HOOVER, Ala. — Authorities announced on Monday that the woman who claimed she was kidnapped after stopping for a toddler she saw walking along on a highway in Alabama has confessed to fabricating the story.
Police made the announcement at a news conference, more than 10 days after the reported kidnapping of Carlee Russell sparked a search and garnered nationwide attention.
At the news conference, Hoover Police Department Chief Nicholas Derzis said Russell’s attorney, Emory Anthony, provided a statement on Monday saying there was no kidnapping.
“There was no kidnapping on Thursday July 13. My client did not see a baby on the side on the road,” the statement read, according to Derzis, who read the statement at the news conference.
The statement went on to say that Russell did not leave the city and acted alone in the hoax.
Derzis said his department has a meeting scheduled with Russell’s attorney to discuss the case, and are also currently in discussion with the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office about whether charges will be filed.
More about the kidnapping investigation and hoax can be found here.
