Missing Alabama woman

[Wishes]

Anyone more local know more about this? It’s so unnerving. I keep looking for updates to see if Carlee has been located. The kid too.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/14/us/carlee-russell-missing-alabama/index.html

Edited July 15, 2023 by Wishes

[Mrs Tiggywinkle Again]

I keep watching for updates. It’s definately bizarre. Her poor family.

[whitestavern]

It almost sounds like a set up/trap. Put a toddler out til some unsuspecting female stops to check it out. Horrible. I hope they find them. 

Edited July 15, 2023 by whitestavern

[Scarlett]

I think it was definitely a trap.  What woman could not stop to help a toddler on the interstate.  She was smart to call 911. 
 

very scary.  

[Grace Hopper]

4 hours ago, whitestavern said:

It almost sounds like a set up/trap. Put a toddler out til some unsuspecting female stops to check it out. Horrible. I hope they find them. 

I keep asking myself how I would have responded. Carlee obviously did the right thing by calling 911, before she apparently got out of her vehicle.

I’d definitely call 911. But man, I would be so conflicted about what to do next. I don’t think it’s too hard to realize it may be a trap - given the child was on an interstate road rather than a neighborhood street with no adults in sight. But what about the welfare of the child? My inclination would be to quickly snatch up that baby, put them in my car and drive to the nearest police station, which would come at the risk of being charged with kidnapping.
 

I can’t imagine seeing a toddler in danger on the highway and not stopping; what a horrible, horrible way to entrap a person. 

Edited July 15, 2023 by Grace Hopper

[popmom]

(((deep sigh))) this is very, very local to me. Less than 10 minutes from my house. It has been weighing very heavy on us today. I drive this stretch of interstate regularly. It's city of Hoover. We have an excellent police department. My twins are 25. Dh and I were talking earlier about how this could easily be one of our girls. And it could be a dog wandering on the side of a highway, and they would stop.

This stretch of interstate--we know it well. It is 100% residential on both sides of I459 right there. On the east side it's newer upscale housing developments. On the west side--which is the side she stopped on--it's older, established neighborhoods. Not at all a crime ridden area. This is a desirable area with excellent schools. Dh pulled up the map at that mile marker. There are homes on the south bound side that are less than 150 feet from the interstate. But I am certain Hoover PD has been questioning everyone in that neighborhood.  Dh and I were talking about the possibility that some crazy, evil person who lived in that neighborhood might have set this up. And maybe they could find her. As much as I hate to think that could happen in my community, it's preferable to the alternative. 

It is such a nightmare. Please, please pray. I have always heard that I20 is bad for trafficking. This interstate joins up with I20/59 10 miles south of where this happened. But NOTHING like this has ever happened here. NOTHING like this. It's absolutely horrifying. When we hear about I20--it's more that it is a heavily traveled route for traffickers--not that WE have kidnappings. 

By all accounts she is a normal, hard working, young woman with absolutely no reason to believe she could have been involved in anything dangerous. She was speaking to a family member on her phone. Horrifying.

It was only 9:30 at night--so much traffic would have been going by! I have to believe someone saw something. I am praying that Hoover PD has some leads that they aren't making public. I know that happens sometimes. 

I can't stop thinking about her. Her family. 

Edited July 15, 2023 by popmom

[popmom]

“‘Smart, courteous’ Carlee Russell left imprint on Alabama police department before going missing”

Reflections on an interaction with a small town PD near us. 

https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2023/07/smart-courteous-carlee-russell-left-imprint-on-alabama-police-department-before-going-missing.html

Edited July 15, 2023 by popmom

[Kidlit]

I am horrified by this.  This is an area we travel through several times a year, and I have college-aged children.   I pray she is found safe! 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle Again]

I was watching the traffic cam footage this morning.   Some things aren’t really making sense to me—it’s a heavily traveled road but no one else reported seeing a toddler?  If someone was going to set up this elaborate trap, why use a road that’s so heavily traveled? Wouldn’t that increase the risks of being seeing? There also didn’t seem to be anyplace to hide another vehicle where the kidnappers would lie in wait.  And the dark would extra complicate things.  In a kidnaP scenario it feels like a lower traveled rural road would make a lot more sense.

