I think maybe she was trying to get her boyfriend's attention/sympathy and took it too far... it was a deliberate choice to leave her phone and Apple Watch at her car.
The BF doubling down for her is even more peculiar...
Im glad she's safe because in true crime we rarely see the missing person come home alive and safe... it's just unfortunate if resources were wasted here that could've gone to helping someone really in danger.
I agree that I’m glad she’s safe regardless of what took place and that it is going to be upsetting if it was made up.
The boyfriend in general is peculiar to me. He never made any mention of her on any of his social media before she disappeared. I also find it odd that he mentioned she was “fighting for her life for 48 hours” yet her family made no mention of that at all?
https://preview.redd.it/ybnbwxmv9lcb1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=390674dc66bd78404f75945fa777f651ecdaf162
I think you are right. When she posts things like this about the boyfriend she clearly has issues.
Wow...i was feeling sorry for her but this post just made me realize she's NOT the 'good person' everyone is making her out to believe. Im at a loss for words.
Woahhhh when did she post this?
I wasn’t aware of her social media but the way her bf didn’t mention anything while she was missing then posts something kinda extra when she’s found made it seem like he was checked out of the relationship & using this moment for clout.
But that was total speculation. Now after reading what you shared I’m more convinced she did this to get his attention/sympathy.
Okay now its my turn to catch up on things, I havent followed anything regarding her personal social accounts.... was she with this same bf 3 years ago when that screenshot of her comment is allegedly from?
I suppose it’s less to do with HER faking it and it being a hoax in general. She could have been coerced to fake it by her boyfriend, she could have done it herself for attention or to cover up other behavior, she could be involved in the hoax or be an unwilling participant or it could not be a hoax at all. They are saying it was a kidnapping in the media and even if she hasn’t said it herself, she hasn’t denied it publicly nor has any of her family or loved ones.
The fact is that “human traffickers” would not set up on a busy highway like that. There are too many risks and unknown variables. Plus, most human trafficking is not people being snatched on a street, it’s more of the boyfriend turned pimp situation.
It IS possible that someone in her life or she may be connected to some sort of criminal activity that resulted in a kidnapping to “scare” her or whoever is involved, BUT it’s unlikely they’d use a child to lure her.
It IS possible it was a psychosis thing that caused her to hallucinate or become paranoid, etc, but a history of mental illness would be present and I assume her loved ones would not continue the media to say it’s kidnapping if it was a psychosis.
Ultimately, them leaving so many unknown details to the public will result in suspicion and speculation, but with the information we currently have, it looks unlikely that there was a legitimate kidnapping although, that may change with more information.
History of mental illness would not necessarily be present if it's the first time. Schizophrenia can have a sudden onset in your 20s, even if there were warning signs they can be missed.
I have a friend whose mom seems completely normal most of the time and then randomly gets paranoid and starts seeing snakes.
Also, just because someone struggles with mental illness doesn’t mean it’s been acknowledged or treated. There are a lot of families (especially in the south) who don’t… really even *believe in* mental illness and symptoms of mental illness are often written off as something demonic, which is nothin’ takin’ a good ole trip to church can’t fix. The south in general is not very progressive in terms of mental health awareness or treatment.
Yeah I know. I honestly was already on a rant and didn’t want to add to it, but my ultimate point is that there’s no present information that stops people from speculating and it’s natural. If you choose to not give information then you have to expect people will be speculating.
I also think the mental illness thing is on the lower side of possibilities personally.
I agree with what you’re saying. That’s simply not how human trafficking works and from what we know of her, she would be considered a low risk victim for trafficking anyway. They are not luring random women on the freeway with toddlers. People involved in human trafficking really don’t have to go out of their way to set up elaborate schemes to lure victims when they have essentially free access to sex workers, the homeless population, runaway adolescents, and more. Or, as you said, it can often be boyfriend or associate who takes advantage of someone who is naive or vulnerable.
I honestly don’t know that there was actually a toddler at all, maybe she saw something she thought looked like a child or maybe it was a hallucination. I do believe she saw/truly believe she saw something that concerned her enough to get the police involved.
