Carlee Russell’s story about being abducted after stopping on a highway to help a lone toddler was a hoax, her lawyer has revealed in a statement.
Russell mysteriously vanished on the night of July 13, shortly after she called 911 to report a sighting of a child walking barefoot down I-459 in Hoover, Alabama.
The 25-year-old woman - who is a nursing student - initially told police she would stay at the scene, but then hung up to call her brother’s girlfriend while she went over to help the child.
Her mom, Talitha Robinson-Russell, told AL: "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." She explained that following this, all that could be heard was background noise from the interstate.
Authorities arrived on the scene five minutes after being dispatched and found the young woman's wig, cell phone, and purse along the roadway, with an Apple watch located inside the bag.
After a two-day search, the Alabama nursing student suddenly turned up at the home she shares with her mom and dad at 10:45PM on Saturday (July 15).
The police and fire department were told that Russell returned home "on foot," just over 49 hours after she disappeared. They then transported her to a hospital, where she was treated and later released. Reports also stated that she had been "dropped off" at the home and "appeared to be in shock".
Question marks had been raised over Russell's alleged kidnapping, as investigators divulged that she had searched for bus tickets and had researched the movie Taken, which centers around a young woman being kidnapped, just hours before the incident allegedly occurred, per Insider.
They also disclosed in a press release that they found no evidence to back up the claim of a child wandering along I-459 before Russell's sudden disappearance.
"The Hoover Police Department has not located any evidence of a toddler walking down the interstate, nor did we receive any additional calls about a toddler walking down the interstate, despite numerous vehicles passing through that area as depicted by the traffic camera surveillance video," the cops said in a press release.
Originally, cops said that they are yet to conduct a full interview with Russell, explaining that they are "waiting for her to be made available" to obtain a more detailed statement.
But now, it has been revealed by her attorney, Emory Anthony, that "there was no kidnapping," and that she "did not see a baby," as cited by The New York Post.
The lawyer's confirmation was read by Hoover Police Chief Nicholas Derzis who added: "My client did not have any help in this incident. This was a single act done by herself," per Fox News. "My client was not with anyone or any hotel with anyone from the time she was missing.
"My client apologizes for her actions to this community, the volunteers who were searching for her, to the Hoover Police Department and other agencies as well, and to her friends and family," the statement concluded.
Furthermore, Russell - who has been fired from her job at a spa - is set to be interviewed in the coming days, and police are now considering whether to press criminal charges.