Carlethia Nichole “Carlee” Robinson Russell, 25, of Hoover, Alabama, United States lied about seeing a baby on the side of the road and being kidnapped on July 13, 2023. She has admitted to lying and noted that she acted alone.
While pursuing a bachelor’s degree in nursing at the Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham, Alabama, Russell worked part-time at Woodhouse Spa at the Summit shopping center in Birmingham. She is the daughter of Carlos Rusell, 49, and Talitha Robinson Russell, 48, and the sister of Kymari Johnson, 30.
At 9:34 p.m., Carlee called 911 to report a male toddler walking on I-459 South, a highway that runs south of Birmingham, then went missing. When she returned home in Hoover on July 15, 2023, she told her parents and investigators she had been abducted.
Hoover Police Department chief Nick Derzis said the department still does not know where Carlee was during the days investigators, volunteers, family and friends were looking for her. On July 24, 2023, he read a statement from her attorney Emery Anthony.
“There was no kidnapping on Thursday, July 13, 2023,” Anthony stated. “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.”
Carlee herself has yet to personally speak about her lies. Her lawyer said, “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.”
“We ask for your prayers for Carlee as she addresses her issues and attempts to move forward, understanding that she made a mistake in this matter,” Anthony continued. The lawyer emphasized that Carlee “was not with anyone or any hotel with anyone from the time she was missing”.
CONAN Daily 