Carlee Russell, a 25-year-old Alabama woman who was reported missing Thursday after she stopped to check on a toddler she saw walking along an interstate, has returned home, police said Sunday.
At 10:45 p.m. local time Saturday, the Hoover Police Department’s 911 center received a call saying Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell had returned home to her residence, Hoover police said in a news release.
Hoover police arrived at the scene to investigate while Hoover Fire Department medics checked on Russell before taking her to a local hospital for evaluation, Hoover police said.
“Additional information will be provided when it becomes available,” Hoover police said in the news release.
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Carlee Russell called 911 when she saw a toddler walking along the interstate
Russell called 911 at about 9:30 p.m. local time Thursday after seeing a toddler walking along Interstate 459 South near mile marker 11, Hoover police said in a news release. After calling 911, Russell stopped to check on the child and called a family member to tell them about the situation.
“The family member lost contact with her, but the line remained open,” Hoover police said. “Officers who were already en route to the location of the initial 911 call located the female’s vehicle and some of her belongings nearby, but were unable to find her or a child in the area.”
Hoover police said they didn’t get any calls about a missing child.
Witness says they saw a man standing outside of Russell’s vehicle
Police said Russell got off work at around 8:20 p.m. Thursday and may have stopped to pick up food before traveling toward Hoover on I-459 where she stopped after seeing the toddler, police said.
“A single witness reported possibly seeing a gray vehicle with a light complected male standing outside of (Russell’s) vehicle. We have no further information about that individual or vehicle at this time,” police said.
Talitha Russell told AL.com that her daughter was headed home when the incident occurred. She was on the phone with her brother’s girlfriend when she said she saw a child on the roadside, Talitha said.
“My son’s girlfriend heard her asking the child, ‘Are you OK?’ She never heard the child say anything but then she heard our daughter scream,’’ Talitha said. “From there, all you hear on her phone is background noise from the interstate.”
Contributing: Kate Perez, The Associated Press
