Alabama authorities are hunting for a 25-year-old woman who went missing after calling 911 to report spotting a toddler strolling alone on the interstate.
The Hoover Police Department is offering a $25,000 reward for the safe return of Carlethia “Carlee” Russell, who reported a youngster walking on the side of I-459 at 9:30 p.m. on Thursday. According to authorities, Russell then called a family member to inform them that she would be stopping to check on the child.
“The family member lost contact with the caller, but the line remained open,” Lt. Daniel Lowe of the Hoover Police Department said in a news conference on Friday. When police arrived, they found Russell’s car and some of her items nearby, but not her or the child. They also had not received any complaints of missing children.
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Meanwhile, a witness reported seeing a man and a gray vehicle near where Russell saw the toddler, according to Lowe.
At Friday’s news conference, Lowe revealed that detectives suspect Russell left work at a Birmingham shopping mall around 8:20 p.m. on Thursday before grabbing up a takeout order and driving to Hoover in 1-459.
Officials are now encouraging anyone with information about Russell’s safe return to contact detectives at the Hoover Police Department.
“No piece of information is too small in this investigation,” police stated.
Russell’s parents, Talitha and Carlos Russell, told Nexstar’s WIAT that they suspected Russell was purposefully lured out of her car and kidnapped after noticing a toddler walking along the side of the freeway.
“During her last phone call with one of our relatives, they heard her scream,” Talitha Russell told WIAT.
Russell’s parents have stated that they are praying for their daughter and hope that any prospective abductor will “hear the voice of God and let Carlee return home safely.”