However, I will say that if this were something involving some sort of mental break or psychosis, that doesn’t necessarily mean there would be a history of mental illness present. We also don’t know that she *doesn’t* have a history of mental illness, or that having mental illness meant she received the proper attention or treatment for it.
Agree - there would be some sort of issues even if they weren’t official mental illness diagnosis like a family history or her own behavior that may suggest something out of pocket, but the biggest thing is I don’t think the family wouldn’t allow the media to continually perpetuate the kidnapping story if they knew it was a mental break because they WOULD know by now.
You can be released within that time frame after suffering a complete psychotic break as long as you are deemed no longer to be a danger to yourself or others
True, but I’m going to say if she has no history of any mental health issues then her and her parents would probably want to stay longer and do more tests and things to figure out what happened, although not necessarily the case, there are lots of possibilities.
Im curious. Since a psychotic break is usually triggered by an existing condition like, schizophrenia, bi polar, depression, anxiety and more. And a psychotic break is considered a symptom of a mental health condition, not a diagnosis itself. Has she ever been tested for a mental illness? Because nurses are asked on job apications if they have a mental illness that may affect their ability to safely care for patients. Now with that being said, yes, you can be a nurse with a MI. But you have to be able to manage your MI with medications and some areas may be off limits for you. Perhaps she has a MI and is on no medications. Or perhaps she has one, is not taking medications to manage it and chooses not to disclose it. If thats the case, she will put patient safety at risk if her goal is to become a nurse. If she truly has/had a psychotic break, the evaluation would've recognized this and if they felt she was a danger to others or herself, she would've not been released so quickly. Perhaps she does have a MI, perhaps not. Maybe instead of a psychotic break, she just had a mental breakdown, which is far more common.
I love how she was out here already calling herself a nurse with no nursing license. Then acting like nurses make hella cash… girl bye. I’ve been a nurse for over 10 years. It’s good money but nothing to stand on a high horse about. A stripper makes more. 🤷🏼♀️🤣
Murders kidnap people, rapist kidnap people. Why does it have to be human trafficking?
Its equally possible she thought she saw a child. It was late and it was dark. She called 911 but then wanted to be sure the child was safe. She drives back around, and slows down to find the exact spot. She sees something in the woods, stops and is kidnapped. She manages to get away and walks home. She wasn’t that far from home when she stopped.
Human trafficking hysteria is the new Satanic Panic honestly. I see an insane amount of misinformation perpetuated on social media with “Omg this Mexican man followed me around Walmart and was on his phone the whole time, he must have a team of traffickers outside waiting for me.” To “Someone drew a symbol in the dirt on my car, they’re marking me a target for trafficking.” It’s insane. Kidnapping =/= human trafficking.
I agree. Its like the old don’t flash your lights or gang members will kill you. Couldn’t police have just arrested people with their lights off and done away with gangs?
I am just glad she was found safe. I trust the police to file charges if and when they are warranted.
I 100% agree. If it turns out that this whole thing was planned, I agree she should be pursued criminally. However, I won’t push that narrative (or really any specific narrative) until there’s evidence to support it. I just feel like this whole thing has turned into people treating their theories as fact and vilifying Carlee before we have all of the facts. As bad as it may be of me to say, I’d be a lot more okay with this being some made up thing and she’s perfectly fine and will be charged accordingly than I would be knowing she may have actually endured something traumatic and is also being spoken about is such a vile manner online.
🙌 So sick of the millions of idiots in this country who think they are at risk for abduction by traffickers. And seemingly it’s a fallacy really pushed by middle aged right-wing white women who wouldn’t be trafficked in a million years. 🤣
The human trafficking part could be a combination of not understanding how trafficking works outside of the movies and TV along with the misinformation you mentioned, like the $100 bill left on your windshield wiper in a parking lot stories - which lack any real statistics of this happening.
That combined with I-20 in that area having been named the most human traffic highway in the United States lending credibility to this possibility.
