*Carlee Russell, the Alabama woman who faked her own kidnapping for 48 hours, and later admitted to making up the elaborate tale, is facing misdemeanor criminal charges.
Russell, 25, has been charged with false reporting to police and falsely reporting to 911 about a toddler walking alone on the highway, according to The Huffington Post.
We reported previously via CNN that Russell went missing 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, Hoover police said in a news release.
Russell returned home on foot 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 Huff 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.
In a statement Monday, Russell’s attorney confirmed that his client did not witness a toddler in distress on the side of the road, nor was she kidnapped.
“My client did not leave the Hoover area when she was identified as a missing person. My client did not have any help in this incident. This was a single act done by herself,” the statement said.
Watch the latest news conference about Russell’s charges via the YouTube clip above.
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