24 July 2023 , 17:40
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Donors flocked to help for the search of 25-year-old Carlee Russell when it was reported that she was 'abducted' on an Alabama highway - but after she returned two days later with a story that investigators say 'doesn't add up,' well-wishers began clamouring for their money back.
Through a Crime Stoppers link, hundreds of individuals were able to donate to the fund set up by Russell's family to help with the search. They managed to raise $63,000. But now groups and individuals are asking for their donations back, as it turned out Russell safely returned home.
All but two of the donors have been turned down for a refund.
Social media photos of Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell, a 25-year-old Black woman that went missing with a suspicious story last week (Hoover (AL) Police Department)
Russell called police and family members saying that she spotted a toddler on the highway - then she disappeared (Hoover (AL) Police Department)A $25,000 donation from the Birmingham Board of Realtors and the $20,000 offered by an anonymous donor were returned, but the rest of the money - over $13,000 belongs to individuals who gave pocket cash here and there, as people often do online.
“This investigation is still ongoing, and accordingly, there is no basis to refund any contributions at this time. Furthermore, the Hoover Police Department has not requested for any donor contributions to be released or refunded,” said the group, which collects anonymous tips about crime.
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What to know about Carlee Russell's disappearance
Carlee Russell's name became known when her family reported her missing under strange circumstances. They say that Carlee phoned her family to tell them she spotted a toddler on the highway that she was driving home on. She said that she would stop and check out the situation. She also called the police.
Police told her to stay at the scene, which she agreed to. But when authorities got there, they found a strange scene. Russell's car door was open, but she had vanished. It prompted a nationwide alert and search for the young woman, who was assumed to be abducted.
Two days later, though, she showed up and said that she was attacked and held hostage. However, police allegedly determined that the young woman's story did not 'add up' and that they concluded she had staged her own disappearance.
They found Google searches on her phone with phrases like, "How to take money from a register without being caught," "Do you have to pay for an amber alert?" She was also searching for the movie 'Taken.'
In a news conference on July 19, Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis explained that Russell told authorities that, after calling 911, a 'man emerged from the trees near the highway and told Russell he was checking on the child.
She then said the man forced her into a car, and “the next thing she remembers is being in the trailer of an 18-wheeler,” said Derzis. Russell also mentioned hearing a woman's voice but never seeing her face.
“I do think it’s highly unusual ... on the day someone gets kidnapped ... that they’re searching the internet, Googling the movie ‘Taken,’ about an abduction. I find that very strange,” Derzis said.
Russell now facing harassment and online bullying
Since returning to her parent's doorstep with a suspicious story, she's faced a slew of hateful comments online. She's also become the subject of dozens of articles that criticise her behaviour on a small and large scale, with some outlets shaming her for getting all of that attention.
Carlee and her boyfriend, pictured here - he's currently pleading with the public to stop online bullying Russell after her mysterious reappearance (tee_sims28/Instagram)They argue that Black people accounted for 39 per cent of missing people in the US last year, and authorities rarely try to find them. Carlee's story, on the other hand, got a ton of media attention in a way that missing Black women do not usually get.
Her boyfriend, Thomar Latrell Simmons, is asking for people to stop harassing her online over her alleged hoax.
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“The only thing I can say is, I want everyone to stop bullying her. I know what it seems like what she did. Just stop bullying on social media,” Simmons told The Post. “Think about her mental health. She doesn’t deserve that. She doesn’t. Nobody deserves to be cyberbullied.”