In an unnerving revelation of the 2019 statistics, over 64000 black women and girls were reported missing nationwide (as per the Black and Missing Foundation 2014 Report).
Some are declared cold, some are forgotten, and some are buried due to understaffed and overworked police departments.
Nevertheless, missing black women cases are still rampant in the US, with concerning results in the investigation.
When Carlee Russell was reported missing on the night of 13 July, the case sparked nationwide concern about the mysterious conditions of her disappearance. Here are the key highlights of the events leading up to her last seen:
- Carlee left her part-time job at Woodhouse Spa at around 8:20 pm.
- She then drove in her Mercedes Benz to the Mediterranean Restaurant to pick up food for her mother.
- Then continued on her way home when she spotted a lone child at the side of the road on I-459 South near mile marker 11.
- She was supposedly on the phone with her brother’s girlfriend. She pulled to the side and exited the car to check on the boy. She was heard saying, “Are you okay?” on the phone. Carlee was calling out to the little child.
- A few moments later, the girlfriend heard screams from the other line, which sounded like Carlee.
- According to Talitha, Carlee’s mother, Carlee even called 911 to report the stranded child. Apparently, the dispatcher told her to stay put until the police arrived.
- The police arrived five minutes later and found the car with the engine running, and the driver’s side door was open. They found Carlee’s hat, wig, and phone beside the vehicle. The police noted that neither Carlee nor the child were found at the location. Thereby declaring Carlee to be “missing.”
The only issue with these reports was that they had several tangled puzzles that were not disclosed by the police, while some claims were made by the family.
Read here for the total account of the case and how Carlee returned after 49 hours of her missing. The case had substantial implications that Carlee was abducted.
This infused a wave of online speculation over the discrepancies in the events. Let us decode all the possibilities–
New Revelations In The Carlee Russell’s Missing Case
Police released an official statement on the progress of the investigation.
Target Detour And The Snacks
Netizens fixated on the point that Carlee was captured on the CCTV footage of Target on Highway 280, which recorded the time before she made the 911 call about the lone child. She reportedly bought snacks from the store. However, these snacks were not found in the car or within the perimeter of her last seen location.
The Hoover Police Department also stated that they had obtained the camera footage–
“The footage is still being analyzed as part of the investigation in conjunction with the 911 call to accurately determine the time frame.”
Question: How could she have managed to grab the snacks when abducted?
The benefit of the doubt: Could there be a possibility that the kidnappers took the snacks? Is it possible she finished the snacks while driving and threw away the packets?
[There are no confirming reports or Carlee’s statement on the reasoning behind the snacks mystery].
- Mystery Of The “Lone Child”
After a thorough analysis of the surveillance footage, Hoover Police Hoover Department inferred that there was no child spotted on either side of the road or walking down the interstate before Carlee saw him.
Question: How is it that no other vehicle spotted the child? Not even police patrol cars noticed any child. How did Carlee see a child on such a busy road in the dark?
The benefit of the doubt: There is a possibility that the child was too small to be captured in the footage. The other option is that he might be walking close to the bushes, which concealed him. Or it must be a dummy that Carlee thought was a child, which the kidnappers used as bait.
Note: Police had no reports of a missing child on and before that day.
The Human Trafficking Theory
The most plausible explanation for the events was that the human trafficking ring targeted Carlee. According to her boyfriend’s post on Instagram, Carlee was “fighting for her life.”
Question: How did the abductors know that only a young woman would stop to assist the child? Assuming these kidnappers would be well-built, how were they not caught on the footage? Also, the police noted that no other car or a group of people were seen walking in that area prior to the incident.
The benefit of the doubt: What are the odds that the kidnappers hatched an elaborate plan by hiding behind the bushes?
Red Roof Inn Claim
According to Carlee’s mother, Talitha, she received a message from someone who claimed to be Carlee. The message stated that she was in Red Roof Inn. However, the family found did not find Carlee there.
Some netizens believed this was a decoy to the ongoing investigation and concluded that the parents might be in on Carlee’s “false claims.”
Talitha Russell’s statement clearly says that this was a malicious hoax. But as a parent, one would grab any hope if it means that their child returns.
Carlee’s employers, Woodhouse Spa, also released their official statement on certain “leaks” floating online–
Carlee Russell’s Parents’ Interview
- The parents have urged people to stop speculating and adding to the conspiracy theories about Carlee.
- Carlee has given her statement to the police.
- Talitha believes that there is an abductor on the loose.
- Talitha said that Carlee had to “physically and mentally fight for her life.”
Mental Health Connotations To Carlee Russell’s Disappearance
The most common reason for the case is that Carlee was experiencing a mental health episode. It is quite plausible that she was overworked, and the stress caused her to imagine the subsequent events. On the CCTV footage, Carlee was spotted walking alone towards her home on Saturday. The Hoover Fire Department noted that she was “unresponsive but breathing.”
Talitha’s statement that Carlee fought mentally doesn’t sit straight with the abduction claims. But instead of dismissing them completely, it’s more rational to wait for the police to reveal Carlee’s statements.
Our Take:
Carlee might be going through something mentally, but she isn’t flat-out lying with spiteful intent. She needs medical assistance to recuperate from the trauma. Filing a case against her and comparing her case to Sherri Papini’s Kidnapping hoax seems too early in the ongoing incidents.
There have been several such incidents where the missing persons have returned home, such as Colby Richards, who returned after a few days, and Rudy Farias, who returned after eight years. Still, his case revealed abuse by his guardian.
It is imperative that we don’t let a few cases impact the mammoth numbers of missing cases.
Passing the investigative hat to you? What are your thoughts on the case? Do you believe Carlee?
Is the social media trail too brutal for the family? Let us know in the comments section below.
