The Abduction Hoax of Nursing Student, Carlee Russell | Documentary

[Music] foreign hours of Friday July 21st of 2023 an Alabama woman named Angela Harris heard some unsettling news that immediately made her snap into action Angela a pediatric emergency room nurse wife and mother of four regularly Works to provide safety education to large groups of people in public and online and every month she sends out safety care packages as well some would say Angela has a heart of gold others would call her an angel but to Angela it's necessary work as her life was forever changed on Thursday October 24th of 2019 when her beautiful and bright daughter Anaya stopped at a gas station to quickly buy sour cream and onion chips before heading home to get ready for bed Anaya was a 19 year old student at Southern Union State Community College majoring in early childhood education with plans to transfer to Auburn University when not at school Anaya whose favorite color was baby blue worked as a nanny and loved playing softball and spending time with her friends and family this included cheering on her stepfather UFC star Walt Harris during his fights poor Anaya it was just another Thursday but that October day would be unlike any other when a criminal out on bond after a kidnapping charge spotted her inside a Chevron gas station after she checked out a witness saw Anaya being forced against her will into a car in the parking lot but never called 9-1-1 or reported it to police for one month Angela and everyone who knew Anaya agonized over where she could be but held on to hope they would find her alive sadly three days before Thanksgiving the family would receive devastating news as they buried their oldest daughter Walt and Angela's lives would be forever changed I just want to say I'm standing here representing my daughter um I first only addressed the parents parents you never think that something like this is going to happen to your child you prepare them you think you've prepared them enough I thought I did I talked to Anaya about it every day every day on the phone hey Naya make sure you're not you know going anywhere by yourself at night make sure you're not doing that Mom I know you know I'm good Mom I got this trusted her with all my heart but nothing you do can can prepare you for some evil that is out there y'all please so I'm begging parents put just a little bit more uh teach your kids a little bit more now I'll feel guilty maybe even nothing I could have done but I should have prepared her just a little bit better um for things she might have came into contact with um so I'm feeling a lot of guilt right now you know I tell my tell my all my children and her but kids teenager little kids little kids big kids adults there are things going on in the world right now that you don't think are going on and they're going on I knew they were going on but I didn't really know that they it was like this until it's happened to us my family my daughter so we have to prepare them we have to do everything we can sometimes trackers is just not enough kids you have to understand that your your parents are not being they're not trying to just pin you down and keep you from not going anywhere and trying to track your every move they are trying to protect you from this evil that is in the world and is so sad that the world is like this now but it is it is bad and we've got to do something to fix it and I'm gonna do everything in my power to fight for Anaya and every other child and every other person that's been kidnapped killed anything I'm gonna fight for them one year later Angela would find Hope and purpose Again by creating Anaya's heart a non-profit organization that aims to preserve Anaya's memory by preventing others from becoming victims of violence through safety education and self-defense training with contributions going towards lodging food travel and other costs that families with a missing person wouldn't think about in the chaos of the moment Angela stated she was completely clueless on what to do when Anaya first went missing they needed clothes food and a place to stay when everything first happened as Anaya went missing two hours away from their Hometown Angela went on to say quote it becomes very very expensive very quickly and we realized how much goes into everything in real time in those moments parents aren't even thinking of anything related to those things you don't think about renting a helicopter that costs ten thousand dollars to search the areas from the air you're just doing anything you can to try and find your child we want to ease that stress as families are going through it and those issues in the middle of that horrible process we just want to be a buffer and blessing in that situation end quote fast forward to 2023 less than four years since Anaya's death on the morning of Friday July 21st Angela would have a chance to be a blessing for another family when she received a call that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up a young woman named Carly Russell disappeared after stopping to help a toddler on the side of the highway Angela knew that as each hour passed the likelihood of a missing person being found decreased and Carly had gone missing Thursday night the same day of the week as Anaya's abduction it was now Friday and Angela sprung into action by Spearhead getting a search in Hoover Alabama for Carly and her family the next 49 hours would be an agonizing search in which Angela and Walt their non-profit Anaya's heart and police utilized all their resources to find the missing young woman foreign Russell was