Hoover, Alabama – Alabama nursing student Carlee Russell was charged with two misdemeanors, including making a false report, after she went missing for two days and told a fake tale about being abducted, authorities said Friday.
Russell turned herself in to police at the Hoover city jail Friday afternoon, Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis told reporters. She was charged with false reporting of an incident and false reporting to law enforcement, both misdemeanors.
Fox News reported that Russell was released from jail after posting $1,000 bail for each charge.
“This story opened wounds for families of loved ones who really were victims of kidnapping, some of which even helped organize searched in hopes they could find Carlee alive,” Derzis said.
Russell, 24, dialed 911 on July 13 at around 9:34 p.m. to report a toddler walking along the southbound side of Interstate 459 near Birmingham, according to the Hoover Police Department.
She would return home on July 15 at around 10:45 p.m. near where police say she was seen walking along the sidewalk beforehand.
Russell’s attorney, Emery Anthony, said in an emailed statement to the Hoover Police Department that his client admitted to never seeing a baby on Interstate 459 and was never a missing person.
“My client did not have any help in this incident. This was a single act done by herself,” the statement said. “My client was not with anyone or any hotel with anyone from the time she was missing. My client apologizes for her actions to this community, the volunteers who were searching for her, to the Hoover Police Department and other agencies as well and to her friends and family.”
Russell’s fake story scared the surrounding community amid fears a potential kidnapper was on the loose and prompted authorities to search for the baby and suspects that never existed.
On Friday, Derzis noted that existing laws only allowed authorities to charge Russell with misdemeanors.
