Carlee Russell admitted she did not see a little girl wandering on the side of the road and lied about being abducted in a hoax that sparked a national effort to find her, an Alabama lawyer for the woman said Monday.
Hoover Police Chief Nicholas C. Derzis read a statement provided by Russell’s attorney during a news conference, in which the 25-year-old nursing student said she was not abducted as the nation was led to believe when she went missing on July 13. Russell said that she had not left the Hoover area.
She returned home about 49 hours after a 911 call reporting seeing the girl on the interstate.
“My client apologizes for her actions to this community, to the volunteers who were searching for her, to the Hoover Police Department and other agencies as well,” the statement said.
Russell was scheduled to be interviewed by police with her attorney on Monday, but the department received the statement instead, Derzis said. The department hopes to reschedule the interview and speak with Russell for more information.
“We’re still trying to determine where she was during those 49 hours, but I’m glad we got this, at least it puts some of the super sleuths on social media at ease for a while as to … what everyone thinks happened,” Derzis said.
“We know that that, by his own admission, did not happen,” the chief added.
The police department is consulting with the district attorney’s office about possible criminal charges, according to Derzis.
Russell went missing after calling 911 shortly after 9:30 p.m. to report seeing a young child on Interstate 459 South, Hoover police said. She also called a relative to inform him that she had seen the boy and said that he was going to help the boy before the relative lost contact with her, police said.
Authorities said they were unable to verify initial statements made by Russell after she returned home two days later.
Investigators, with the help of the Secret Service, analyzed Russell’s cell phone during the days before he went missing. Authorities said that before she disappeared, she did Internet searches on how to pay for Amber Alerts, how to get money from a cash register without getting caught and the movie “Taken.”
Police also said Russell told them she was forced into an 18-wheeler and taken to a house where a man and woman told her to undress and then took photos of her.
This is a developing history. Please check for updates.
