range from the moment she entered the shoulder until LE arrived. They didn’t withhold anything, at least not at this point. But they also offered nothing to go with it. That doesn’t mean they don’t have something prior to this or after this that they are laying groundwork on.

Could LE get current license plate details off this?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The woman, 25-year-old Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell, called 911 around 9:34 p.m. local time on Thursday, according to a Facebook post from the Hoover Police Department.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/14/us/carlee-russell-missing-alabama/index.html

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Esp in the pitch black, with her hat and wig knocked off.

I also think in the pitch black the "toddler" could have been anything larger than a rat.

*Wondering why she had a hat on at dark. Did she usually wear a hat?
eta:
“We currently are investigating every possibility,’’ Hoover Police Department public information officer Lt Daniel Lowe said during a press briefing on 14 July. “We’re certainly leaving nothing off the table.”

She called 911 when she had pulled over after spotting what she said was a three- or four-year-old child, her mother said.

An officer was dispatched to the scene within three minutes.

Woman who reported toddler on the side of a highway returns home after going missing

‘Additional information will be provided when it becomes available’ after missing woman returns home

www.independent.co.uk

 

[NeverPersonal]

This definitely sounds like a mental health break.

It would be an insanely risky and bizarre tactic to place a child on the side of a busy interstate on the offhand chance a young attractive woman stops to help. People could call the police, the child could be run over, cops could spot the child and so on. And trust me, 459 is extremely busy. Nobody else saw a kid. Definitely don't think this is trafficking.

There are plenty of examples of people going through mental health breaks that see things that are not there and some even call 911 reporting it.

I would be checking the woods nearby.....

Nah... especially with the knowledge of a witness reporting a man standing over the vehicle.

update on missing person carlee russell - Hoover Police Department

On 7/13/2023 at approximately 9:34 PM the Hoover 911 Center received a call from a 25-year-old female on I-459 South near mile marker 11 who reported she saw a…

hooverpd.com

A single witness reported possibly seeing a gray vehicle with a light complected male standing outside of Carlee’s vehicle. We have no further information about that individual or vehicle at this time.