Carlee Russell Disappearance
Carlee Russell Disappearance
From the outset, the details of Carlee Russell's disappearance seemed destined to cause an internet frenzy: Russell, a 25-year-old black nursing student, disappeared off the side of the highway. in Hoover, Alabama, on the night of July 13. shortly after calling 911 to report a child wandering alone on the side of the highway.
Russell's brother's girlfriend, who was on the phone with her after her 911 call, reported hearing Carlee's screams and what sounded like a dropped phone. When police arrived in Carlee's car just minutes after she called 911, they found her phone and wig nearby, along with the purse and food she had just taken for dinner inside his car. . Neither Russell nor the toddler were anywhere.
Less than two weeks later, after he returned and police said they could not confirm the story, an attorney on Russell's behalf admitted that there had been no kidnapping: "My client apologizes for her actions with this community," Russell's attorney said at a press conference July 24. "We ask you to pray for Carlee as she works through her issues and tries to move on, understanding that she made a mistake in this regard."
Attorneys confirm that they are contacting the local district attorney's office regarding possible charges against Russell in the case. On July 28, Russell was charged with two misdemeanors related to making false statements to police. Each charge carries a penalty of up to one year in prison if convicted. Russell surrendered and was released on bail the same day.
In the days following her disappearance, Russell went viral on TikTok and other social media platforms, and garnered national media attention as law enforcement searched for her. The chilling details surrounding his disappearance - and the prospect of a child being used to lure him down a dangerous path - may have contributed to his going viral: the fear of trafficking. Humans and kidnappings have become a larger part of the national conversation in recent years.
But then, 49 hours after she disappeared, Russell appeared at her doorstep. Everyone who has followed the case has many questions. So obviously, did the police.
At a July 19 press conference, Hoover Sheriff Nick Derzis revealed that detectives were unable to verify many of the things Russell told investigators during the brief interview she told them after their return.
According to Derzis, Russell said that after calling 911, a man stepped out of the bushes near the highway and said he was watching the child. She then said the man forced her into a car and "the next thing she remembers was being in an 18-wheeler trailer," Derzis said. Russell said the man who kidnapped her had bald orange hair and that she heard the voice of a woman accompanying him but had never seen his face.
At one point, she said, she tried to escape from the trailer, but was caught and taken to a house, where she was forced to go topless and photographed. After being put into another vehicle, Russell said she escaped again and was able to run home through the woods.
Derzis shares other details that seem to cast doubt on Russell's story. The video shows Russell leaving the spa where she worked the day she disappeared, apparently hiding a bathrobe, toilet paper and other items. These items, along with snacks she bought at Target shortly before her disappearance, went missing, despite the fact that her purse and other personal items were left in the car. .
Derzis also noted that Russell walked 600 meters by phone with 911 saying she was watching the child and police said they had not received any other reports of a toddler walking alone. . (The highway video only appears to show a figure, Russell, on the side of the road.) “It is unthinkable that a toddler, barefoot, maybe 3 or 4 years old, can go six football fields without going on the sidewalk, no need for Derzis to say.
Then came Internet searches for Russell's cell phone: In the days leading up to his arrest, Derzis said, Russell searched for information on one-way bus tickets and how to withdraw money from cash registers. without getting caught. She's also investigating whether anyone should pay for Amber Alerts - a government program that helps alert communities when children go missing. On the day of his disappearance, Russell appeared to have been searching for the movie Taken, a 2008 horror film in which Liam Neeson played a father hunting traffickers who kidnapped his teenage daughter and best friend. her best.
'I think it's very unusual...the day someone is kidnapped... they searched the internet, google the movie Taken, about a kidnapping. I find that very strange,” Derzis said.
Why the Carlee Russell story has surfaced and what social media is saying about it
He didn't say it directly, but the implications are clear: the police have serious doubts about Russell's story.
And just as social media users rushed to share their concern for Russell and the details of his disappearance, they also rushed to give their thoughts on the latest developments. .
Some people criticized Russell for causing a hoax and suggested that her story would make it harder for people to believe in the family when other black women went missing.
Others condemned the rush to the verdict, noting that Russell may have mental health problems unknown to the public and pointing out that missing black women rarely receive attention media attention as white women. Some said they were glad Russell was at home no matter what.
There's still a lot about Russell's story that we don't know, and some that we may never understand, including Russell's state of mental health. But if previous prosecutions of women who orchestrated their own disappearances are any indication, the justice system may not be sympathetic if it assumes it has solid evidence that she He fabricated his disappearance.
When a story about a possible crime grabs national attention, it doesn't happen in a vacuum. Reactions are informed not only by the facts of the case, but are filtered through larger contexts that exist outside of the details of the case. And these answers can tell us a lot about the culture we live in.
Public interest in Russell's case was driven in part by the understanding that black women rarely receive the same attention that white women receive when they go missing. It was also fueled by chilling details surrounding her disappearance, including reports of a lost child. America has been plunged into moral panic at the thought of traffickers lurking in the shadows, kidnapping gullible women and children and selling them into sex slaves.
