Carlee Russell, a 25-year-old Black woman from Alabama who was reported missing late last week, has been found alive and currently receiving treatment at a local hospital for evaluation. Carlee Russell was first reported missing last Thursday (July 13) but was found and returned home Saturday evening (July 15).
As reported by local news outlet WVTM, Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell reportedly made a 911 call saying that she saw a toddler wandering near a local interstate exit on her way home from her job at a nearby day spa. Russell was said to have stopped to speak to the child after speaking with her family who then lost contact with her. Russell’s car later was found intact at the site of the reported missing child but neither she nor the child was located.
Alarms were raised because many online noted that a common tactic used by human traffickers is to have a child or person looking lost in a remote or unoccupied area as bait. A trucker also told authorities they saw Russell’s car and that a grey vehicle pulled up in front of it.
A report from AL.com adds that Russell returned home Saturday to her family’s home in Hoover, Ala., and she was then taken to a hospital for treatment. It isn’t known where Russell was or what occurred in the time two days that she was reported missing. Russell was apparently on the phone with her brother’s girlfriend when she reportedly spotted the toddler near I-459.
On Twitter, speculation over the case of Carlee Russell prompted a number of responses ranging from concern and then skepticism. There were even some believing the incident was a hoax.
If further details are revealed to the public, we will update this post. For now, please see some of the reactions from Twitter.
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1.
SHE’S BEEN FOUND ALIVE!!#CarleeRussell pic.twitter.com/xuIVk1zHrt
— DaPrettiest
(@SittinPrettyLay) July 16, 2023
2.
Mfs saying #CarleeRussell was a hoax are about to piss me off. Y’all wanted her to be found dead because you wanted to hear the story on your favorite true crime podcasts. You bitches are sick. This is real life
— Hooker T. Washington
(@AQualityMess) July 16, 2023
3.
It is so good to know that #CarleeRussell has been found alive. The public’s “right to know”, however, does not include a right to know about any trauma she may have endured. She & her family deserve privacy, time, & healing. https://t.co/iujteK13P9
— Rev. & Prof. Cornell William Brooks
(@CornellWBrooks) July 16, 2023
4.
I’m so happy for #CarleeRussell’s safe return but after reading that this is a tactic commonly used to lure women, my apologies to all the children I drive past
—
Emo Spencer on CrySpace
(@FuckSarahBeth) July 16, 2023
5.
You know…some of you really need to get a life. #CarleeRussell has been found and bc she’s not dead suddenly it was a hoax and you “have questions” and yada yada. Fuck you and your “I watch True Crime shows” quasi-intellectual bullshit.
Nobody asked and nobody cares.
— Rae The Writer (@WriteAsRae) July 16, 2023
6.
#CarleeRussell good job she made it home safe… but we still got 2 missing women still out dere from this month please continue to share…. 1 is a teen @wsfa12news @CNN @birminghamnew @AL_Newswire pic.twitter.com/gIksf6uf6L
— $treetman (@01Streetman) July 16, 2023
7.
I’ve been following Toni Rivera on IG for years & I remember a while back she said the more headlines a person makes the more likely traffickers are to let them go because it could jeopardize their entire operation. I believe that played a part in #CarleeRussell’s safe return https://t.co/JkwlD7Nt2Q
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𝒥𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝐸𝓇𝒾𝒸𝒶
(@StompOnYoTweets) July 16, 2023
8.
My prayer is for ALL missing Black women/men/children to have this type of effort behind them. This is what happens when the search for missing people is immediate . #CarleeRussell
— TheFineAuthor (@TheFineAuthor_) July 16, 2023
9.
So because #CarleeRussell was found alive she staged this whole thing for attention? Like damn, did y’all want her to be found dead to fulfill some sicko true crime fantasy?
— Ryan (@_RyanMar_) July 16, 2023
10.
accusing a black woman of staging her disappearance is honestly WILD considering how many black woman go missing and get very little attention or resources put into finding them #CarleeRussell
— jiana (@cyberheme) July 16, 2023
11.
Watching the internet turn on another Black person is wild. Yesterday it was “human trafficking is real, we gotta find #CarleeRussell “ now that she is found alive, like everyone wanted, she must’ve lied and made it all up?! What is wrong with y’all?
— Josie Brandt (@lostchildcle) July 16, 2023
12.
I am so grateful to hear that #CarleeRussell has been found alive.
However, it's important to acknowledge the following facts: approximately 40 percent of those who go missing are often black, and currently, there are over 64,000 missing black women in the U.S.
— Terence Lester, Ph.D. (@imTerenceLester) July 16, 2023
13.
Glad she’s safe. #CarleeRussell
Now we need to address parents giving the media retouched and filtered photos of missing women. If someone is looking for the first woman, they’ll walk right by the second. Glowups aren’t helping here. Women in danger aren’t fixing their makeup. pic.twitter.com/45e8tuIGME
— Derij (@Dejoco_) July 16, 2023
14.
…Her features are literally the same? This isn’t a case of looking completely different without makeup. And obviously you wouldn’t be looking for someone glammed up with hair.
— IG/SC KrysBrown89 (@KrysBrown89) July 16, 2023
15.
First y’all was praying for her safe return home, now she is home, you claim she lied an wanted attention? Somebody call a psychiatrist because you people are sick!! #CarleeRussell pic.twitter.com/QPeFr9VyZe
— DJ Skillz (@RnBMaster) July 16, 2023