The internet is abuzz with speculation as Carlee Russell, a woman who disappeared from a Hoover, Alabama highway, chooses to remain silent, and her family appeals for privacy.
However, many people who were invested in her story are eager to uncover the truth about what happened to Russell for the 48 hours she was missing and how she made it back home from the side of the highway after leaving her car, personal belongings, including her purse, phone and smart watch behind.
According to Russell’s family, she was on the phone with a family friend on Thursday, July 13 when Russell said she spotted a small child wandering on a busy highway. The friend told Russell’s parents she pulled over and called 911 and reported the sighting to emergency personnel. She disappeared shortly after seemingly getting out of the car to check on the toddler.
Ever since Russell returned home on July 15, questions have arisen about her whereabouts and what transpired on the highway in the time she was gone. Video footage from the scene of her disappearance also doesn’t capture any other vehicles stopping until an emergency vehicle shows up reportedly five minutes after her 911 call.
Some speculate that the woman may have been kidnapped or a victim of a human trafficking ring after her parents and boyfriend referred to a “kidnapper” or “abductor” in recent interviews.
“Carlee has given detectives her statement so that they can continue to pursue her abductor,” Talitha Russell, Carlee’s mother, read from the statement.
According to one anti-trafficking organization, the scenario of a human trafficker using a child to lure victims is highly unlikely and inconsistent with how traffickers typically operate.
Sabrina Thulander, the communications director for Polaris, the nonprofit organization running the National Human Trafficking Hotline, stated that they are not aware of traffickers using such tactics. She dismissed the notion of traffickers luring compassionate women, asserting that it is a fictional trope.
“These kind of rumors spread on social media quite a lot,” Thulander said.
According to Thulander, only around 6 percent of individuals contacting the hotline since 2007 have reported abduction as their experience, Insider reports.
Abduction attracts unwanted attention, making it an unfavorable choice for traffickers, Thulander said. She explained that traffickers often exploit family ties or prey on vulnerabilities in intimate or romantic relationships. They often target unhoused people or runaway teens and commonly use drugs, legitimate job offers, or other promises of resources to lure them.
Hoover police officials say they are still reviewing surveillance footage from the highway and Russell’s 911 call. Authorities have not received any reports of a missing toddler apart from Russell’s own report.
While some have accused Russell of a hoax, her family has asked the public to stop speculating as she tries to recover from the ordeal.
“There were moments when she physically had to fight for her life, and there were moments when she had to mentally fight for her life,” Talitha said. “She made it back.”
“She’s having to deal with the trauma of people just making completely false allegations about her,” the mother added.
