Black Alabama Woman Disappears After Stopping On Highway To Help Wandering Toddler
Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell, 25, disappeared without a trace on Thursday (July 13), leaving family and friends worried about her welfare.
Russell reportedly stopped to check on a toddler who was wandering along a highway not far from her home in Hoover, Alabama, according to the New York Post.
She reportedly called 9-1-1 to report the child who appeared lost. She was on the phone with a family member when she left to help the toddler, the report says.
AL.com is reporting that Russell’s parents, Talitha and Carlos Russell, along with family and friends, have been searching the area where their daughter was last seen.
“My son’s girlfriend heard her asking the child, ‘Are you Ok? She never heard the child say anything but then she heard our daughter scream,’’ Talitha Russell told AL.com, “From there all you hear on her phone is background noise from the interstate.”
At a press conference on Friday, police refused to commit to any one theory about Russell's disappearance saying, “We currently are investigating every possibility,” the report notes. “We’re certainly leaving nothing off the table.”
Lt. Daniel Low added, “We have a myriad of resources,’’ he said. “Everything we have at the Hoover Police Department, in addition to our partners, is involved in this investigation right now.”
Police also confirmed that other than Russell's phone call, there are no other reports of a missing child in the area.
An anonymous donor has offered $20,000 for Russell's safe return and CrimeStoppers has added an additional $5,000.
Talitha Russell said her daughter had just left her part-time job at The Woodhouse Day Spa and had stopped at a local restaurant at 9 p.m. to pick up food. She said she last talked to her daughter at 9:19 p.m. She called her relative at 9:36 p.m.
“She called 911 when she pulled over,’’ Talitha Russell said, the report notes. “She got out of the car. I think she probably let her guard down thinking 911 would be there in a second.”
Hoover Police said they arrived on the scene within three minutes of Russell's phone call and found “Her car door was open, the engine was running, and they found her phone on the ground, along with her wig and her hat,’’ Talitha Russell said. “Her purse was still in the car. Her Apple watch was in her purse and her AirPods as well.”
According to Talitha Russell, a truck driver told police that “He saw her red car with the door open and he saw a grey car with a tall brown-skinned man in khaki shorts leaning over in the car."
Her mother told the news outlet it’s heartbreaking that her daughter disappeared just minutes from the family home, telling reporters, tearfully, “She was so close."
If you have any information please contact Detective Brad Fountain at 205-444-7562, Sergeant Drew Mims at 205-739-7274, or Crimestoppers of Metro Alabama at 205-254-7777.
