Carlee Russell put on payment plan to pay off $18,000 she owes court for Alabama kidnapping hoax

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ( WIAT ) — A year and a half after a nursing student from Birmingham went missing, creating a national story that turned out to be a hoax, she is still paying for her mistake.

On Wednesday, Carlee Russell made a court appearance to brief prosecutors on her life since she pleaded guilty back in March to filing a false police report and falsely reporting an incident to law enforcement.

On July 13, 2023, Russell called the Hoover Police Department, claiming to have seen a child walking along I-459. Officers who arrived at the area found Russell’s car abandoned along the road. Her family subsequently reported her missing and a search was conducted to find her. On July 15, Russell safely walked back home, telling police that she had been abducted.

Following questions into her disappearance, including no reports besides hers of a child seen walking along the interstate, Russell admitted that she had made the story up.

By March, Russell had pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one-year probation and nearly $18,000 in restitution.

During her court appearance, Russell’s attorneys said that she had already served over 100 hours of community service, was receiving counseling, and had been making payments toward her restitution, albeit a couple hundred dollars.

Emory Anthony, Russell’s attorney, said Russell was trying to make payments, but that she had been out of work and was having difficulty making consistent payments. A judge ordered that she pay a minimum of $50 per month to be put back on track.

“There should be some consequences for your actions and I realize she did the community service, which is fantastic, but a couple of hundred dollars in 12 months is kind of a slap at us to be frank about,” Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said following the hearing.

Russell’s next review will be March 17.

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