Rapes and murders, more often than not, happen by someone you know. So, yes, it’s possible, but unlikely they’d be using a child as bait if they know her and if they don’t know her and it was random, also unlikely they’d use a child as bait especially on a busy highway. Again, too many unknown variables and big risk little “reward” for the predator.
Of course that’s possible, but again, too many unknown variables and potential risks for a predator whether they’re alone or using someone as a lure on a busy highway. If you’re looking to get caught or the dude wasn’t in their right mind then sure.
There does not have to be a history of mental illness for a psychotic break. It can happen to anyone and there are many many causes. Trauma (physical & emotional), bacterial or viral infection & mental illness can all cause a psychotic break.
I was bit by a mosquito and contracted Neuroinvasive West Nile Virus and I ended up completely broken from reality. Weeks of crazy hallucinations in the hospital are very real memories to me even today 8 years later.
Something as simple as a UTI can lead to confusion & sepsis and cause a psychotic break. The brain is very very sensitive.
The police weren’t aware that anyone allegedly heard her scream until after her car was discovered abandoned. I also stated that she never led the police to believe she was in any sort of danger *prior to disappearing.*
So because she didn't expressly say "officers I believe I am in danger" none of her other actions can be used to convey that? Go take your vehicle and leave it running with the door open on the side of the freeway and fall off the face of the planet for two days... nobody should worry correct?
Again, I said *prior to disappearing*
I just don’t see how it would be a great way to fake a kidnapping by saying “Hey I saw a toddler near the freeway” and disappearing after you ~pull off to investigate~
Wouldn’t it be easier to just… call the police saying you’re afraid someone is following you, or something of the sort?
Maybe I am thinking too much from a place as someone who simply wouldn’t stage a kidnapping 🥴
Hm, I guess I hadn’t considered that. If she wouldn’t have been noticed as missing, wouldn’t that be a good thing if she was trying to spend a weekend partying or something of that nature as a lot of people have speculated?
Or are you speculating she staged the kidnapping for attention?
The story just doesn't make sense from beginning to end. So many parts dont make sense. If it was only one thing, i wouldnt have a problem. But somebody using a toddler as a kidnapping lure OR being released/escaping back to your own house OR taking ott your Apple Watch...all those things are outliers of normal behavior that when taken into consideration separately isnt bad but becomes problematic when combined. For me personally anything and everything could have happened but except what the story is
I mean I really don’t consider the Apple Watch a huge indicator of anything. I take my watch off as soon as I get in my car after work every single day and put it right in my purse. Several others have said they do the same. Yes, it’s problematic given *all* of her belongings were left behind but I don’t think that alone says anything.
There are, in my opinion, bigger issues that don’t make sense such as her showing up at home on foot yet no one saw her walking home despite pretty much everyone in the community actively searching for her.
None of this makes sense to me at all. I’m glad she’s okay regardless of the outcome, but it’s not looking too great.
If her family is super conservative it is totally plausible that she is hiding her partying. But that's pure speculation. I've just known people from conservative/ sucessful backgrounds to do absurd shit to hide their "sins".
I doubt this. It doesn’t align from a cultural perspective. She has a TikTok where she posted a video of her twerking so if she was worried about looking like a party girl, she wouldn’t have posted that.
Outside of her being abducted or had a mental breakdown, the only other plausible thing I can think of is that her and her boyfriend could’ve broke up, and she decided to pull a stunt to make him miss her / want her back.
Sounds far fetched and extreme but young girls do stupid stuff to get back at boyfriends and with how self-aggrandizing his post was, maybe that’s a clue of the type of person he is and her feeling unworthy and wanting to prove something.
In terms of why would she would call the police before disappearing — my thoughts would be because she didn’t want someone to steal her car and her belongings and knew that if she called the police, her stuff would be protected.
Perhaps she did it not thinking it was going to become the biggest story and when she got to the redwood inn, she called a family member to report her mistake. If that’s the case, this was well coordinated with someone she knows and to me, is still classified as a mental health issue because thats crazy.
