Carlee Russel, a 25 year old nursing student from hoover Alabama disappeared after a 911 call, then returned home two days later. This event started with a assumption and a 911 call coming after. Carlee said she had seen a toddler on the highway and decided to pull over to investigate. Before she got out of the car, Carlee called a family member to explain what she had witnessed. After she called 911, she got out of her car to find the toddler. when she was supposedly kidnapped. Before appearing on her parents doorstep two days later.
What happened to Carlee in those two days? As the scene is being investigated, FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer is rooting out the possibilities of what could’ve happened to Carlee Russel. One possibility, she said, is that Russell “was actually kidnapped, and that’s why she disappeared. They took her to a residence and then they let her go, or she was able to escape and get back home.”
Certain facts support this theory according to Coffindaffer. There’s video evidence that Russell pulled over on the side of I-459, leaving her car door open and the engine running. She also talked to a relative who apparently heard Russell talking to a child, “although it was very clear that they didn’t hear the child respond,” Coffindaffer added.
Also according to Coffindaffer, a second possibility is that the kidnapping is a hoax, as some social media users are suggesting it was a ploy for attention. She added that she doesn’t think this is the case based on how genuine the despair of Russell’s family was over her disappearance. A third possibility is that Russell experienced a breakdown or a mental health crisis. Coffindaffer stated that what she saw could have been in her mind, causing her to believe she had seen a three-to-four year old child. “That’s why she called 911, she abandoned her car because she believed she was being kidnapped. These things happen, and these types of situations are very real—but I wouldn’t want to diagnose her that way at this point.” Coffindaffer said. For Coffindaffer, all three options are possible. Some witnesses said they saw a man pulling over in a gray car near Russell’s vehicle.
“These witness accounts cannot be quickly discounted” she said, “and they could support the theory that Russell was kidnapped.” That would mean that either Russell was not kidnapped, she lied, or no one had been accounted for anything yet. But that doesn’t make sense because I think they would have announced that, Coffindaffer said of the latter.” So maybe instead of a kidnapping case this was a mental health crisis case”. While the police investigation into Russell’s disappearance continues, Coffindaffer thinks people should refrain from judgment. “We don’t know for sure what happened to Russell,” Coffindaffer said. “And when you’re talking about something so fragile and important as a possible mental health crisis, it’s unfair to make such a conclusion without more information.”
The situation with Carlee Russel is split 50-50. Many people believed there was something deeper going on with her. Because, what mindset do you have to be in to fake a kidnapping? The interviewers were asked if they think the family was involved and they 100% said yes. The family was barely involved and barely showed enough emotion for her to be missing. The whole family needs to be investigated, not just her.