Neighbors of an Alabama woman who went missing and reappeared 2 days later are expressing their frustration online and on the street.
According to Hoover police Chief Nick Derzis, 25-year-old Carlee Russell stole a bathrobe, a roll of toilet paper and other items from her job at a spa before she left work on Thursday, July 13.
She later drove to Target on highway 280 where she purchased snacks including Granola bars and Cheez-Its before she called 911 to report a toddler walking on the side of I-459.
Chief Derzis said there is no evidence that a child was on the side of I-459. He said the FBI, Secret Service, Homeland Security, and other law enforcement agencies were involved in the search for Russell and the child.
After she returned home on Saturday night, Russell told investigators that she was abducted from the side of the highway by a white man with orange hair.
Neighbors who donated cash and volunteered to help find Russell are now mounting an effort to force the Russells out of the neighborhood.
“The town is pissed because they helped search for her,” said one neighbor in an online post. “They’re saying, if anybody is owned an explanation it’s them. I can understand their perspective.”
Other neighbors and church members say Russell’s mother Talitha Russell took cash directly from them via Ca$h App and Venmo.
Meanwhile, Talitha told reporters she was not accepting donations and that any GoFundMe pages in her name were fake.
Neighbors who organized search parties and tied ribbons to their porches now complain that their efforts were a waste of time.
Meanwhile, Carlee Russell is reportedly hiding out in Atlanta until the storm blows over.
Watch the video below.
