A 25-year-old woman vanished off the side of Interstate 459 in Hoover Thursday night after telling a 911 dispatcher and her family she saw a child wandering alone.
As of this morning, the search for Carlethia Nichole “Carlee” Russell continues.
Here’s what we know about the effort to bring her home safely:
Who is Carlee Russell?
Russell works part time at The Woodhouse Day Spa at the Summit and attends Jeff State where she is studying to become a registered nurse. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from AUM.
Jefferson State said Friday it was “extremely concerned” for Russell’s safety.
The day of her disappearance, Russell was in Harpersville, where she left police officers there with an impression of a “smart, courteous” woman, the town’s police department said.
Carlee Russell in the clothes she is believed to have been wearing at the time she disappeared.
“We were honored to spend time with this smart, courteous and honoring young woman yesterday,” the department said on social media.
Russell is a Black female, 5-feet, 4-inches tall and weighs between 150 and 160 pounds. She was last seen wearing a black shirt, black pants, and white Nike shoes.
She lives in Hoover with her parents and was not far from home when she vanished.
Her mother said it’s heartbreaking that her daughter disappeared just minutes from the family home.
“She was so close,’’ the mother said through tears.
What happened the night she disappeared?
Thursday night, Russell stopped by Taziki’s at the Colonnade at 9 p.m. to pick up food for herself and her mother.
The search began when Hoover 911 at 9:34 p.m. received a call from Russell, said Lt. Daniel Lowe.
Russell told the dispatcher that she was near mile marker 11 when she saw a toddler walking alone on the side of I-459 between the flyover to the Galleria and Highway 150.
After calling 911, Russell stopped to check on the child and called a family member, Lowe said. The family member lost contact with her, but the line remained open.
Officers located Russell’s red Mercedes, still running but vacant. Some of her belongings nearby. They were unable to find her or a child in the area.
Hoover police have not received any other calls of someone missing a small child.
@al.comnews A search is underway for a woman missing after she told family she was stopping to check on a child walking on the side of Interstate 459 in Hoover. Hoover police held a press conference for the missing woman Friday afternoon. On Thursday around 9:30 PM, Hoover 911 received a call from a 25-year-old woman on I-459 South near mile marker 11. Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell reported seeing a toddler walking alone on the side of the I-459 between the flyover to the Galleria and Highway 150. After calling 911, Russel stopped to check on the child and called a family member to report the same details. The family member lost contact with her, but the line remained open. Rewards totaling $25,000 are being offered as the search continues. If you have any information please contact Detective Brad Fountain at 205-444-7562, Sergeant Drew Mims at 205-739-7274, or Crimestoppers of Metro Alabama at 205-254-7777. 🎥 Produced by Amanda Khorramabadi #crime #copstiktok #breakingnews #missingperson ♬ Ambient-style emotional piano – MoppySound
At 9:36 p.m., her mother, Talitha Russell, said her daughter was on the phone with her brother’s girlfriend. Carlee pulled over after saying she saw a child that appeared to be 3 or 4 years old.
“She probably let her guard down thinking 911 would be there in a second‚” Talitha Russell said.
“My son’s girlfriend heard her asking the child, ‘Are you OK? She never heard the child say anything but then she heard our daughter scream,’’ Talitha Russell said. “All you hear on her phone is background noise from the interstate.”
“Her car door was open,” Talitha said. “They found her phone on the ground, along with her wig and her hat…Her purse was still in the car. Her Apple watch was in her purse and her Air Pods as well.”
Talitha Russell said a tip was called in from a trucker.
“He saw a gray car with a tall brown skinned man with khaki shorts on leaning over in the car,’’ Talitha Russell said.
“The police did find some tire tracks in the grass,’’ she said. “They said because it was not a muddy area, they were not able to determine what type of vehicle it could have been.”
What is the status of the search?
Rewards totaling $25,000 are being offered, according to police. An anonymous donor has put up $20,000. Additionally, Crime Stoppers is offering up to $5,000.
Authorities are not committing to any one theory in Russell’s disappearance, police said at a Friday afternoon press conference.
“We currently are investigating every possibility,’’ Lowe said. “We’re certainly leaving nothing off the table.”
Police have received numerous tips and each one is assigned to an investigator.
“Everything we have at the Hoover Police Department, in addition to our partners, is involved in this investigation right now,” Lowe said.
Volunteers gather at the Hoover Met on July 14, 2023 to search for Carlee Russell. (Carol Robinson)
Angela Harris, mother of Aniah Blanchard, joined the search on Friday.
Blanchard, a 19-year-old Southern Union Community College student from Homewood, vanished in 2019. More than a month would pass before she would be found dead from multiple gunshot wounds in Macon County.
Harris said teams of volunteers spread out from Tuscaloosa to Vestavia Hills to Gardendale to hand out flyers.
After investigators finished with their grid search of the area where Russell’s car was found, Harris and Russell’s family and friends conducted one of their own.
@al.comnews Hoover police held a press conference for a missing Alabama woman Friday afternoon. In part two, Lieutenant Daniel Lowe answers reporters’ questions at the press conference. A search is underway for a woman missing after she told family she was stopping to check on a child walking on the side of Interstate 459 in Hoover. On Thursday around 9:30 PM, Hoover 911 received a call from a 25-year-old woman on I-459 South near mile marker 11. Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell reported seeing a toddler walking alone on the side of the I-459 between the flyover to the Galleria and Highway 150. After calling 911, Russel stopped to check on the child and called a family member to report the same details. The family member lost contact with her, but the line remained open. Rewards totaling $25,000 are being offered as the search continues. If you have any information please contact Detective Brad Fountain at 205-444-7562, Sergeant Drew Mims at 205-739-7274, or Crimestoppers of Metro Alabama at 205-254-7777. 🎥 Produced by Amanda Khorramabadi #crime #copstiktok #breakingnews #missingperson ♬ Ambient-style emotional piano – MoppySound
Harris said the volunteer searchers are limited because there is no place to search.
“It’s the most frustrating,’’ she said. “I told the family, whatever you feel in heart, where you think you need to go, go.”
Lowe said the information in Russell’s disappearance has been provided to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
If you have any information please contact Detective Brad Fountain at 205-444-7562, Sergeant Drew Mims at 205-739-7274, or Crimestoppers of Metro Alabama at 205-254-7777.
