✍🏾: @lexisryann
Carlethia “Carlee” Nichole Russell, 25, called 911 at about 9:34 p.m. on Thursday and reported seeing a toddler walking on the side of I-459 South near mile marker 11, according to a press release from the Hoover Police Department.
Before cops arrived, Russell stopped to check on the child and called a relative to tell them what she saw, police said. The relative lost contact with Russell during the call, but the phone line remained open.
Russell’s mother told Alabama Local the person her daughter was on the phone with was her son’s girlfriend, who claims she heard screaming before the call went silent.
“My son’s girlfriend heard her asking the child, ‘Are you Ok? She never heard the child say anything, but then she heard our daughter scream,” Talitha Russell said, per the outlet. “From there, all you hear on her phone is background noise from the interstate.”
When police arrived at the scene, they found Russell’s car abandoned with some of her belongings nearby but could not find her or a child in the area, the release states.
Hoover police added that the department had not received any other calls of someone missing a small child.
Russell is described as a Black female, 5 feet 4 inches, and between 150 to 160 lbs. She was last seen wearing a black shirt, black pants, and white Nike shoes.
Anyone who believes they may have seen Russell or may have any information about the case is asked to call Detective Brad Fountain at 205-444-7562. #BWLM💕
