The boyfriend of an Alabama woman who went missing after she called 911 to report she’d stopped to check on a toddler she saw walking on the side of a busy highway said Sunday that she fought for her life for the two days she was gone.
Thomar Latrell Simmons took to Facebook to share a number of photos and videos of himself and Carlethia “Carlee” Russell before she disappeared from the side of Interstate 459 in Hoover, Alabama, Thursday night after leaving work and heading to buy food.
Russell reportedly was reunited with her family and friends Saturday night after she walked up to her parents’ house and knocked on the door.
Her disappearance made headlines and flooded social media within the two days she was missing, but now the woman’s boyfriend and parents are asking for privacy while she recovers from the ordeal.
“All I asked from everyone right now is to be respectful of Carlee’s situation. She was literally fighting for her life for 48 hours, so until she’s physically & mentally stable again she is not able to give any updates or whereabouts on her kidnapper at this very moment,” Simmons wrote on Facebook Sunday.
Hoover police say they’re working to “fill in the gaps” in what happened to Russell the two days she was gone. She gave a statement to police, according to reports. The details of that statement are a part of the ongoing investigation.
“We deal in facts,’’ Hoover police Chief Nick Derzis said Sunday. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s our obligation as police to put it all together.”
The events leading up to her return involve a 911 call she made to report a toddler walking alone on the side of the highway. Russell’s brother’s girlfriend was on the phone with her after the call and heard screaming and shuffling before the line went silent. Russell’s family called out to her repeatedly on the line, but she was unresponsive, they said. They contacted authorities.
The police later found Russell’s Mercedes parked with the engine running, but she was nowhere to be found. Some of her belongings were discovered nearby. Despite searching the area, the police were unable to locate Russell or the child she reported.
Russell’s car door was reportedly left open, and her phone, wig, and hat were found on the ground close by. Her purse remained inside the car, with her Apple Watch and AirPods still intact.
According to her family, after placing the call, Russell got out of the car to check on the child, assuming help was on the way. Russell’s brother’s girlfriend overheard her asking the child if she was “OK” multiple times but didn’t hear a response, and police have not found a report of a missing child matching that description, according to the statements they have released so far.
“We don’t have to move quickly,’’ the police chief said. “Our priority was to get her home, and she’s home. We’ll investigate and do what we have to do.”
Russell disappeared on July 13 around 9:30 p.m. She returned to her family’s residence around 10:45 p.m. on Saturday, July 15, appearing to be in a state of shock. She was treated at a nearby hospital and was released on Sunday morning.
“Our baby is safe,” wrote Talitha Russell, Carlee’s mother on Facebook Sunday. “We do want to ask for privacy at this time to allow us to just love on our daughter and each other with our close family and friends. Also, please consider the fact we have not slept for 3 nights and we are mentally and physically exhausted.”
While the family has received overwhelming support from the public, the bizarre disappearance has also raised questions and suspicions. Many internet sleuths formed their own theories about what occurred even before the woman returned.
“I was straight tunnel vision, even when I would get on social media on my downtime & see some of the false allegations & assumptions about me having something to do with her abduction would have me discouraged at times I didn’t give up & kept my faith!” wrote Simmons, the woman’s boyfriend.
Talitha, who released the online statement on behalf of her and her husband, said they made a “commitment to not entertain negative thoughts.”
Russell’s parents are overjoyed that she is alive and safe and have attributed it to their faith.
“God is faithful and He has answered our prayers,” Talitha wrote.
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