The boyfriend of an Alabama woman who vanished while stopping to help a toddler at the side of a busy highway has claimed she "fought for her life" for two days until returning home.
Carlethia 'Carlee' Russell, 25, had disappeared on Thursday evening after calling 911 to report seeing a small child wandering near the I-459, before pulling over in her car to help them.
She also phoned her sister-in-law who heard a scream down the phone before Carlee disappeared, with her car and all her belongings, including her phone and wig, being found at the side of the highway with no sign of Carlee.
After a two-day search, Carlee thankfully returned home, with family claiming that they believe the toddler was used as bait to lure a woman into stopping so she could be abducted.
Carlee's boyfriend, Thomar Latrell Simmons, took to Facebook after the ordeal to share his thanks for people spreading the word of her disappearance and helping in the search, as well as to share an insight into what Carlee had been through in the days she was missing.
He wrote: "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! 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.
"I have been going nonstop since I received the call that she was missing on Thursday night. I know she would’ve done the same for me, so I wasn’t going to give up until I saw her face again!
"I was straight tunnel vision, even when I would get on social media on my downtime & see some of the false allegations & assumptions about me having something to do with her abduction would have me discouraged at times I didn’t give up & kept my faith!"
He thanked those who messaged and prayed for him and for Carlee to turn up safe, adding: "All I asked from everyone right now is to be respectful of Carlee’s situation.
"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.
"I also want to thank the people on social media who has been understanding & respectful about what she’s been through in these past few days. Once again I can’t thank you guys enough for helping us bring Carlee home! God bless you all."
Carlee's family had earlier alleged that they believed the child their daughter had tried to help was used to "bait" her out of her car.
Surveillance footage showed her red Mercedes coming to a stop at the side of the highway as Carlee appeared to get out of the car, after which her whereabouts for the following two days remain unknown.
Police said that the nursing student "appeared to be in shock" after returning home and was taken to a local hospital for evaluation, with law enforcement saying they were going to give her tine to recover before interviewing her to establish what happened to her from Thursday night onwards.
