The Hoover Police Department in Alabama provided an update on the investigation into Carlee Russell's disappearance, raising red flags about her story.
Last week, Russell, a 25-year-old Black woman, was reported missing by her parents after she called 911 to report seeing a toddler on the side of Interstate 459 in Hoover, Alabama. Russell's parents and family have claimed that she was abducted and eventually returned home on Saturday evening.
However, during a press conference on Wednesday, Hoover Police Department Chief Nicholas Derzi said that officials have yet to be able to verify the story Russell told police during their interview.
Derzi detailed the story Russell told police officials after she returned home which included seeing a toddler on the side of the road and getting out of the car to check on him.
"She stated when she got out of the vehicle to check on the child, a man came out of the trees and mumbled that he was checking on the baby. She claimed that the man then picked her up and she screamed. She stated he then made her go over a fence. She claims he then forced her into a car and the next thing she remembers is being in the trailer of an 18-wheeler," Derzi said.
According to Derzi, Russell then told police that she was able to escape the 18-wheeler but was later captured again in a car. Russell also claimed that when she was blindfolded she was told to remove her clothes but was unable to remember any form of physical or sexual contact with her.
Russell was eventually able to escape again and told detectives "she ran through lots of woods until she came out near her residence."
The Hoover Police Department also said that there is "no reason to believe there is a threat to public safety" in regard to Russell's disappearance.
Derzi also spoke about Russell's claims that she saw a toddler and said, "To think that a toddler, barefoot, that could be three or four years old, is going to travel six football fields without getting in the roadway, without crying...it's just very hard for me to understand."
Additionally, police brought up recent search history from Russell before her disappearance which included the movie "Taken," as well as terms such as "how to take money from a register without being caught," and searches relating to Amber Alerts.
Newsweek was directed to the press conference after reaching out to the Hoover Police Department for comment.