born on July 22nd 1997 in Hoover Alabama to talitha and Carlos Russell she was their youngest child and had one older brother Carly attended Spain Park High School before graduating in 2015. this video shows her being surprised at graduation with a brand new black Mercedes as a gift from her parents After High School Carly attended Auburn University the same school Anaya hoped to transfer to there she was a proud member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and graduated with a bachelor's in psychology her social media showed she had been accepted into University of Auburn School of Nursing where she hoped to obtain a joint ADN and BSN in April of 2021 Carly got into a car accident she then received what would later become her Infamous red Mercedes while working part-time at Woodhouse Spa in Birmingham Carly's social media post showed nothing extraordinary but a young woman who liked to dress up and travel her captions consisted of calling herself a snack claiming she was too classy for this world and that she didn't brag enough Carly lived with her parents in their home had a boyfriend and seemed to be building the life of her dreams but for some reason she didn't feel she was getting the attention she thought she deserved and on July 8th she posted how her job was starting to get on her nerves just as her Instagram captions claimed Carly wanted the people in her life to know how special she was this is when she decided to hatch a plan a plan that would make everyone realize how miserable their lives were without her in it she decided to become her very own Gone Girl on Tuesday July 11th Carly Googled how to take money from a register without being caught and not knowing Amber Alerts are for minors and cannot be purchased this 25 year old woman then searched do you have to pay for an Amber Alert she went on to Google Liam Neeson's movie Taken where she possibly studied the exact moment the daughter in the movie is kidnapped but more on that later she also searched Birmingham bus station Carly wanted her family friends and boyfriend to panic in her absence although she didn't plan on being in any real danger at all she decided to Stage the crime scene two days later on what would be Thursday July 13th of 2023 only nine days before her birthday how wonderful it would be for her to not only be loved and adored when she returned safely home but then to have everyone celebrate her birthday as well Thursday rolled around and Carly arrived to work at the spa as if it was any other day then while no one was looking other than the Spa's security cameras she stole a dark robe and toilet paper after leaving work she stopped to get dinner at a Mediterranean cafe and then bought Cheez-Its and granola bars from Target she also made three posts to her Twitter account the first one today was a great day God be looking out I'm telling you the second Tweet someone to tell you I love you and don't got a reason finally at 10 19 PM her last post read yeah I want a family now about 10 minutes later Carly called 9-1-1 and told the operator that she saw a toddler walking on the side of Interstate i-459 the road she took on her way home now when one word's emergency hi I am on Interstate 459 and there is a kid just walking by theirselves hold on where where on 49 are you um um I'm right next to the exit exit 10 by the Hoover man like to get off by the Hoover net okay so you're before that exit yes or 280. um they're walking towards Tuscaloosa walking southbound or how old do they look um what the toddlers like maybe like three or four did you pull over with them are you still with them yes okay are you with the child right now no I'm not I didn't get out of the car I'm just I can see them though can you do you mind staying and keep an eye on them until we get there yeah yeah sure yeah yeah okay what kind of car are you in I'm in a red Mercedes-Benz did you talk to the child at all or did you say anything to me no okay no do they look like they're injured no they don't are they wipes like Hispanic or Asia they're white okay is it male or female I think it's a boy a little boy right now okay is he wearing clothes yes okay what is he wearing um it's a white T-shirt and it doesn't look like he has any pants on it looks like a diaper oh you don't see any cars anywhere no no cars are anywhere okay all right what's your name my name is Carly Russell okay try to keep an eye on them for the best they can because I don't want you to lose track of them um all right and do they have shoes on okay all right I've got them on the way okay just try to stay keep an eye on them but officers are on the way okay okay thanks thank you okay Carly claimed she'd keep an eye on the toddler until the police got there but by the time she ended the call with the 911 operator she reportedly followed the toddler in her car for about 600 feet or the length of an entire American football field this was either the Usain Bolt of toddlers or she had run him over by now Carly's plan was well in motion and the police were on their way she knew she had to act fast after hanging up with 9-1-1 she called her sister-in-law to let her know about the toddler she supposedly found on the side of the interstate Carly explained that she parked her car on the side of the road and got out to follow the toddler until help arrived then while still on the line with her sister-in-law she let out a scream just like the character from taken at the moment she was abducted while her sister-in-law freaked out Carly stayed silent for a few lingering seconds before hanging up then she turned her phone off and