Woman missing after reporting seeing a toddler on the highway

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could maybe have been an animal attack?
Maybe she thought she saw a kid and it wasn't. It was a bear or something.

I don't know. It's all very strange and sad
I hope she's found and the child is too if there was one.

Damn, that’s a reasonable guess!

It doesn’t reconcile with the Apple Watch being in her purse.

Is it possible that she had taken off the Apple Watch and put it in her purse while she was at work? And then just hadn’t put it back on yet?

Exactly. I don’t get why people are focusing on the watch being in the car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could maybe have been an animal attack?
Maybe she thought she saw a kid and it wasn't. It was a bear or something.

I don't know. It's all very strange and sad
I hope she's found and the child is too if there was one.

Damn, that’s a reasonable guess!

It doesn’t reconcile with the Apple Watch being in her purse.

Is it possible that she had taken off the Apple Watch and put it in her purse while she was at work? And then just hadn’t put it back on yet?

Exactly. I don’t get why people are focusing on the watch being in the car.

There is discussion that she wore it everywhere. She didn't routinely take it off. That's no guarantee, but it would make it a very unusual occurrence for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could maybe have been an animal attack?
Maybe she thought she saw a kid and it wasn't. It was a bear or something.

I don't know. It's all very strange and sad
I hope she's found and the child is too if there was one.

Damn, that’s a reasonable guess!

It doesn’t reconcile with the Apple Watch being in her purse.

Is it possible that she had taken off the Apple Watch and put it in her purse while she was at work? And then just hadn’t put it back on yet?

Exactly. I don’t get why people are focusing on the watch being in the car.

There is discussion that she wore it everywhere. She didn't routinely take it off. That's no guarantee, but it would make it a very unusual occurrence for her.

Honestly, that’s super weak, IMO. There are a million reasons why she’d remove her watch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could maybe have been an animal attack?
Maybe she thought she saw a kid and it wasn't. It was a bear or something.

I don't know. It's all very strange and sad
I hope she's found and the child is too if there was one.

Damn, that’s a reasonable guess!

It doesn’t reconcile with the Apple Watch being in her purse.

Is it possible that she had taken off the Apple Watch and put it in her purse while she was at work? And then just hadn’t put it back on yet?

Exactly. I don’t get why people are focusing on the watch being in the car.

There is discussion that she wore it everywhere. She didn't routinely take it off. That's no guarantee, but it would make it a very unusual occurrence for her.

Honestly, that’s super weak, IMO. There are a million reasons why she’d remove her watch.

If it were the only odd thing about this story, I don't think anyone would even pause to think about it. It's just that this is the 43rd thing on a list of details that don't fit, are out of place, or otherwise are causing raised eyebrows.

But regardless, may she be found safe and unharmed, and may this all be a distant memory for her and her family one day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Could maybe have been an animal attack?
Maybe she thought she saw a kid and it wasn't. It was a bear or something.

I don't know. It's all very strange and sad
I hope she's found and the child is too if there was one.

Damn, that’s a reasonable guess!

It doesn’t reconcile with the Apple Watch being in her purse.

Is it possible that she had taken off the Apple Watch and put it in her purse while she was at work? And then just hadn’t put it back on yet?

Exactly. I don’t get why people are focusing on the watch being in the car.

There is discussion that she wore it everywhere. She didn't routinely take it off. That's no guarantee, but it would make it a very unusual occurrence for her.

Honestly, that’s super weak, IMO. There are a million reasons why she’d remove her watch.

If it were the only odd thing about this story, I don't think anyone would even pause to think about it. It's just that this is the 43rd thing on a list of details that don't fit, are out of place, or otherwise are causing raised eyebrows.

But regardless, may she be found safe and unharmed, and may this all be a distant memory for her and her family one day.

She likely didn't wear it everywhere what we perceive to be true and what is true isn't usually the same. And people's memories are often wrong.

I hope she is found so her family has answers e isn't left to wonder

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it really makes no sense that a bad person would use a child to trap a random female passerbye. The odds are overwhelming that a man or even an police officer would have been the one to stop help the kid. What would the bad person do then? Ah, "nothing going on here officer. Just lost my toddler in the woods adjacent to a freeway"

I've read elsewhere that maybe she just unfortunately stumbled upon a trafficked child or some other criminal activity and thus had to be "removed" because she was a witness.

This is such a freaky case.

I was buying the trap theory, but you’re right, PP. It doesn’t seem logical.

I guess she ran into something bad and was attacked as a result. I still think she saw a child, so was a child being abused or something?

I agree this makes more sense.

Eh but no other motorists reported a child. No traffic cams picked up movement other than cars and, allegedly, her car on the shoulder. (and not the perpetrators car either).

