Carlee Russell's Mother Makes Defensive Statement: 'We Will Not Be Bullied'

The mother of Carlee Russell, the 25-year-old Alabama woman who returned home last Saturday 48 hours after disappearing along Interstate 459 in Hoover, said the family won't be "bullied" into giving more information about her case.

Russell disappeared on Thursday while driving home from work. She was reportedly on her way to pick up some dinner when she called 911 and a family member and told them she had seen a toddler walking alone on the side of the interstate. She added that she was stopping to help the child. Her red Mercedes was seen with its flashers on the shoulder lane of the I-459 on traffic-camera footage.

Police called to the scene found her abandoned vehicle and no trace of Russell. After a frantic 48-hour search, Russell returned to her parents' home on foot on Saturday. She was then brought to a local hospital, where she was treated and later released, and gave Hoover Police Department a statement that has not been shared with the public.

Russell's boyfriend, Thomar Simmons, talked of her "fighting for her life for 48 hours" after her return and mentioned a "kidnapper." However, the Hoover police has not mentioned either kidnapping or a missing child in its update on the investigation of Russell's disappearance.

The lack of further information as the investigation continues, as well as no further action over a kidnapper on the loose or a missing toddler, have sparked rumors and speculation on social media. Some accused Russell of faking her own kidnapping, and others have turned against true-crime fans for questioning the details of the case.

And it's not just internet sleuths demanding more information. Residents of the area have been calling on the police to confirm whether there's an assailant still roaming the area, saying they had a right to know.

However, Russell's family is resisting releasing more information for the sake of both the ongoing investigation and her wellbeing. Her mother, Talitha Robinson-Russell, released a statement saying that "no matter how many demands or false narratives that are produced we will not be bullied into doing anything that will compromise our daughter's mental wellbeing or the investigation."

Robinson-Russell appealed to the public to respect the family's privacy, thanking them for their support when her daughter was missing.

Addressing rumors about what happened to the thousands of dollars donated in support of her search, Robinson-Russell said that the money given to Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama will be returned to each donor, which Hoover police officers confirmed. Robinson-Russell also denied the existence of any GoFundMe campaign set up by the family.

Robinson-Russell said that her daughter has spoken of an abductor, just as her boyfriend had written about on Instagram. "Carlee has given detectives her statement and hopefully they are pursuing her abductor," her mom wrote.

"It will be up to law enforcement to determine what information they want to release and when they want to release this information as to not compromise the investigation," Robinson-Russell added.

Newsweek has contacted the Hoover Police Department for comment by email on Tuesday, but has not received a timely response.