Alabama‘s attorney general slammed Carlee Russell over how much time and resources she wasted after they charged her with two misdemeanor charges of filing a false report Friday.
Nursing student Russell, 25, captured headlines after she went missing while on a 911 call on July 13, during which she reported finding a toddler by the side of the road. She now faces up to two years in jail and $12,000 in fines.
After she turned up two days later claiming that a man with ‘orange hair’ abducted her, she told police that she had been kidnapped and spun an elaborate tale about escaping to her freedom.
‘We don’t see this as a victimless crime,’ Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said at a Friday news conference. ‘There are significant hours spent, resources expended as a result of this investigation.’
She later admitted she’d made the whole saga up, confessing in a written statement that the kidnapping never occurred and it was ‘a mistake.’
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall slammed Carlee Russell his department charged her with two misdemeanor charges of filing a false report
Marshall said he intends to ‘fully prosecute’ Russell and said his office will take into account the police investigation to see whether additional charges are warranted.
His office was asked to handle the prosecution because of the attention the case received, according to Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis.
‘This story opened wounds for families whose loved ones really were victims of kidnappings,’ Derzis said.
‘Her decisions that night created panic and alarm for citizens of our city and even across the nation as concern grew that a kidnapper was on the loose using a small child as bait,’ he added.
‘Numerous law enforcement agencies, both local and federal, began working tirelessly not only to bring Carlee home to her family but locate a kidnapper that we know now never existed. Many private citizens volunteered their time and energy in looking for a potential kidnapping victim that we know now was never in any danger.’
Russell, 25, was driving home from work in Hoover, Alabama, on July 13 when she called 911 claiming she’d seen a toddler in a diaper on the side of the road.
She then called her brother’s girlfriend, claiming the same sight, and screamed down the phone.
The Russell family lives in a $800,000 house and hold steady jobs – her mother is a realtor and her father is a VP at a bank.
Carlee Russell grinned in her mugshot today after being arrested for faking her own abduction
Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis announcing charges against Carlee Russell today
Quite why the spa therapist made up her story remains unclear.
There were rumors she was trying to win back the attention of her boyfriend, from whom she’d recently split, when she staged the hoax.
Russell was reported missing on July 13, after making a bizarre phone call to 911 in which she claimed she found a toddler on the side of a highway
The boyfriend frantically appealed for information when she was missing then quickly distanced himself from her when her story started to crumble.
Now, there are also questions over whether she will have to repay the $100,000 that was spent in the search for her.
Russell’s parents are yet to comment on her arrest and she is yet to explain why she lied.
In a statement, her attorney said: ‘My client has given me permission to make the following statement on her behalf:
‘There was no kidnapping on July 13, 2023. My client did not see a baby on the side of the road. My client did not leave the Hoover area when she was identified as a missing person. My client did not have any help in this incident, but this was a single act done by herself.
‘My client was not with anyone or at any hotel during the time she was missing.
DailyMail.com spotted members of Carlee’s family visiting a Wells Fargo ATM today to withdraw the funds for her $2000 bond
The relatives seemed to be in high spirits despite the looming charges against her
After Russell ‘disappeared’ on July 13, her ex-boyfriend Thomar Simmons (pictured together) had posted frantic appeals for information on social media and then made a supportive post once Russell returned home. He has now spoken out to say he is ‘disgusted’ with her hoax
‘My client apologizes for her actions to the community, the volunteers who were searching for her, to the Hoover Police Department and other agencies, as well as to her friends and family.
‘We ask for your prayers for Carlee as she addresses her issues and intends to move understanding that she made a mistake.
‘Carlee again asks for your forgiveness and prayers.’
DailyMail
