The boyfriend of an Alabama woman who went missing after stopping to help a child on the highway and who mysteriously returned two days later has claimed she was kidnapped.
Carlethia Nichole “Carlee” Russell returned to her parents’ home on Saturday on foot, following a two-day long multi-state search after she made a 911 call to report a missile toddler walking on the side of Interstate 459 in Alabama.
Thomar Latrell Simmons, her boyfriend, claimed in a Facebook post that she was kidnapped and was “fighting for her life for 48 hours” after going missing.
He said his girlfriend is not “physically or mentally stable” at the moment to speak about her ordeal or about the alleged kidnapper, sharing their photographs.
“I don’t even know how to start off this post but to only say thank you to my lord & savior Jesus Christ for saving my girlfriend’s life!” he said on Sunday.
“Also, thank you to everyone who shared a picture, came out to the Hoover Met to help us with the search parties, & who went & proceeded to tell other people about Carlee to bring more awareness to her story.
“I have been going nonstop since I received the call that she was missing on Thursday night. I know she would’ve done the same for me, so I wasn’t going to give up until I saw her face again!”
He urged people to be respectful of the situation and requested time till she was stable again.
25-year-old Carlee Russell was reported missing after she called 911 and stopped to check on a toddler on the side of an Alabama highway on 13 July— (Hoover police department)
“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,” he said.
Her mysterious disappearance prompted a statewide search with national attention, as police combed through the area and relied on drones to search overhead.
Hoover police said she called 911 about a toddler before they arrived to find her vehicle along with her belongings, but not her or the child.
She had also called a family member who lost contact with her while the phone line remained open, according to police.
One witness reported possibly seeing a grey vehicle and a male standing outside of Ms Russell’s car at the time of the incident, according to the Hoover police.
Her family said the toddler was used as “bait” to lure her out of the car and kidnap her.
