Carlee Russell (inset) reportedly called family from beside this highway.
Carlee Russell (inset) reportedly called family from beside this highway.
The boyfriend of a US woman who disappeared after telling family she was stopping her car to help a wandering toddler has spoken out to say she was kidnapped and “fighting for her life” during a two-day ordeal.
25-year-old Alabama woman Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell returned home late on Saturday after being the focus of a two-day search by police and family members who reported her missing after she stopped to check on a child who was walking along a highway.
Police said Russell had returned on foot to the home she shares with her parents in Hoover, AL.com reported late Saturday night.
Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said Russell arrived home alone and was brought to a hospital for evaluation, AL.com reported.
Russell’s boyfriend took to social media to thank everyone involved in the search for his partner and to offer an update on her condition.
“I don’t even know how to start off this post but to only say thank you to my lord & savior Jesus Christ for saving my girlfriend’s life!” Thomar Simmons wrote.
“Also, thank you to everyone who shared a picture, came out to the Hoover Met to help us with the search parties, & who went & proceeded to tell other people about Carlee to bring more awareness to her story.
“She was literally fighting for her life for 48 hours, so until she’s physically & mentally stable again she is not able to give any updates or whereabouts on her kidnapper at this very moment.”
He also thanked those on social media who had been spreading Russell’s story in an effort to find her.
“Once again I can’t thank you guys enough for helping us bring Carlee home! God bless you all.”
Simmons’ statement follows an earlier plea from Russell’s parents who said that their daughter had been lured away by someone using the toddler as “bait”.
Talitha Russell told AL.com her daughter was headed home in the community about 16km south of Birmingham after leaving work and stopping to get food. She was on the phone with her brother’s girlfriend when she said she saw a child on the roadside.
“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 said. “From there, all you hear on her phone is background noise from the interstate.”
Russell’s whereabouts were not immediately clear since around 10.45 p.m. Thursday when she called 911 and a family member to say she saw a young child walking on the side of Interstate 459.
Police found Russell’s car and her cellphone but were unable to find her or a child in the area.
Hoover Police Lt. Daniel Lowe said the family member on the phone with Russell lost contact with her even though the line remained open. A single witness reported possibly seeing a grey vehicle and a man standing outside of Carlee’s vehicle, but they had no additional information.
Video showed Russell's car slowing and stopping. Photo / AL.com
Poor quality video from the scene showed Russell’s car slowing and stopping but did not offer much detail.
Hoover police Chief Nick Derzis said his team had seen the video, which he described as “not the greatest”.
It proves that Carlee’s car was there, and we know that when the officers responded after the 911 call that she was not,” Derzis said.
Hoover police said they had spoken to Russell.
“The details of that statement are a part of the ongoing investigation which is expected to continue over the next few days.
“During the initial portion of the investigation detectives were able to retrace nearly all of Carlee’s steps until the point she went missing and are confident that will continue to be the case,” they said in a statement.