[lauraw4321]

34 minutes ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle Again said:

I was watching the traffic cam footage this morning.   Some things aren’t really making sense to me—it’s a heavily traveled road but no one else reported seeing a toddler?  If someone was going to set up this elaborate trap, why use a road that’s so heavily traveled? Wouldn’t that increase the risks of being seeing? There also didn’t seem to be anyplace to hide another vehicle where the kidnappers would lie in wait.  And the dark would extra complicate things.  In a kidnaP scenario it feels like a lower traveled rural road would make a lot more sense.

The fact no one else has come forward having seen something makes me very suspicious. My hope is that she wanted to disappear (maybe she had a mental breakdown) and will be found safely having made up the story for an unexplainable reason. 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle Again]

18 minutes ago, lauraw4321 said:

The fact no one else has come forward having seen something makes me very suspicious. My hope is that she wanted to disappear (maybe she had a mental breakdown) and will be found safely having made up the story for an unexplainable reason. 

That is kind of what I was wondering, to be honest. Calling 911 and then a family member before getting out and grabbing the toddler sounded strange to me too.  911, yes, but why a family member? If you were worried about the child’s safety wouldn’t you grab the kid and put them in your car and then call your family member to tell them about it?

And she stopped talking to the family member; but didn’t hang up and the family member didn’t hear anything like a struggle or another person coming up or even the toddler talking.

It just seems strange overall to me.

[KSera]

1 hour ago, lauraw4321 said:

The fact no one else has come forward having seen something makes me very suspicious. My hope is that she wanted to disappear (maybe she had a mental breakdown) and will be found safely having made up the story for an unexplainable reason. 

This is what I’ve been hoping. The alternatives are terrible, so I keep hoping it’s something like this. 

1 hour ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle Again said:

And she stopped talking to the family member; but didn’t hang up and the family member didn’t hear anything like a struggle or another person coming up or even the toddler talking.

It just seems strange overall to me.

I don’t recall which source, but the story I read about this last night said the family member heard her ask, “are you okay?” and then she screamed and then it was just background highway noise after that (they found her phone near her car, didn’t they?). 

[Wishes]

1 minute ago, KSera said:

This is what I’ve been hoping. The alternatives are terrible, so I keep hoping it’s something like this. 

I don’t recall which source, but the story I read about this last night said the family member heard her ask, “are you okay?” and then she screamed and then it was just background highway noise after that (they found her phone near her car, didn’t they?). 

This is what I read as well. There are so many questions and unknowns here.

[Mrs Tiggywinkle Again]

57 minutes ago, KSera said:

This is what I’ve been hoping. The alternatives are terrible, so I keep hoping it’s something like this. 

I don’t recall which source, but the story I read about this last night said the family member heard her ask, “are you okay?” and then she screamed and then it was just background highway noise after that (they found her phone near her car, didn’t they?). 

The source I read(CNN and CBS) said that the line just went silent but remained open, but there seems to be a lot of conflicting information as well.

[Idalou]

The article I read said someone called in a tip to say her saw a tall man in shorts leaning over her car door

[Grace Hopper]

There is a tiktokker claiming to be her brother (and I have no reason to doubt, but also cannot verify iykwim) who is stating what’s been repeated above - she called 911, then called a family member as she got out of the car to check on the child. That call ended abruptly with a scream but not a hang up. Her personal items were left in the vehicle (I imagine so because taking any of that would make it easier to track her). 
 

From images I’ve seen, I get the impression that she is a smart, compassionate and beautiful young woman. Doesn’t immediately strike me as the type who would try to fake her own disappearance but what do I know? Whatever the back story, I do hope she is found safe, and soon. 

[73349]

I wonder if another car was coming along and hit her, and removed her from the scene instead of calling 911.

[Heartstrings]

37 minutes ago, 73349 said:

I wonder if another car was coming along and hit her, and removed her from the scene instead of calling 911.

I think there would be evidence of that.  Blood, tire marks, glass or plastic, etc.  

 

I do think she’s probably not alive at this point though.  

Edited July 15, 2023 by Heartstrings

[lauraw4321]

1 hour ago, Grace Hopper said:

There is a tiktokker claiming to be her brother (and I have no reason to doubt, but also cannot verify iykwim) who is stating what’s been repeated above - she called 911, then called a family member as she got out of the car to check on the child. That call ended abruptly with a scream but not a hang up. Her personal items were left in the vehicle (I imagine so because taking any of that would make it easier to track her). 
 

