Carlee Russell Update: Police reveal details on child, surveillance footage

The Hoover Police Department released additional details Tuesday night regarding the disappearance of Carlee Russell, including information gathered from a surveillance video that captured some of the moments leading up to Russell’s safe return home on Saturday.

The 25-year-old from Hoover, Alabama, was reported missing on Thursday after she had phoned police about reports of a missing toddler on the side of Interstate 459. Russell returned home on foot two days after the incident.

According to a release from Hoover police, which was shared with Newsweek, detectives have yet to find “any evidence of a toddler walking down the interstate, nor did we receive any additional calls” about an unattended child. Police noted that, according to traffic camera footage, numerous cars passed through the area where Russell had reported seeing the child.

Detectives have also obtained surveillance video footage from one of Russell’s neighbors, “which shows her walking down the sidewalk alone prior to her arrival at her residence.” Police also clarified that when first-responders arrived at her residence on Saturday, she was found “conscious and speaking and was transported in that condition” to the hospital.

“Fire department radio traffic obtained by several media outlets shows that medics were dispatched to her residence on an ‘unresponsive but breathing’ person,” read the statement. “That was the term used in the initial dispatch of the Hoover Fire Department to the residence, and the information about her condition was simply a dispatcher relaying information from what a 911 caller told the emergency communicator.”

Police added that “Numerous evidentiary items are still being evaluated, and those items are key in the process of determining exactly what took place in the approximately 49 hours Carlee was missing, but also what took place prior to her disappearance.

“This release contains all of the information the Hoover Police Department is able to provide at this time,” the release continued. “We understand that there are numerous rumors and misinformation making the rounds in both social media and traditional media. While we understand the public interest in this incident, we must maintain the integrity of the case, thus we are limited in what information or statements we can release or confirm at this time.”

The Hoover Police Department will hold a press conference on Wednesday at the Frank and Pam Barefield Training Center at 2:30 p.m., where additional information about Russell’s case will be released.

Russell’s employer, Woodhouse Spa Birmingham, also released a statement on Tuesday regarding what role the spa has played in the police investigation into her disappearance. According to C. Stuart Rome, owner of the business, any information that the spa was able to uncover “is in the position of” police at this time.

Police had previously said that Russell left work around 8:20 p.m. Thursday to go pick up food from a nearby shopping mall. The latest release added that Russell had “purchased some snack food type items” from a Target store during that time. The items were not found in Russell’s vehicle or at the scene of her disappearance.

Then, at approximately 9:30 p.m., Russell called 911 and reported seeing “a male toddler in a diaper” on the side of the interstate. After calling police dispatch, Russell called her brother’s girlfriend to tell her. According to Russell’s mother, Talitha Robinson-Russell, who spoke with AL.com, a “scream” could be heard on Russell’s side of the phone call before she went silent.

Russell’s family has claimed that she was kidnapped and was “fighting for her life” during the two days she was declared missing. Police have yet to determine a cause behind Russell’s disappearance.