Hoover police at a Wednesday afternoon press conference released details from their interview with Carlee Russell, the 911 call she made before she vanished and revealed internet searches she made prior to her disappearance.
In the end, Chief Nick Derzis said investigators could not confirm the 25-year-old’s claim of having been kidnapped from the side of I-459 after seeing a toddler walking alone. Police, he said, feel there is no danger to the public.
Here are five key takeaways from the press conference:
- She said she was kidnapped, fed, photographed and escaped in walking distance of her home.
Russell told police that while stopping to help the boy in the diaper, a man with “orange hair with a big bald spot on the back” emerged from the trees near I-459 and pulled her into an 18-wheeler. She said she escaped the truck but was captured again and put into a car.
Though blindfolded, she was not bound because she said they didn’t want to leave impressions on her wrists. She said she heard the baby crying and a woman with the man she said kidnapped her.
At a house, she said she was forced to undress and photographed.
“She does not remember them having any physical or sexual contact with her. She stated that the next day, she woke up and was fed cheese crackers by the female,” Derzis said.
Russell said the woman “played with her hair” and that she at some point was put into a vehicle and managed to escape in west Hoover.
“She told detectives that she ran through lots of woods until she came out near her residence,” the chief said.
- $107 in her sock
When police interviewed her after her return home July 15, “detectives noted that Carlee had a small injury to her lip …. Detectives also noted that she had $107 in cash in her right sock.”
Police said they did not press her for additional information and made plans to speak with her in detail in a second interview after giving her time to rest.
“We have asked to interview Carlee a second time, but have not been granted that request,’’ the chief said. “As you can see, there are many questions left to be answered, but only Carlee can provide those answers.”
Carlee Russell
- A stolen robe, toilet paper and missing Cheez-Its
The night she vanished, surveillance video from spa where she worked showed that Russell “concealed a dark colored bathrobe, a roll of toilet paper, and other items belonging to the business prior to her departure.”
Russell then ordered food from Taziki’s at The Colonnade and after picking that up, went to Target on U.S. 280 where she purchased granola bars, Cheez-its, and a drink.
“The food she ordered from Taziki’s was also still in her car. The items she purchased from Target, as well as the items taken from her place of employment were not in the vehicle nor were they located at the scene,” Derzis said.
- She searched how to pay for Amber Alert, Nashville bus tickets, and ‘Taken.’
Police released information about things they found she had searched for on the internet before she vanished.
Two days before Russell disappeared, the term “Do you have to pay for an amber alert” was searched.
The day of her disappearance, the term “How to take money from register without getting caught Reddit” was searched. That same day, the term “Birmingham bus station” was searched.
Then, a search for a one-way bus ticket from Birmingham to Nashville was conducted. Later, Russell searched the movie ‘Taken.’
There were also two searches related to Amber Alerts on a computer at the spa, including one regarding the maximum age of an Amber Alert.
“I do think it’s highly unusual the day that someone gets kidnapped that seven hours before that, they were searching the internet, Googling the movie Taken about an abduction,’’ Derzis said. “I find that really strange.”
- Russell drove the length of six football fields.
Police released the 911 call Russell made calmly reporting there was a toddler on the interstate. Police found no evidence of a child on I-459, Derzis said.
Data from Russell’s phone, including her Life360 app, shows that she traveled approximately 600 yards in her car while she was on the phone with 911.
Derzis pointed out Russell drove the length of six football fields while making calls about spotting the child.
“I’ve had kids, I’m sure a lot of people here have,’’ he said.
“To think that a toddler, barefoot, that could be 3 or 4 years old, is going to travel six football fields without getting in the roadway, without crying, just moving on, it’s very hard for me to understand.”