An Alabama woman whose brief disappearance this month drew national attention and prompted sprawling search efforts across the state said through a lawyer on Monday that she had faked the entire ordeal — including her abduction and her claim of seeing a toddler on the side of a road.
The woman, Carlee Russell, 25, said through her lawyer, Emory Anthony, that she had not been kidnapped on July 13 in Hoover, Ala., and that she had not seen a baby on the side of an interstate that night — a detail that she had shared with a 911 dispatcher before being reported missing.
“We ask for your prayers for Carlee as she addresses her issues and attempts to move forward understanding that she made a mistake in this matter,” Mr. Anthony said in a letter that was read by the chief of the Hoover Police Department at a news conference on Monday.
“Carlee again asks for your forgiveness.”Mr. Anthony said in the letter that Ms. Russell had not received any help with her hoax and that she had not been at a hotel with anyone from the time she disappeared.
Persons:
Carlee Russell, Emory Anthony, Mr, Anthony, “ Carlee, ” Mr, Russell
Organizations:
Alabama, Hoover Police Department
Locations:
Hoover, Ala