Not Exactly A Surprise: Carlee Russell Admits She LIED About Kidnapping | WATCH

July 24, 2023

Carlethia 'Carlee' Nichole Russell - via Hoover Police Department — Carlethia ‘Carlee’ Nichole Russell – via Hoover Police Department

*Carlee Russell, the Alabama woman who disappeared for two days earlier this month, now admits she falsified the kidnapping story that made national headlines.

We reported previously via CNN that Russell went missing after telling a 911 dispatcher that she saw a toddler walking alone on the side of Interstate 459 South. After the call, Russell stopped her vehicle to check on the toddler and called a family member who lost contact with her, though the line remained open, according to the Hoover Police Department.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found Russell’s vehicle and some of her belongings – including her phone – but no sign of her or the child, according to police. On Saturday night, the Hoover 911 center received a call that Russell had returned home, Hoover police said in a Saturday news release.

Russell’s boyfriend Thomar Simmons took to Facebook to seemingly confirm speculation that she was kidnapped — but he later deleted all traces of her from his social media after details emerged suggesting she made up the headline-grabbing tale.

In a statement released by her attorney and read during a news conference Monday afternoon, Russell admitted there was no kidnapping.

Here’s her statement which was read by her attorney: “My client has given me permission to make the following statement on her behalf. There was no kidnapping on Thursday, July 13, 2023. My client did not see a baby on the side of the road. My client did not leave the Hoover area when she was identified as a missing person. My client did not have any help with this incident and this was a single act done by herself.”

The statement continued: “My client was not with anyone or any hotel with anyone during the time she was missing. My client apologizes for her actions to this community, the volunteers that were searching for her, to Hoover Police Department and other agencies as well. We ask for your prayers for Carlee as she addresses her issues and attempts to move forward, understanding that she made a mistake, Carlee again asks for your forgiveness.”

Watch the full news conference below.

Note: It actually begins at around the 8:30 mark