So no perpetrator's car? Are there houses nearby? A deep culvert or drainage area for someone creepy to hide/live in?

No other motorists reported a child, but her family member on the phone said they heard Carlee ask “are you okay?” Assuming she wasn’t on drugs/hallucinating, it seems like there really was a child she was talking to.

It’s possible a child escaped a trafficking endeavor and she came across it. That would be my best guess. It’s not completely unbelievable that no one else saw the child since it was a highway at night. I know I’m not always paying attention to the side of the roadway. Other drivers could have been paying attention to all the cars around them, their passengers, the radio, etc. and at night a small child on the side of the road isn’t necessarily going to be super easy to spot. Ugh my stomach is in knots over this, I cannot imagine what her friends and family are going through. She looks like a sweet girl. Nursing student willing to stop for a child, so she’s likely a caring person. This is so unfair.

I can’t figure drugs into the timeline she’s leaving work, getting dinner, doing hallucinatory drugs and driving home one exit away from her own? It wouldn’t make sense to do the drugs before getting home. Are people thinking she was doing hallucinogenic drugs at work? It was in her food?

Her being one exit away, with her exit visible makes me think she was that close to home.

Not PP, but when I first heard the details I thought one possible explanation could be that she was having a mental break and imagined/hallucinated that she saw a child, then went off into the woods on her own. I think the only other possibilities are that she stumbled onto a dangerous situation and was abducted, or that this is staged. Of those three possibilities it seems most likely she was abducted.

I didn't see that anyone else has been this blunt, but I've wondered this, too. The items she usually wore being neatly tucked away in her purse, even moreso than the happenstance of being on the phone. I don't know. I actually hope it was staged, because that would mean she was safe.

Why would anyone stage this? Not saying it’s out of the question (and it would make sense as to how she was able to pull over vs. driving past and needing to turn around). But I don’t know why anyone would do this? Fake abduction to get money? Attention? Maybe. But it seems so out there. This whole thing is weird.

I mean it's happened before. Fake a crime to get money or to cover up a crime.
Not saying that is what happened here.
I think we don't have enough info to be sure one way or another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:it really makes no sense that a bad person would use a child to trap a random female passerbye. The odds are overwhelming that a man or even an police officer would have been the one to stop help the kid. What would the bad person do then? Ah, "nothing going on here officer. Just lost my toddler in the woods adjacent to a freeway"

I've read elsewhere that maybe she just unfortunately stumbled upon a trafficked child or some other criminal activity and thus had to be "removed" because she was a witness.

This is such a freaky case.

I was buying the trap theory, but you’re right, PP. It doesn’t seem logical.

I guess she ran into something bad and was attacked as a result. I still think she saw a child, so was a child being abused or something?

I agree this makes more sense.

Eh but no other motorists reported a child. No traffic cams picked up movement other than cars and, allegedly, her car on the shoulder. (and not the perpetrators car either).

So no perpetrator's car? Are there houses nearby? A deep culvert or drainage area for someone creepy to hide/live in?

No other motorists reported a child, but her family member on the phone said they heard Carlee ask “are you okay?” Assuming she wasn’t on drugs/hallucinating, it seems like there really was a child she was talking to.

It’s possible a child escaped a trafficking endeavor and she came across it. That would be my best guess. It’s not completely unbelievable that no one else saw the child since it was a highway at night. I know I’m not always paying attention to the side of the roadway. Other drivers could have been paying attention to all the cars around them, their passengers, the radio, etc. and at night a small child on the side of the road isn’t necessarily going to be super easy to spot. Ugh my stomach is in knots over this, I cannot imagine what her friends and family are going through. She looks like a sweet girl. Nursing student willing to stop for a child, so she’s likely a caring person. This is so unfair.

I can’t figure drugs into the timeline she’s leaving work, getting dinner, doing hallucinatory drugs and driving home one exit away from her own? It wouldn’t make sense to do the drugs before getting home. Are people thinking she was doing hallucinogenic drugs at work? It was in her food?

Her being one exit away, with her exit visible makes me think she was that close to home.

Not PP, but when I first heard the details I thought one possible explanation could be that she was having a mental break and imagined/hallucinated that she saw a child, then went off into the woods on her own. I think the only other possibilities are that she stumbled onto a dangerous situation and was abducted, or that this is staged. Of those three possibilities it seems most likely she was abducted.

I didn't see that anyone else has been this blunt, but I've wondered this, too. The items she usually wore being neatly tucked away in her purse, even moreso than the happenstance of being on the phone. I don't know. I actually hope it was staged, because that would mean she was safe.

