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.
Alabama man captures footage of rare comet that won’t make its way near Earth for another 80,000 years 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, CBS 42 learned that Russell 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 making payments, but the notoriety of the case had made it difficult to secure employment and she had been working some small jobs. The lawyer for the Attorney Generals’ office asked for a more consistent payment plan, so Judge David Carpenter ordered that she pay a minimum of $50 per month.
“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 it,” Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said following the hearing.
CBS 42 also spoke with attorney Luckie Milad and asked her how her client is doing emotionally:
“I think she has been making strides since this case, and she seems to be in a better place emotionally, but I don’t think with all the media attention and all the scrutiny she’s been through I don’t know if anyone would be 100% ok with what has transpired since this case.”
Russell’s next review will be March 17.
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