disappeared into the night with her Cheez-Its and granola bars when police arrived they found her red Mercedes with the car door open her cell phone purse and wig were all that was left behind believing she had been abducted a search party was started for Carly by the following morning Angela Harris was spearheading a search and providing Comfort to Carly's family after photos of Carly were shared online and around the world and the news of her disappearance spread a 25 thousand dollar reward was offered to anyone who could help bring her home safely by Saturday that reward had risen to sixty thousand dollars missing Flyers were printed and handed out Alabama's Woods were searched with some search and rescue looking in neighboring states in case Carly was taken across state lines local and federal authorities were involved and the community came together at the time of this recording it's not clear where Carly was in the 49 hour she was away some think she met someone in the woods who helped her hide others wonder if her search history about Birmingham buses meant she left the city without being seen and then just before 10 45 pm on Saturday July 15th Carly returned herself to her worrying family she banged on her family's front door and acted as if she was exhausted beaten and traumatized but Carly wasn't careful enough on her way home as security cameras from a neighbor's house showed her casually walking down the sidewalk before arriving at her parents house Carly's parents called 9-1-1 and according to her parents Carly was quote unresponsive but breathing she had no injuries and only a minor cut on her lip she also had over 100 dollars stuffed into her sock when First Responders arrived on scene they found Carly alive and well she was treated in the local hospital and released shortly after no out alcohol or drugs were found in her system Carly briefly spoke with police after returning home on Saturday and she had a well-planned out story to tell investigators according to her she met a man on the side of the highway the night of her alleged abduction he told her he was checking on the toddler she saw walking then she said he picked her up and managed to lift her over a fence and put her in the back of his car Carly said she remembered being in the trailer of an 18-wheeler with a man a woman and a baby she could hear crying she claimed the man had orange hair and a bald spot and she originally managed to escape from the truck but then woke up in a house with the couple and no memory of what happened and her lies didn't stop there she continued telling the police the couple made her undress for photographs and that the woman played with her hair and fed her cheese and crackers Carly said she was then put in a vehicle but was able to escape while they were in the west Hoover area which is where she managed to run through the woods and come out conveniently near where her parents lived but that was all she had to say Carly refused to speak with police any further and her parents asked the public for privacy then they turned around and did an interview with NBC this morning in an exclusive sit down with NBC News the parents of 25 year old Carly Russell are speaking out describing the moment their daughter appeared on their doorstep after being missing for more than 48 hours what did you do when you saw her we tried to her as best we could but I had to stand back because she was not in a good state so we had to stand back and let medical professionals work with her um but it's and can you tell me what happened Saturday night did you just get a knock at the door anything leading to to the chase itself we we can't discuss that but they say speculation about the circumstances surrounding Carly's disappearance or only making things worse she's having to deal with the trauma of people just making completely false allegations about her her family now urging the public to let the investigation play out but mentioning an abductor her mother asking to read a brief message to the public Carly has given detectives her statement so that they can continue to pursue her abductor do you believe that there's an abductor still out there absolutely absolutely do you believe she was fighting for her life she definitely fought for them 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 but she made it back to you she made it back and on July 19th Carly posted on Twitter I'm thankful I know how to identify when the enemy coming for me now makes life a lot easier that post was eventually removed and on the same day her boyfriend deleted every trace of her on his social media including his previous comments of how Carly survived because she fought for her life and he told the media he was now her ex and then Carly lawyered up after the police went through Carly's search history finding out she had searched for taken a bus ticket and if one can pay for an amber alert they knew she had liked but continued to investigate for Carly's mysterious abductors the public was now becoming extremely suspicious and even Angela Harris spoke out here she is talking to Carly's parents during the height of the search in Hoover Alabama I did not want her family to go through the pain of what we're going through so many other families are going through you put your all into searching for her do you feel duped by her um I feel heartbroken and sad for a lot of different reasons um but I wouldn't do anything different than what I did are you angry I'm not angry um a lot of people are and and rightly so but I'm so happy Carly is alive I do want to say that because because I thought she