*Carlee Russell, the Alabama woman who faked her own kidnapping for 48 hours over the summer, was found guilty Wednesday of filing a false police report and falsely reporting the incident.
Russell was hit with misdemeanor criminal charges after she made international news for faking her own kidnapping and later admitted to making the whole thing up.
We reported previously via CNN that Russell went missing on July 13 after telling the dispatcher that she saw a toddler walking along the side of Interstate 459 South. After the call, Russell stopped her vehicle to check on the toddler and called a family member who lost contact with her, though the line remained open, according to the Hoover Police Department.
When officers arrived at the scene, they found Russell’s vehicle and some of her belongings – including her phone – but no sign of her or the child, according to police. Days later, the Hoover 911 center received a call that Russell had returned home on July 15, Hoover police said in a news release.
Russell allegedly walked home two days after her “disappearance,” and told police she was abducted by a couple and held captive until she was able to escape.
As The Huffington Post reports, during the investigation, Hoover police said they were “unable to verify” Russell’s account of what happened based on surveillance footage. Russell later admitted through an attorney that she was not kidnapped.
During a municipal court hearing Wednesday, Judge Brad Bishop found her guilty and ordered Russell to pay $831 for each misdemeanor charge, as well as over $17,000 in restitution, My Fox 8 reports.
Russell pleaded not guilty to the charges and plans to appeal to the circuit court.
Her ex-boyfriend spoke about the incident last month on a podcast, saying he wasn’t sure why she fabricated the kidnapping story.
“I’m confused, like what happened? What made you do that? I don’t understand,” Thomar Latrell Simmons said.
READ MORE: Carlee Russell Charged After Faking Disappearance, Making False Report | Video
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