HOOVER, Ala. (WIAT) – Officials in Alabama are searching for a 25-year-old woman who went missing after calling 911 to report seeing a child walking alone along the interstate.
A $25,000 reward is being offered for the safe return of Carlethia “Carlee” Russell, who called police to report a toddler walking on the side of I-459 around 9:30 pm on Thursday, according to the Hoover Police Department. Russell then called a family member to tell them she was stopping to check on the child, police said.
“The family member lost contact with the caller, but the line remained open,” Lt. Daniel Lowe of the Hoover Police said at a news conference on Friday.
Upon arrival, police located Russell’s car and some of her belongings nearby, but did not find her or the child. The also had not received any reports of a missing child.
A witness, meanwhile, had reported seeing a man and a gray vehicle near the area where Russell reported seeing the toddler, Lowe said.
Lowe shared additional details at Friday’s news conference, saying police believed Russell got off work at a Birmingham shopping mall around 8:20 p.m. on Thursday evening before picking up a takeout order and driving toward Hoover in 1-459.
Officials are now urging anyone with information that may lead to Russell’s safe return to contact detectives at the Hoover Police Department.
“No piece of information is too small in this investigation,” police said.
Russell’s parents, Talitha and Carlos Russell, told Nexstar’s WIAT they believed that Russell was intentionally lured out of her car and abducted after spotting a toddler walking alongside the edge of the interstate.
“The phone call that she last had with one of our relatives, they heard her scream,” Talitha Russell told WIAT.
Russell’s parents said they’re praying for their daughter, and hoping that any potential abductor will “hear the voice of God and let Carlee return home safely.”
“Carlee, I know you are scared, and I know you are just praying to God because you do have faith,” Talitha Russell told WIAT, in tears. “We’re not letting any negative thoughts into our head. We’re not going to let the enemy have the last word on this.”
Police describe Russell as 5’4″ and 150-160 pounds. She was last seen wearing a black shirt, black pants and white Nike shoes.
An anonymous source has offered $20,000 toward the reward, in addition to the $5,000 raised by CrimeStoppers.