Cops find no evidence nursing student was kidnapped after three-day manhunt
Police have poured cold water over claims made by a woman who said she was abducted after pulling over to help a child by the side of the road.
Law enforcement in Alabama initially reported that Carlee Russell disappeared from the side of the I-495 interstate after she made the 911 call near Hoover, Alabama 9.34pm on Thursday, July 13.
Her disappearance sparked a frantic man hunt which generated $62,000 in donations - before she reappeared at her parents' house on Saturday night.
She returned home after 48 hours but now Hoover Police Department Chief Nicholas Derzis has described her story as "very hard to understand."
At a shocking police conference, police have said no trace of a child was found by investigators, despite Ms Russell’s claims.
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'We have been unable to verify most of her initial statements, and we have no reason to believe there is a threat to public safety,' Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said.
Hoover Police Department Chief Nicholas Derzis gave an update about the case (WFLA)Ms Russell told police when she got out the car to check on the toddler, a man came out of the trees and grabbed her.
She then said the man put her in an 18 wheeler and his unknown female partner fed her cheese crackers.
'She said a man came out of the trees and mumbled that he was checking on the baby, then picked her up and took her over a fence and into a car.
Her parents spoke out about their daughter's ordeal (TODAYshow)'She said the next thing she remembered was being in the trailer of an 18-wheeler, and that there was a female whose voice she heard but who she didn't see.
'She told detectives she could hear a baby crying, and that the male had orange hair.'
Carlee said she escaping from the pair but then was recaptured.
Surveillance footage showed Carlee pull over on the side of the highway (Youtube/aldotcom)'She says they blindfolded her but didn't tie her up because they didn't want to leave compression marks,' Chief Derzis said.
She also told the police that the pair made her strip and photographed her body, but said they did not physically or sexually abuse her.
But cops say cell phone data shows Ms Russell travelled 600 yards while she was on the phone to police saying she was following the child.
Mum appeared 'completely normal' moments before vanishing while walking dog
Ms Russell’s worrying internet searches were revealed by police which were described as “very relevant.”
Carlee Russell and her boyfriend Thomar Latrell (tee_sims28/Instagram)In the days before her disappearance she searched: “Do you have to pay for an amber alert search.”
On the day of her ‘disappearance’ she searched on her phone: "How to take money from a register without being caught," "Birmingham bus station" and searched for a one way bus ticket from Birmingham to Nashville, police say.
She searched about the film Taken that same day, described by Hoover Police Department as a “film about abduction.”
Ms Russell has refused to be interviewed again by police. No charges have been brought so far by the police.
Ms Russell's family say she is too traumatised to speak to police.
Ms Russell with her boyfriend (tee_sims28/Instagram)In an earlier statement, Hoover Police said it is "not in a position to reveal all of the information we have gathered at this point," but confirmed no additional calls about a lone toddler were received.
The force said: "The Hoover Police Department has not located any evidence of a toddler walking down the interstate despite numerous vehicles passing through that area as depicted by the traffic camera surveillance video."
The mystery surrounding the nursing student continues after she suddenly turned up at the home she shares with her mum and dad on Saturday.
While the pair were on the phone, the girlfriend heard Carlee scream before she stopped responding, leaving her brother's girlfriend just listening to the sounds of the passing highway.
Emergency services at the scene of her alleged kidnapping (NBC News)Her car was found by the side of the road, with her belongings nearby. But just two days later, on Saturday, July 15, police received a call that Carlee had returned home.
Police in Harpersville, about 30 miles east of Hoover, said Carlee was "handling some business" in their town on the day of her disappearance. Police did not say what she was doing there but later clarified she "was not at the Harpersville Police Department."
It was previously reported that Carlee "stopped to check on the child" after calling the cops and then called her brother's girlfriend.
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