# A creepy missing person case (July 2023) (Confirmed to be a Hoax) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 15, 2023, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078 "2023-07-15T18:40:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2023, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/1 "2023-07-15T18:40:29Z")
Woman calls 911 and family to report a small child wandering in the road. She abruptly disappears during the phone call. > **[$25k reward offered for missing Hoover woman](https://whnt.com/news/national/family-of-missing-alabama-woman-say-they-heard-her-scream-through-the-phone-before-she-disappeared/)** > > HOOVER, Ala. (WIAT) — Police are asking for the public’s help locating a missing 25-year-old woman. Sounds like the kid was bait for an abduction. So we get a new horrible crime _and_ a new urban legend that will live on for approximately firever. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2023, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/2 "2023-07-15T19:54:16Z")
That is one damned creapy story. There was a recent ly similar story from where I live in Fallbrook, CA where a nighttime driver got out out of his car to help a ‘broken-down bicyclist.’ Suddenly another driver pulled up and got out, held a gun to the first guy’s head and the ‘bicyclist’ stole the car of the first guy. Stories like this could sure make me disinclined to helping a strangers at night if I were alone or unarmed. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2023, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/3 "2023-07-15T20:36:22Z")
I hitch hiked around the country a fair bit back in the 19-mumbles, and one thing I noticed is people who would stop oftentimes drove a long distance past me and then waited. I did not understand why, and was annoyed at having to trot 75 or 100 yards. The reason of course, is a common technique of a confederate or conspirator or two hiding in the weeds. Male/Female couples would employ this technique. A car broke down, female in distress, all the usual disclaimers apply. Better off calling AAA or the highway patrol or similar. ---
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2023, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/4 "2023-07-15T20:42:35Z")
Thanks Common\_Tater-your point about calling instead is well taken. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/5 "2023-07-16T01:26:19Z")
There’s video of her car now. > **[Video Shows Missing AL Woman Carlee Russell Pull Over Before Vanishing](https://www.tmz.com/2023/07/15/video-missing-alabama-woman-carlee-russell-pull-over-abduction/)** > > Just-released surveillance video might give clues as to the whereabout of missing Alabama woman Carlee Russell. People are claiming you can see someone in an ATV come out from the trees, towards her car and then take off, eventually cutting their lights. That’s not what I’m seeing though. When they freeze the frame and put the big red arrow on the mystery vehicle, you’ll notice a car at the bottom of the screen with a particularly bright blinker. The ATV’s lights are exactly in sync with this car’s blinker. Also, they both appear to be moving at exactly the same speed, but in opposite directions. I feel confident it’s just some lens glare, ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/6 "2023-07-16T09:41:54Z")
She has returned home alive. No further details yet. > **[Alabama woman who went missing after seeing a toddler walking on the...](https://edition.cnn.com/2023/07/16/us/carlee-russell-found-alabama/index.html)** > > An Alabama woman who went missing after telling a 911 dispatcher that she saw a toddler walking alone on the side of an interstate has been found alive, according to authorities. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/7 "2023-07-16T12:19:53Z")
A mental health crisis? [She imagined seeing the toddler…?] ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/8 "2023-07-16T12:28:25Z")
Baseless Speculation time. I’m WAGing that she was abducted and released. I was originally thinking that while she was on the phone with her family, trying to find this child, something ‘innocent’ happened that caused her to scream and stop responding to the family member. That is, maybe she dropped her phone and couldn’t find it or she fell and hurt herself. But surely someone would have found her wondering around the next day. Though I suppose she could have ended up asleep/knocked out and simply not found (but for two days?). However, and again, this is entirely speculation, I’m thinking there’s going to be foul play involved given that the police haven’t released any details. They may not want help from the public yet and/or don’t want to spook the suspect(s). ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/9 "2023-07-16T16:33:39Z")
Fake or “counterfeit” abductions or suicides aren’t unheard of, either. The cops have seen it all, and usually on to their silly reindeer games. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/10 "2023-07-16T18:17:27Z")
Maybe she saw an extraterrestrial alien! ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/11 "2023-07-16T20:58:14Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I’m thinking there’s going to be foul play involved given that the police haven’t released any details. She’s telling them a story, and it will take them a while to check it out. It may be a true story, and when they get corroboration they may release some information. If it’s a false story, everything after that depends on why she would tell a false story, what she would be covering up (probably). It would be rather an elaborate setup to cover up some peccadillo, like an affair or something. Anyway, it does pique one’s curiosity. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/12 "2023-07-16T22:12:58Z")