From images I’ve seen, I get the impression that she is a smart, compassionate and beautiful young woman. Doesn’t immediately strike me as the type who would try to fake her own disappearance but what do I know? Whatever the back story, I do hope she is found safe, and soon. 

The reason this doesn’t make sense to me is that 911 always has you stay in the phone until help arrives. 

[Grace Hopper]

24 minutes ago, lauraw4321 said:

The reason this doesn’t make sense to me is that 911 always has you stay in the phone until help arrives. 

If wondered about that, too. But since there wasn’t an imminent emergency (debatable term, I know), would they have stayed on the line or just treat it like, say, a minor traffic accident? 
 

@Mrs Tiggywinkle Again and other emergency response boardies, tell us more about this please. 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle Again]

24 minutes ago, Grace Hopper said:

If wondered about that, too. But since there wasn’t an imminent emergency (debatable term, I know), would they have stayed on the line or just treat it like, say, a minor traffic accident? 
 

@Mrs Tiggywinkle Again and other emergency response boardies, tell us more about this please. 

It probably depends on the protocols of the 911 agency or county or whoever runs it. I know when I’ve called 911 for myself they have never stayed on the phone until someone came but everything was pretty stable.  It wouldn’t surprise me that it was treated like a minor car accident or complaint and they wouldn’t stay on the line.

[Heartstrings]

I’ve heard reporting that 911 wanted her to stay on the phone but she felt that she needed to call a family member to let them know she was going to be home later than expected.  911 can request that you stay on the line, but they can’t actually force you or prevent you from hanging up.  
 

Although on most cell phones it’s very easy to stay on a phone call and send a text message saying you’ll be late, so needing to get off the phone with 911 doesn’t quite hold up.  

[Wishes]

3 hours ago, Grace Hopper said:

There is a tiktokker claiming to be her brother (and I have no reason to doubt, but also cannot verify iykwim) who is stating what’s been repeated above - she called 911, then called a family member as she got out of the car to check on the child. That call ended abruptly with a scream but not a hang up. Her personal items were left in the vehicle (I imagine so because taking any of that would make it easier to track her). 
 

From images I’ve seen, I get the impression that she is a smart, compassionate and beautiful young woman. Doesn’t immediately strike me as the type who would try to fake her own disappearance but what do I know? Whatever the back story, I do hope she is found safe, and soon. 

This. She already has a degree in psychology and is going for a nursing degree. If she wanted to slip away quietly, this wouldn’t be the way to do it.

[Heartstrings]

After watching the traffic video of her car, whatever happened happened in the grassy area between the highway and the trees.   It’s scary to see how many cars drove by and no one saw anything because it was so dark.  You would think the camera would have caught something.  Her car is in full view of a camera the whole time.  
 

The video is hard to make heads or tails of, so many lights from the cars, so much reflection.  It really seems like you can see a car driving against traffic on the grass for a few seconds, but there’s so much light reflecting that it’s impossible to say.  
 

ETA: people say you can see someone get out of the drivers side and walk to the passenger side, but I can’t tell if that’s really what I’m seeing or not., 

Edited July 15, 2023 by Heartstrings

[Grace Hopper]

19 minutes ago, Heartstrings said:

After watching the traffic video of her car, whatever happened happened in the grassy area between the highway and the trees.   It’s scary to see how many cars drove by and no one saw anything because it was so dark.  You would think the camera would have caught something.  Her car is in full view of a camera the whole time.  
 

The video is hard to make heads or tails of, so many lights from the cars, so much reflection.  It really seems like you can see a car driving against traffic on the grass for a few seconds, but there’s so much light reflecting that it’s impossible to say.  
 

ETA: people say you can see someone get out of the drivers side and walk to the passenger side, but I can’t tell if that’s really what I’m seeing or not., 

I viewed that and have seen many come to conclusions that I am just not seeing. I think the video is too cluttered for the layman’s eye to make any fully accurate deductions. 

[Mrs Tiggywinkle Again]

8 minutes ago, Grace Hopper said:

I viewed that and have seen many come to conclusions that I am just not seeing. I think the video is too cluttered for the layman’s eye to make any fully accurate deductions. 

I agree—I did see someone on TikTok with a LE investigative background say that what appears to be a car driving backward is just a reflection.  I don’t really see a second person in it but at least it seems to confirm there wasn’t a second vehicle.

