The Alabama nursing student who drew national attention when she faked her own kidnapping a year ago spoke out this week on her now private Instagram account, for the first time since she was sentenced to a year’s probation, community service, and mental health counseling.
Posting for her 27th birthday, Carlee Russell wrote that she initially wasn’t going to mark the occasion but decided she would be “remiss (not) to publicly acknowledge the goodness God has shown to me,” according to The Shade Room, which said it obtained screenshots of the private posts.
“[God] 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,” Russell wrote, the outlet said. To those who have been there for me, your kindness and support have meant the world to me.”
“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 reportedly wrote.
Russell disappeared on July 13, 2023, after calling 911 claiming she saw a toddler walking alongside Interstate 459 in north Alabama, as CrimeOnline reported. When police arrived, they found her car, cell phone, and wig, but no toddler and no Russell. Forty-nine hours later, she showed up at her parents home, barefoot, with a story about having been kidnapped by a man in an 18-wheeler and held nearby for two days until she escaped.
Within days, that story, too, fell apart, and Russell was charged with false reporting to police and falsely reporting an incident, both misdemeanors. In October, a judge found her guilty of both charges and recommended a year in jail. Her attorney vowed to appeal, but at sentencing in March, she was spared jail.
It remains unknown where Russell was for those two days she was missing, and a motive for faking the kidnapping has not been revealed.
In her birthday post on Monday, she wrote that her “work is not finished yet,” The Shade Room said.
“…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. Happy 27th birthday to me,” she reportedly wrote.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.
[Featured image: Carlee Russell/Hoover Police Department]