> **[Carlee Russell's Boyfriend Says She Was Kidnapped, Fought for Her Life](https://www.tmz.com/2023/07/16/carlee-russell-boyfriend-says-kidnapped-fought-for-her-life/)** > > The Carlee Russell case continues to remain a mystery, even after her discovery. Family say the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2023, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/13 "2023-07-16T23:48:32Z")
It’s entirely possible she really was abducted, as I believed when I first heard about this case. If so, I may need to apologize for airing my uncharitable suspicions. This story is starting to remind me a lot of Audrey Seiler, a University of Wisconsin student who faked her own kidnapping in 2004. [Student who faked abduction given probation](https://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/07/01/missing.student.sentence/index.html). It also brings to mind the [Balloon Boy hoax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balloon_boy_hoax) out of Colorado in 2009. In both those cases, the motive is still unclear, but it seems a pathological need for attention was involved. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2023, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/14 "2023-07-17T12:33:50Z")
I am getting [Sherri Papini](https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/19/us/sherri-papini-fake-kidnapping-sentence/index.html#:~:text=Sherri%20Papini%2C%20the%20California%20mother,from%20the%20Department%20of%20Justice.)vibes from this. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2023, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/15 "2023-07-18T02:37:12Z")
Crime Stoppers was going to refund donated reward money, then changed their mind: > **[Crime Stoppers now says $63,000 raised in Carlee Russell search not being...](https://www.al.com/news/2023/07/more-than-63000-raised-in-carlee-russell-search-being-returned-to-donors.html?outputType=amp)** > > “This investigation is still ongoing, and accordingly, there is no basis to refund any contributions at this time." ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/16 "2023-07-19T19:47:04Z")
Carlee Russell told police she was abducted by a man and a woman. Police holding press conference. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/17 "2023-07-19T20:03:46Z")
A couple of other details have come out recently: Carlee purchased snacks from Target before getting on the highway, which were not found in the car. So she took them with her during her disappearance, but left behind her other possessions. Police say that no one else reported a child walking on the side of the road, even though many other cars passed that spot. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/18 "2023-07-19T20:18:07Z")
It’s a odd tale reminiscent of urban legend, like the woman driving on Cape Cod who reported finding a [man hiding on her back seat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_in_the_backseat) under a coat. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/19 "2023-07-19T20:24:35Z")
From TMZ > Derzis [Police Chief] also revealed some searches Carlee did on her phone in the days and even hours leading up to her disappearance. These included, “Do you have to pay for an Amber Alert?” “How to take money from a register without getting caught?” “Birmingham bus station?” “One-way bus ticket Birmingham to Nashville” and also the movie “Taken” about being abducted ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2023, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078/20 "2023-07-19T20:32:52Z")
More details… Police not found evidence of toddler and no-one else reported seeing toddler. Russell travelled 600 yards in her vehicle while talking on phone to 911, while stating she was following the child. Items from Target and her place of employment, including bathrobe, toilet paper, cheeses and granola bars, that she picked up before making the trip in her vehicle, were not found at location of vehicle. Russell claimed a man came out of bushes and picked her up, made her go over fence and forced her into car. She said the next thing she remembered was being in the trailer of an 18-wheeler. She said the male was with a female, although she only heard female’s voice. She said she heard a baby crying. Male had orange hair with big bald spot. She said she escaped 18-wheeler, only to be recaptured again, put in car and blindfolded. She said she was taken into a house and made to undress. She believes they took photos of her, but had no physical contact. She said she woke up the next day and was fed crackers by the female. She says she was put in vehicle, but escaped again and ran through woods. Internet searches she made on day she went missing, or preceding day or so, include: “do you have to pay for an amber alert”, “how to take money from register without being caught”, “Birmingham bus station”, search for one-way bus ticket from Birmingham to Nashville, with departure date of July 13th (day she went missing), search about movie ‘Taken’, which is about an abduction (also on day she went mssing), two further searches for amber alert (same day she went missing). There were other searches which indicated her state of mind, which police are not currently releasing. Russell has not granted police request for second interview. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-creepy-missing-person-case-july-2023-confirmed-to-be-a-hoax/987078.md?page=2)