What I did notice was several tractor trailers passing by who may have dash cam footage. Hopefully LE is able to find those drivers somehow and review it.

[Heartstrings]

Given what we can see in the video I am surprised that we aren't able to see a struggle.  I expected to be able to see a shadows moving about or something.  It almost looks like an alien abduction, one minute she's there and the next she's gone, poof.  I was very surprised to see how FAST the whole thing happened.  You see her pull over and then 2 minutes later is the flashing blue police light coming up on the scene.  Whatever happened was lightening quick.  

 

ETA correction.  the original video is closer to 4 minutes, not 2 min.  Still fast, but not quite as fast as I originally thought.  

Edited July 16, 2023 by Heartstrings

[Pawz4me]

3 minutes ago, Heartstrings said:

Given what we can see in the video I am surprised that we aren't able to see a struggle.  I expected to be able to see a shadows moving about or something.  It almost looks like an alien abduction, one minute she's there and the next she's gone, poof.  I was very surprised to see how FAST the whole thing happened.  You see her pull over and then 2 minutes later is the flashing blue police light coming up on the scene.  Whatever happened was lightening quick.  

Not that I actually believe in alien abductions, but I was thinking the same thing.

[Heartstrings]

3 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

Not that I actually believe in alien abductions, but I was thinking the same thing.

I've seen some speculating that this video is actually of the car being dumped, that its possible she was abducted from somewhere nearby and they moved the car a ways to throw off the investigation.  I don't think that lines up with all of the facts so far, but its also such a strange situation and such a weird video that I don't think its dismissible out of hand yet. 

I think aliens are a last resort explanation but you know what Sherlock says, once you rule out the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable must be the truth.   

[popmom]

10 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

Not that I actually believe in alien abductions, but I was thinking the same thing.

I wasn't going to say anything, but this is what my husband said. He said...what if it wasn't a toddler??? Not that we believe in aliens. It's just so absolutely bizarre. It all just seems impossible.

Edited July 16, 2023 by popmom

[Heartstrings]

Has anyone seen the tweet she did the day before she went missing? Said a guy was staring at her from his car "for like 10 minutes" and it creeped her out.  

[popmom]

Is it possible the video coverage that has been released has been edited by law enforcement to cut out that time frame?

Also, we haven't seen a video. Is this a traffic camera? because this is a stretch of interstate with nothing but residential on both sides. We have never noticed traffic cameras.

[Heartstrings]

6 minutes ago, popmom said:

Is it possible the video coverage that has been released has been edited by law enforcement to cut out that time frame?

Also, we haven't seen a video. Is this a traffic camera? because this is a stretch of interstate with nothing but residential on both sides. We have never noticed traffic cameras.

I wondered about both of those things.  The video is from up high and kind of far away, is there a bridge or anything there?  It looks like the camera footage that DOT puts out every mile or so to monitor traffic and weather. 

 

ETA: ALDOT does have cameras along that stretch, you can see several here....https://algotraffic.com/Cameras including one marked 459 11.7 which I'm guessing is just past mile marker 11.   

Edited July 16, 2023 by Heartstrings

[popmom]

1 minute ago, Heartstrings said:

I wondered about both of those things.  The video is from up high and kind of far away, is there a bridge or anything there?  It looks like the camera footage that DOT puts out every mile or so to monitor traffic and weather.  

We found the video, and yes I have to believe they are DOT cams. There are no overpasses at that location.

I believe they cut out some footage because the footage cuts to another camera or angle right as the blue lights show up. Al.com posted the footage on youtube, and there are so many comments. I am going to read through them later.

[popmom]

The other bizarre thing is it didn't happen they way I would have pictured. How was she able to see a baby that far ahead in order to safely slow and pull into the emergency lane from highway speed? I would have thought she would have passed by the child, pulled over and backed up. There is so much about this that doesn't make sense. 

 

Edited July 16, 2023 by popmom

[EKS]

I just watched the video.  It seems to me that she drives on the shoulder way longer than she would have if she had seen a toddler there.  It's dark, and the kid wouldn't walk that fast.  

[Heartstrings]

Just now, EKS said:

I just watched the video.  It seems to me that she drives on the shoulder way longer than she would have if she had seen a toddler there.  It's dark, and the kid wouldn't walk that fast.  

Gives more credence to the idea of the video being of the car being dumped. 

