Earlier this week, a young woman in Birmingham, Alabama named Carlee Russell made national news after she allegedly stopped on the interstate after seeing a toddler on the side of the road.
She called 911 to report the lost child... and then vanished herself.
Police found her car with her phone and Apple Watch still inside.
Immediately, a massive search and rescue operation started:
The news was widely shared across America. Joy Reid even lectured us on just how dangerous the US is for black women. We were told this young women was lured in by traffickers, which up until 2 seconds ago, was a right-wing QAnon conspiracy.
Then, two days later, she showed up at her house.
She went to the hospital with only one very minimal injury and gave a statement to the police.
National media continued to play up the story, zeroing in on this chance to prove how deadly and racist America is:
But then the whole story fell apart.
Hoover police held a press conference Wednesday where they discussed the recent internet search history from Carlee's devices. This included:
• "How to steal from a cash register without being caught?"
• "How old do you have to be for an Amber Alert?"
• "Do you have to pay for an Amber Alert?"
• "A purchase for a one-way bus ticket from Birmingham to Nashville, TN."
• "The plot from the movie Taken."
Police also revealed that Karlee stole some bathrobes from her work that night and was caught on camera. And that they found $107 cash hidden in her sock.
The kidnappers apparently left the victim's money and wallet in the car, but took the bathrobes Carlee stole...
Carlee is now refusing to give police any more info and is hiding under the excuse of a "mental health crisis."
Reality: It looks like Carlee decided to steal from work, got caught on camera, then decided to try to hide the evidence of the crime by faking her own kidnapping.
Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Hoover police, Jefferson County Sheriffs, and the Secret Service all became involved in this case!!
Candace Owens is one of the only national figures covering this case honestly, and let's just say she has A LOT of thoughts about it. Here's her full podcast on it from Wednesday:
They didn't take her purse, they didn't take her keys, they didn't take her running vehicle, her money. But they took her Cheez-Its and her granola bar... She snatched her own weave!
The kidnappers fed her Cheez-Its (which she also happened to buy herself). She escaped the 18-wheeler and was kidnapped AGAIN by someone else??
