HOOVER, Ala. (WBRC/Gray News) - A 25-year-old Alabama woman disappeared after calling 911 and reporting she saw a toddler walking on the side of the interstate. WBRC confirmed she has been found alive.
Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell, 25, was taken to UAB Hospital after she was found, WBRC confirmed through Angela Harris. She was reported missing Thursday out of Hoover.
Police say the Hoover 911 Center received a call from Russell around 9:30 p.m. Thursday as she returned home from work. She reported seeing a toddler walking on the side of I-459 South near mile marker 11.
After calling 911, Russell stopped to check on the child and called her sister-in-law around 9:36 p.m. to report the same details. The family member lost contact with her, but the line remained open.
“In the process at some point she got out of the car and my daughter-in-law could hear her asking the child if they were OK. The child did not respond, or at least she did not hear her respond, he or she respond. And then she heard our daughter Carlee scream and from there on all we could hear was noise...background noise in her phone which we later found out was noise from the interstate,” said Carlee Russell’s mother, Talitha Russell.
Authorities found Carlee’s wig, hat and cell phone close to her car. They were unable to find her or a child in the area. Police said they did not receive any calls of someone missing a small child.
Talitha Russell said they do have some indication there may have been a gray vehicle that a trucker saw that pulled in front of her daughter’s car at some point as they were passing along the interstate.
According to CrimeStoppers, the reward for information on the case reached $55,000, as of Saturday morning.