Carlee Russell‘s Parents Speak After Her 48-Hour Abduction

Source: Hoover Police Department / Hoover PD

This story has become the biggest conversation piece on social media and beyond and fortunately, it didn’t end in the tragedy that had a great many people concerned.

According to NPR, Carlee Russell disappeared last Thursday after calling 911 to report that a toddler in a diaper was alone on the side of I-459 South Highway.

After contacting authorities, Carlee reportedly called her brother’s girlfriend to report her shocking find. During the call, it sounded like Carlee approached the small boy, screamed, then lost all contact with the world. When police arrived on the scene, they found what can only be described as a scene from a horror film. Carlee’s car, wig, cell phone, and other belongings, were strewn across the road with no sign of her or the small child. No one had seen Carlee until she walked up to her parent’s house and knocked on the door Saturday night.

Now there’s a new report that says Carlee was “unresponsive but breathing” upon her arrival. Citing police dispatch audio, The Daily Mail claims that a large crowd had also gathered around Carlee’s parents’ home.

On Tuesday, Carlee’s parents Talitha and Carlos Russell shared a written statement with NBC News.

“Carlee has given detectives her statement so that they can continue to pursue her abductor,” read Talitha Russell.

The mom was then asked if she believes her daughter’s abductor is still out there to which she responded: “Absolutely.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Russell told reporter Priscilla Thompson that she immediately wanted to hug her daughter upon her return, but could not.

“We tried to hug as best we could, but I had to stand back because she was not in a good state, she said. “So we had to stand back and let medical professionals work with her.”

Both of Carlee’s parents also emphasized that she had to “physically and mentally fight for her life” but ultimately made it back home.

For security reasons, authorities are not sharing many details about what happened to Carlee or what she told them in her initial interview. Still, parents fully believe that their daughter’s abductor is still at-large and could be looking for her or other victims.

“We celebrate with the Russell family on her safe return,” Lt. Daniel Lowe of the Hoover Police Department said in a press release.

While we are all celebrating this safe return as well, there are so many questions that are still anxiously awaiting answers. Hopefully, we get to hear some of those soon.