Carlee Russell breaks her silence one year after kidnap hoax: ‘Work is not finished yet’

The Alabama nursing student who faked her own kidnapping last summer has finally broken her silence on social media.

“I wasn’t going to make a birthday post but I would be remiss not to publicly acknowledge the goodness God has shown to me,” Carlee Russell, now 27, wrote on her private Instagram account on Monday, according to FOX 5 .

“He not only allowed me to see another year but He changed the trajectory of my life from the negative place I was in this time last year,” she added.

During a court appearance in March , Russell cited “emotional issues and stress” as the reason she called 911 on July 13, 2023, to report a toddler was supposedly crawling on the side of a highway near her home in Hoover.

Carlee Russell skirts jail time after blaming Alabama kidnapping hoax on ‘emotional issues and stress’

Officers later found her car by the side of the road with the door open and her cellphone inside.

Russell’s apparent disappearance sparked a statewide manhunt by local, state and federal authorities, which ended when she turned up at her parents’ doorstep 48 hours later .

Carlee Russell convicted of faking her own kidnapping, faces one year in prison

She initially told police that she was kidnapped by a white man with orange hair — but the ruse quickly fell apart when cops revealed that she googled the kidnapping film “Taken” and the Amber Alert system days before she vanished.

Russell’s lawyers issued a statement one week after her return admitting that there was no kidnapping.

“To those who have been there for me, your kindness and support have meant the world to me,” Russell’s latest Instagram statement read.

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“Whether it was a text, call, direct message on social media, post, prayer, thoughtful gift, or words of encouragement, nothing was too little and each helped me to fight to live another day. Thank you sincerely for helping me find the light in the darkest of moments,” she continued.

“The work is not finished yet,” Russell acknowledged. “As I step into this next year of life, I am filled with hope and optimism toward continuing to overcome challenges, cherishing those who cherish me, and embracing the future and God’s plan for my life with an open heart and mind.”

In March, Russell pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of filing a false police report. She skirted jail time and was sentenced to 12 months of probation , 100 hours of community service, and continued mental health counseling.

She was also ordered to pay $17,974.88 to the city of Hoover.

Where exactly Russell went during the 48 hours she was missing has not been disclosed. It is not clear what the former nursing student and spa worker is doing now.

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