wasn't on July 24th 11 days after Carly staged her abduction she was expected to meet with police but instead her attorney Emery Anthony gave the department a written update and admitted it was all a lie the statement by the Russell family's attorney read quote my client apologizes for her actions to this community to the volunteers who were searching for her to the Hoover Police Department and other agencies as well we ask for your prayers for Carly as she addresses her issues and attempts to move forward understanding that she made a mistake in this matter end quote Carly never showed her face or personally apologized on Friday July 28th police charged Carly Russell with filing a false police report and filing a false statement to law enforcement authorities a Class A misdemeanor that same day Carly had turned herself into the Hoover City police and was released on a two thousand dollar bond which equaled one thousand dollars per charge judging from the amount of phone calls and emails that we've received from people all over the country I know many are shocked and appalled that Miss Russell is only being charged with two misdemeanors despite all the panic and disruption her actions caused let me assure you I too share the same frustration but existing laws only allow the charges that were filed to be filed I can tell you that I will be contacting our state legislatures on behalf of law enforcement in Montgomery and asking them to look at this law applied to these facts and urge them to add an enhancement to current legislation when somebody falsely reports kidnapping or another violent crime the cost of attention this case is garnered we've requested attorney general Steve Marshall's office adopt this case and they've agreed to do so more than 546 000 people in the United States were reported missing in 2022 including more than 271 thousand women despite accounting for only seven percent of the population black women and girls made up approximately 18 of all missing persons cases in 2022. Carly's hoax caused limited resources to be taken away from missing black women and girls but so we can get the word out and not focus entirely on Carly let's quickly take a look at three cases of women who actually are missing La Shea Stein was a 16 year old honor roll student from Aurora Colorado in the early morning hours of July 15 2016 lashaya told her younger brothers to be quiet and go to sleep where she would tell their mother shortly after she left her home in Aurora Colorado she didn't take a phone charger wallet or any clothing and her mother stated Le Shea was excited not only for her job interview the next day at Firehouse Subs but for her upcoming internship she was granted through the University of Colorado Hospital lashaya dreamed of becoming a nurse and it's believed the night she snuck out she went to meet a friend her mother frantically called her cell phone when she realized her daughter was missing but all calls went straight to voicemail although lashaya did not have a history of running away from home police believed her to be a runaway and waited a week before conducting an in-depth investigation into her disappearance lacheyo was last seen on surveillance camera walking on a sidewalk at 2 33 am that surveillance footage was the last known sighting of lashaya Stein who at the time of this recording is still missing it should be noted that lashaya has a distinct scar on her chest in Trotwood Ohio during the early morning hours of December 27 2022 30 year old Sierra Chapman was driving to her ex-boyfriend's house to exchange some personal items as the two had recently broken up she was reported to have left his house only to never be seen again when Sierra's family and Son reported her missing they were told by police to wait two more days before reporting her missing thus losing precious time in locating her 10 days after Sierra went missing on January 6th of 2023 her silver 2014 Cadillac SRX SUV was found in Middletown Ohio at the time of this recording Sierra Chapman is still missing last but not least on August 31st of 2021 in Columbus Ohio Sequoia Cooper texted her partner at 11 30 pm to say she was going to get some bottled water at a nearby convenience store the 33 year old transgender woman was driving her 2009 black Ford Fusion and it's unclear if she ever made it to the store but her best friend received a call from her a few hours later at 3am however the friend was sleeping and didn't answer Sequoia was reported missing on September 1st by her partner after she failed to return multiple phone calls local police and the FBI suspect Foul Play Because less than one month after her disappearance her car was found on the other side of town with new license plates at the time of this recording Sequoia Cooper is still missing this has been the story of 25 year old Carly Russell a woman so desperate for attention she would do almost anything to get it do you think there's anything Carly could do to right her wrongs and gain Trust of the public again and if so what let me know in the comment section below if you are a fan of learning about scams Cults and cautionary tales subscribe to the channel and turn on notifications so you'll be notified when a new documentary comes out my name is Josie and thank you so much for watching foreign [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: NOT THE GOOD GIRL

Views: 184,556

Keywords: Carlee russell, alabama, aniah blanchard, gone girl, true crime, angela harris, walt harris, ufc

Id: 2LQGeLhFl08

Length: 25min 58sec (1558 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 30 2023