Carlee Russell Axed from Spa Job after Cops Question Kidnapping Account

July 22, 2023

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

*Carlee Russell no longer has her spa job in Alabama after her account of being abducted before returning home days later appears to have been a big rouse.

Stuart Rome, the owner of the Woodhouse spa in Birmingham, told The New York Post that she’s been fired from her position, and that her co-workers are “pissed” after they bent over backwards to help bring her home.

“It was really devastating for them thinking a co-worker was abducted,” he said. “The following day, Saturday, it was the busiest day of the week, and they had to plug along and work and in the off times pass out flyers and other things.”

Since Russell’s sudden reappearance, police have revealed she had searched for bus ticket prices and movies about kidnapping on the day she disappeared, drawing side-eyes over her account. Her co-workers’ concern also started to turn to anger.

“As the information came out that there were some questionable things, we’ve been a little pissed off, mainly because so many people took so much time out to search,” Rome said.

Meanwhile, the spa itself has been bombarded with hate messages on social media, and one-star reviews due to its association with Russell.

“Basically, we’ve spent the last day battling to get things deleted,” he said. “Comments. I’ve had to shut down my comment section on Instagram and Facebook page which hurts us because we do a lot of marketing there. We’re just trying to keep the doors open.”

Russell, 25, called 911 at 9:34 p.m. July 13 to say she had spotted a child wearing a T-shirt and diaper walking barefoot along a Hoover, Alabama highway. She told dispatchers she would stay at the scene until police arrived, but then suddenly disappeared. Police located her red Mercedes-Benz, cellphone, and wig at the scene of her supposed disappearance but found no traces of Russell or the wandering child.

Two days later, Russell returned home, claiming she was held captive by a man who forced her into a car and then an 18-wheeler truck while she was blindfolded. Her mother, Talitha Russell, told NBC’s “Today” show Tuesday that her daughter had “fought for her life” to escape her captivity – but Police Chief Nick Derzis said his investigators have been “unable to verify most of Carlee’s initial statement.”