[imagesource:facebook]

This case of an Alabama woman going missing is causing major confusion for the police, mostly because they suspect that she faked the whole ordeal.

Last week, Carlee Russell was driving home from work when she called 911 to say she was stopping her car to check on a toddler who was walking on the highway and then called a family member who lost contact with her.

What followed was a confounding 49-hour disappearance.

Image: Hoover Police Department/ Facebook

When the 25-year-old returned home around two days later, she was subsequently treated at a local hospital. She shared the story with the police, but they cannot make sense of anything that she said, per E! News:

Days after sharing her story with authorities, Hoover Police Chief Nicholas Derzis said at a press conference that the department is still investigating the situation but has been “unable to verify most of Carlee’s initial statement made to investigators.” He said police have not determined if a crime was committed and have “no reason to believe” there is a threat to public safety.

“She told detectives that while traveling down the interstate, she saw a baby walking down the side of the road and called 911,” he explained. “She said when she got out of the vehicle to check on the child, a man came out of the trees and mumbled that he was checking on the baby.”

Image: Hoover Police Department/ Facebook

Carlee then said that she was kidnapped by a man and a woman.

“She claimed that the man then picked her up and she screamed,” Derzis continued. “She stated he then made her go over a fence. She claimed he then forced her into a car, and the next thing she remembers is being in the trailer of an 18-wheeler.”

She said she couldn’t see the woman but could hear her, along with a baby crying, and eventually managed to flee the vehicle on foot, only to be captured again:

“She claimed she was then blindfolded but was not tied up because the captor said he did not want to leave impressions on her wrists.”

Then, she said she was taken to a house where she says they took pictures of her naked, but says she does not remember them having any physical or sexual contact. After being fed cheese and crackers, she said she was put back in the vehicle, where she made another escape:

“She claims she was able to escape while it was in the west Hoover area. She told detectives she ran through lots of woods until she came out near her residence.”

When officers were sent out in response to her 911 call, they found her vehicle and some of her belongings nearby, “but were unable to find her or a child in the area.” They also said they have not received any calls about a missing child since.

Image: Hoover Police Department/ Facebook

It gets more hectic:

At the July 19 press conference, Derzis also said data from Russell’s phone showed that in the days and hours before she was reported missing, she researched topics such as the movie Taken and the query, “Do you have to pay for an Amber Alert?”

The evidence is obviously stacked against her:

“I’m not saying it couldn’t happen,” the police chief clarified. “To think that a toddler, barefoot, that could be 3 or 4 years old, he’s going to travel six football fields without getting in the roadway, without crying… It’s just very hard for me to understand.”

Police said they were not given permission for a second interview with Russell and still hopes to speak with her.

Her parents believe her whole-heartedly, commenting to NBC News that their daughter fought for her life during her ordeal. “There were moments when she physically had to fight for her life, and there were moments when she had to mentally fight for her life,” her mother Talitha said. “She made it back.”

The Independent has a run-through of all the events in this strange case if you’re interested in the details. For now, it seems as if only Carlee knows what happened on that night, and she’s sticking with her story.

[sources:e!news]