Carlee Russell, the Alabama woman who disappeared after calling 911 to say she saw a toddler on the side of a freeway, now admits it was all a hoax.
At a news conference Monday, Hoover Police Department Chief Nicholas Derzis read a statement from Russell’s attorney saying his client made the story up.
“There was no kidnapping,” the statement read. “My client did not see a baby on the side of the road.”
The 25-year-old nursing student’s lawyer added that she acted alone.
“My client did not have any help in this incident. This was a single act done by herself,” the statement continued.
“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 as to her friends and family. We ask for your prayers for Carlee as she addresses her issues and attempts to move forward. Carlee again asks for your forgiveness and prayers,” the statement said.
Derzis said police have spoken with the district attorney’s office about potential criminal charges.
Related Story: Carlee Russell Searched Internet for Kidnapping Movie ‘Taken’ Before Disappearance
On the night of July 13, Russell called 911 to say she was stopping to check on a child she spotted on the side of Interstate 459.
She then called a family member saying she was going to check on the child, but the relative lost contact with her, police said.
Russell made national headlines and her name trended on social media as people around the country expressed concern during her disappearance.
She returned home on foot two days after vanishing, according to police.
On July 19, chief Derzis spoke with reporters to say the police department had brought in the Secret Service to assist with the case.
Investigators thoroughly analyzed the search history on Russell’s phone and learned she had looked up the kidnapping movie Taken in the hours before she vanished. She also searched for information on Amber Alerts and one-way bus tickets out of Alabama.
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