The fear of being inflated is fueled by conspiracy theories and misinformation on the internet, social media, politicians, and popular culture. But the reality is that the people most at risk of being trafficked are those who are already vulnerable because they live on the margins of society, sometimes children in the foster care system, or immigrants who are not. documents, or who are struggling with addiction or homelessness. . They are often forgotten because authorities do not always identify them as victims.
And in this case, it seems clear that while our culture is obsessed with crimes that sound obscene, so are we, regardless of the facts of this case, deeply fascinated by the idea of scammers.
Sadly, there are countless true stories of missing black women and children, like Relisha Rudd, an 8-year-old girl who went missing in Washington, DC, in 2014 and has yet to be found. . As the Black and Missing Foundation said this week: "We must remain vigilant and not lose sight of the bigger picture as we wait for more information." For years, this organization has been sounding the alarm about the plight of black and brown people missing across the country, and their stories rarely go viral... continue to hope for these families and work to bring them back to life. . .'
The public and media may soon ignore Russell's story. The search for Rudd, along with other missing children and adults, remains as urgent as it was before social media discovered Russell's case and will remain just as important as it continues.
Update
, Aug. 2, 3:00 p.m. ET: Do you support Vox's interpretive press? This story was originally published July 22 and has been updated with a new statement from Russell's attorney and news that she has been charged with making false statements to police.
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If you also believe that everyone deserves access to quality information. High quality, reliable, would you like to give Vox a gift today? From the outset, the details of Carlee Russell's disappearance seemed to have caused an internet frenzy: Russell, a 25-year-old black nursing student, disappeared by the highway in Hoover, Alabama, during one night. on July 13, shortly after calling 911 to report a child wandering alone by the highway.
Russell's brother's girlfriend, who was on the phone with her after her 911 call, reported hearing Carlee's screams and what sounded like a dropped phone. When police arrived in Carlee's car just minutes after she called 911, they found her phone and wig nearby, along with the purse and food she had just taken for dinner inside his car. . Neither Russell nor the toddler were anywhere.
Less than two weeks later, after he returned and police said they could not confirm the story, an attorney on Russell's behalf admitted that there had been no kidnapping: "My client apologizes for her actions with this community," Russell's attorney said in a July 24 press conference. "We ask you to pray for Carlee as she works through her issues and struggles. continued, understanding that she made a mistake in this regard."
Attorneys confirm that they are contacting the local district attorney's office regarding possible charges against Russell in the case. On July 28, Russell was charged with two misdemeanors related to making false statements to police. Each charge carries a penalty of up to one year in prison if convicted. Russell surrendered and was released on bail the same day.
In the days following her disappearance, Russell went viral on TikTok and other social media platforms, and garnered national media attention as law enforcement searched for her. The chilling details surrounding his disappearance - and the prospect of a child being used to lure him down a dangerous path - may have contributed to his virality: the fear of trafficking. Humans and kidnappings have become a larger part of the national conversation in recent years.
But then, 49 hours after she disappeared, Russell appeared at her doorstep. Everyone who has followed the case has many questions. So obviously, did the police.
At a press conference July 19, Hoover Sheriff Nick Derzis revealed that detectives were unable to verify many of the things Russell told investigators during the brief interview she told them after their return.
According to Derzis, Russell said that after calling 911, a man stepped out of the bushes near the highway and said he was watching the child. She later said the man forced her into a car and "the next thing she remembers was being in an 18-wheeler trailer," Derzis said. Russell said the man who kidnapped her had bald orange hair and that she heard the voice of a woman accompanying him but had never seen his face.
She said that at one point she tried to escape from the trailer, but was caught and taken to a house, where she was forced to go topless and photographed. After being put into another vehicle, Russell said she escaped again and was able to run home through the woods.
Derzis shares other details that seem to cast doubt on Russell's story. The video shows Russell leaving the spa where she worked the day she disappeared, apparently hiding a bathrobe, toilet paper and other items. These items, along with snacks she bought at Target shortly before her disappearance, went missing, despite the fact that her purse and other personal items were left in the car. .
Derzis also noted that Russell walked 600 meters by phone with 911 saying she was watching the child and police said they had not received any other reports of a toddler walking alone. . (The highway video only seems to show a silhouette, Russell, on the side of the road.) “Think a toddler, barefoot, about 3 or 4 years old, might walk six football fields. without walking onto the sidewalk, Derzis says: “I'm hard to understand if I'm not crying, I'm very hard to understand,” Derzis said. know if anyone has to pay to have Amber Alerts - a government program that helps alert communities when children go missing. On the day of his disappearance, Russell was apparently looking for the movie Taken, a 2008 horror film in which Liam Neeson plays a hunting father who takes down traffickers who kidnapped his teenage daughter and who her best friend.
'I think this is very unusual... the day someone is kidnapped...that they search the internet, google the movie Taken, about a kidnapping. I find that very strange,” Derzis said.
Why the Carlee Russell story is successful and social