Hoover, Alabama police have revealed new details regarding the disappearance of Carlee Russell, the 25-year-old woman who went missing after calling 911 to report a child alone on the side of a highway.
On Wednesday (July 19), Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis provided updates on the investigation into Russell’s disappearance following her return home on Saturday (July 15), per TMZ.
According to Derzis, surveillance video shows Carlee taking a robe and toilet paper with her as she left work on Thursday (July 13), the day of her disappearance. Carlee later ordered food and stopped at Target, where she purchased granola bars and Cheez-Its.
Derzis said Carlee then got back on the road and made the 911 call, reporting that she saw a child walking in a diaper on the side of Interstate 459 South. Officers responded to the scene within five minutes of Carlee’s call, but couldn’t find her or the child.
The police chief noted that responding officers found Carlee’s phone, wig, and the food she ordered but weren’t able to locate the Target items or the robe and toilet paper she took from her job. Derzis also said Carlee was the only person to report a child walking on the side of the road despite the area being heavily trafficked.
Following her return home, Carlee told police that a man with orange hair grabbed her and put her into a trailer when she got out of her vehicle to help the young child. The 25-year-old said she was taken to a house, where she was forced to undress in front of the man and another woman, who took photos.
Carlee told police she escaped as they attempted to load her into another vehicle.
In Wednesday’s update, the police chief also revealed Carlee’s search history prior to her disappearance. Derzis said Carlee searched “Do you have to pay for an Amber Alert?”; “How to take money from a register without getting caught?”; “Birmingham bus station?”; “One-way bus ticket Birmingham to Nashville”; and the movie Taken.
Derzis noted that there were more searches on Carlee’s phone that he declined to share out of respect for her family. An investigation into the case remains ongoing.
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