HOOVER, Ala. (AP) – A 25-year-old Alabama woman returned home late Saturday after being the subject of a two-day search by police and family members who reported her missing after getting stopped to watch a child walking along a highway.
Police say Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell has returned to the home she shares with her parents in Hoover, AL.com reported late Saturday night.
Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said Russell arrived home alone and was taken to hospital for evaluation, AL.com reported.
Russell’s whereabouts were not immediately clear since around 10:45 p.m. Thursday when she called 911 and a family member to say she had seen a young child walking on the side of I-459.
Police found Russell’s car and cell phone, but could not find her or a child in the area.
Hoover Police Lt. Daniel Lowe said the family member on the phone with Russell lost contact with her, although the line remained open. Only one witness reported possibly seeing a gray vehicle and a man standing outside of Carlee’s vehicle, but they had no further information.
Police have asked people to report any information they may have about his disappearance, while family members have organized a search in the area.
Talitha Russell told AL.com her daughter was on her way home to the community about 10 miles south of Birmingham after leaving work and stopping for food. She was on the phone with her brother’s girlfriend when she said she saw a child on the side of the road.
“My son’s girlfriend overheard her asking the kid, ‘Are you okay?’ She never heard the child say anything, but then she heard our daughter screaming,” Talitha Russell said. “From then on, all you hear on her phone is background noise. of the highway.”
During the search, there were two separate awards of $20,000 and $5,000 for information helping Hoover’s safe return, police said.