Why would anyone stage this? Not saying it’s out of the question (and it would make sense as to how she was able to pull over vs. driving past and needing to turn around). But I don’t know why anyone would do this? Fake abduction to get money? Attention? Maybe. But it seems so out there. This whole thing is weird.

I mean it's happened before. Fake a crime to get money or to cover up a crime.
Not saying that is what happened here.
I think we don't have enough info to be sure one way or another.

Good point. People are motivated to do strange things. I actually hope it’s just some sort of mental break because that means she may be found safe and can get some help. The alternative is just so horrific to speculate on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one on here is mentioning the article referencing the grey car and tall dark man being spotted by a passing trucker and the family member hearing he scream on the phone? This was definitively a random abduction. I feel so sorry for her and her family.

If she called 911 and police arrived 3 minutes later, and there was no second car there on the video when she stopped, I’m kind of skeptical about the trucker’s sighting. 3 minutes is a very tight timeline to pull up, mess with stuff in her car, potentially abduct her, and drive away again before being spotted by police.

I think the perps came from the neighborhood. It’s straight past the tree line. No lights. The car could’ve stopped to check on her car. It’s easier to abduct from that tree line right into a backyard/shed/home etc.

It’s a suburban neighborhood. Who’s going to suspect a neighbor. I hope all of the residents are checking door cams and other cameras.

[Anonymous]

Here's the traffic cam footage: https://www.wsfa.com/video/2023/07/15/video-traffic-camera-video-i-459-time-carlee-nichole-russells-disappearance/

She stops at about 0:42, gets out of driver side at about 0:52. Cops are there with lights flashing by 4:40. There is traffic constantly going by and fairly slowly, just feet away from her car, the whole time.

It was definitely dark, but who doesn't glance at the car with flashing lights just feet away, pulled over? And there was no stretch when there wasn't someone right there. Nobody noticed a large animal dragging her away, yet somehow not also leaving a trail, in those literal few minutes?

It doesn't hold water as a theory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one on here is mentioning the article referencing the grey car and tall dark man being spotted by a passing trucker and the family member hearing he scream on the phone? This was definitively a random abduction. I feel so sorry for her and her family.

If she called 911 and police arrived 3 minutes later, and there was no second car there on the video when she stopped, I’m kind of skeptical about the trucker’s sighting. 3 minutes is a very tight timeline to pull up, mess with stuff in her car, potentially abduct her, and drive away again before being spotted by police.

I think the perps came from the neighborhood. It’s straight past the tree line. No lights. The car could’ve stopped to check on her car. It’s easier to abduct from that tree line right into a backyard/shed/home etc.

It’s a suburban neighborhood. Who’s going to suspect a neighbor. I hope all of the residents are checking door cams and other cameras.

No other cars stopped. There is actual traffic cam footage. The police stopped behind her car with lights flashing in less than 4 minutes from when her car stopped on the side.

[Anonymous]

A lot of those semis would have dash cams, too. I'm sure that is being looked into, but it's certainly not being discussed publicly.

And of course, that is entirely reasonable, given it is an ongoing investigation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No one on here is mentioning the article referencing the grey car and tall dark man being spotted by a passing trucker and the family member hearing he scream on the phone? This was definitively a random abduction. I feel so sorry for her and her family.

If she called 911 and police arrived 3 minutes later, and there was no second car there on the video when she stopped, I’m kind of skeptical about the trucker’s sighting. 3 minutes is a very tight timeline to pull up, mess with stuff in her car, potentially abduct her, and drive away again before being spotted by police.

I think the perps came from the neighborhood. It’s straight past the tree line. No lights. The car could’ve stopped to check on her car. It’s easier to abduct from that tree line right into a backyard/shed/home etc.

It’s a suburban neighborhood. Who’s going to suspect a neighbor. I hope all of the residents are checking door cams and other cameras.

No other cars stopped. There is actual traffic cam footage. The police stopped behind her car with lights flashing in less than 4 minutes from when her car stopped on the side.

Gotta wonder about the trucker’s motivation in saying he saw a second car and a man, when clearly that did not happen.

[Anonymous]

There is clearly no second car. There are always car lights illuminating the side of the road in frnot of and behind her car and so you can tell there is no second car stopped unless it was in the grass and too far off the road to be caught in headlights.

[Anonymous]

Was she behind on her payments

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is clearly no second car. There are always car lights illuminating the side of the road in frnot of and behind her car and so you can tell there is no second car stopped unless it was in the grass and too far off the road to be caught in headlights.

If it can't even be caught in the headlights, not even a glimmer, that would make it mighty hard for the trucker to both see it and be able to identify the color. And we have the video from the moment she stops to the point the police arrive a few minutes later.