[popmom]

Deleting bad information 

Edited July 16, 2023 by popmom

[popmom]

That particular spot on I459--those houses back right up to the interstate. Someone could have been waiting on the street in front of those houses--like a getaway vehicle.  I have to believe there are fences though, so it's unlikely.

deleting after seeing the other video.

Edited July 16, 2023 by popmom

[Idalou]

I would think there are ways officials could clean up the video to see more clearly. Maybe they are not telling the public all they know in order to let the offender think he's unknown.

[popmom]

21 minutes ago, Heartstrings said:

Has anyone seen the tweet she did the day before she went missing? Said a guy was staring at her from his car "for like 10 minutes" and it creeped her out.  

dh and I are speculating that she may have been coerced into making the dialogue to be recorded--the scream--the 911 call-- all of it. 

[Heartstrings]

Just now, popmom said:

That particular spot on I459--those houses back right up to the interstate. Someone could have been waiting on the street in front of those houses--like a getaway vehicle.  I have to believe there are fences though, so it's unlikely.

But they definitely cut that video. That's very interesting.

How long is the one you're watching?  I found one that is 4:40 and I don't think it looks edited. It shows way more light activity in the woods than the first one I watched.  

[popmom]

Just now, Heartstrings said:

How long is the one you're watching?  I found one that is 4:40 and I don't think it looks edited. It shows way more light activity in the woods than the first one I watched.  

4 minutes 57 seconds

[Heartstrings]

Just now, popmom said:

4 minutes 57 seconds

And it still looks edited to you? Interesting.  I can't see it, but I'm pretty bad at telling that stuff, so I'm inclined to take your word for it.  I don't see the other cars on the road do anything weird like I would expect if the video was cut, to me it just looks like the police light is so bright that it takes over the screen when they show up.  Where does it look cut to you? 

[popmom]

9 minutes ago, popmom said:

That particular spot on I459--those houses back right up to the interstate. Someone could have been waiting on the street in front of those houses--like a getaway vehicle.  I have to believe there are fences though, so it's unlikely.

But they definitely cut that video. That's very interesting.

quoting myself to add...

People have been searching that neighborhood, and they are using drones to search, too.

[popmom]

6 minutes ago, Heartstrings said:

And it still looks edited to you? Interesting.  I can't see it, but I'm pretty bad at telling that stuff, so I'm inclined to take your word for it.  I don't see the other cars on the road do anything weird like I would expect if the video was cut, to me it just looks like the police light is so bright that it takes over the screen when they show up.  Where does it look cut to you? 

Here is the video I watched. It cuts to a completely different angle right before the blue lights can be seen. edit to add: I rewatched twice. It cuts strangely because the police were in camera range before the footage with them in it starts--if that makes sense. Somebody saw something. and the investigators don't want release what they know. I have to believe that.

 

Edited July 16, 2023 by popmom

[Mrs Tiggywinkle Again]

16 minutes ago, popmom said:

dh and I are speculating that she may have been coerced into making the dialogue to be recorded--the scream--the 911 call-- all of it. 

This is a predominant theory on TikTok at the moment.  Because nothing about this makes sense at all. 

[Heartstrings]

10 minutes ago, popmom said:

Here is the video I watched. It cuts to a completely different angle right before the blue lights can be seen.

 

That one definitely looks edited.  This one shows the whole thing with no zooming .  The last 30-45 seconds have lots of light activity in the woods, looks like flashlights to me, but there is too much reflection happening everywhere to be sure. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 16, 2023 by Heartstrings

[Wishes]

2 minutes ago, Mrs Tiggywinkle Again said:

This is a predominant theory on TikTok at the moment.  Because nothing about this makes sense at all. 

But why? If they had just abducted her without the 9-1-1 call, her family would have to go through the rigmarole of waiting for a certain time period for her to be considered missing and then “prove” to the police that she’s not the type of woman who would up and leave. This calls all sorts of attention to the issue. Even if they wanted a misdirect, the case is gaining enough traction to have her story being spread all around the US

[Heartstrings]

I want to see time stamps. What time was the 911 call, was there time for someone to move the car?  Even moving it a little ways would throw things off and eat up time.  It looks like a dumped car to me, dumped by someone who knew the area and knew where the camera was, because they pulled over and turned on the flashers right as the car came into view of the camera, then pulled WAAAY too far along the road for the toddler story to make sense with the video. 

Edited July 16, 2023 by Heartstrings