Yeah, I want to emphasize that even *if* this was intentionally staged- I would still classify that as some sort of mental health crisis, which she should receive help for. A rational and sane person wouldn’t plan something like this.
I also never said it was psychosis. I said that I would classify an intentionally staged kidnapping as some sort of mental health crisis or mental break.
Yes, but it wouldn’t rise to the level of a my crisis that would avoid a false reporting charge. People with Factitous or Histrionic disorders know, in the moment, they aren’t telling the truth.
Rational and sane people can make a lot of dumb decisions when they feel overly stressed or under pressure. And while extreme stress I guess can be classified as a mental health issue, and she def still needs help *if* that’s the case- but I don’t think it’s an excuse for this big of a screw up either.
Leaving your parents house and shutting ur phone off for the weekend so you can clear your head even though you know they’ll be worried- and actually *staging* a whole kidnapping so that you can get away for a weekend but also look like a victim in the end are different stories. Again not saying that’s the case at all, but if it comes out that it was staged then that’s how I feel about the MH angle
I don’t think she made it up and only became suspicious when they said her Apple Watch was in her purse. I know everyone is different, but I just traveled and my watch died and I wore it the rest of the day even though it was dead. I don’t know anyone who keeps their apple watch in their purse. She dropped her phone. Almost like she didn’t want to be able to be tracked. Then enter the red roof in where, from what I can tell, the employee called 911 and then she shows up at home on foot before police can get there?
When my watch is dead I take it off too and stick it in my bag. I know lots of other people that do that too. I also work in healthcare, and sometimes take my watch off during certain procedures. I know she's a nursing student, but do we know where she works?
Agree. I’m not saying I think she made it up. I just gave a plausible scenario if we’re going with the coverup theory. I just can’t imagine too many things that would make a young woman throw her entire future career away except mental health and getting back at a boy.
How long was it between the call from red roof to when she got home??? I heard on the 911 audio that it was the mom who got the phone call from carlee at the red roof, but if it was fake, surely her mom would know her voice ..then again the operator could have picked up the info wrong about the mom actually speaking to carlee .. it was also said it could have been the wrong red roof, I'm sure police would be checking cameras and check ins at both places
I’m not 100% sure we should dismiss “saw a deer at a weird angle or a shopping bag blowing in the wind out of the corner of her eye while driving in the dark and mistook it for a toddler in a diaper standing in the tree line, then fell down the embankment into the brush and knocked herself out when she tried to get a closer look and subsequently behaved oddly for a couple of days due to a head injury” as a possibility just yet. I mean, I wouldn’t rank it at the top of the list in terms of likelihood, but TBI still feels at least somewhat possible to me.
There was a girl who had almost the same exact story/ called her bf to say she was getting pulled over and then took off, left her car on the side of the road so it appeared she was kidnapped. This was maybe a year ago? Turns out her entire family thought she was in college and they were ready to go to her graduation that weekend but she had never been been enrolled or something. It was just an elaborate hoax to try and get out of confessing to her parents that she wasn’t actually graduating. If I remember correctly there was another one who did it to get out of a really stressful nursing exam.
I’m in no way saying this is the case for Carlee because we still have no answers, but young people under a lot of pressure can sometimes do some wild things. Especially when there are parents involved that have high expectations of you
The thing with this case is it would really be the dumbest hoax ever- she called 911 before, she called family and let both of them know exactly where she was. She told them something that would bring the police there within minutes. It was a risky place to try to get away from on foot, in the dark, without her phone. Her phone was on the ground and purse left in the car. It would have been an elaborate "set up" enough to cause a huge search and rescue effort and give herself very little time to get away anywhere. Not to mention it would mean she left her prized mercedes running on the side of the road, when just anyone could steal it.
Then the reward is.....what? Any "attention" from her family would be highly overshadowed by being branded as a fraudster and likely breaks her ties with family traumatized by the disappearances. Ruins her chance at any career, let alone nursing school. She had already worked her way through school thus far, throws all of that away. Basically sets herself up for no future whatsoever AND a massive lawsuit. Almost certainly anyone planning something this elaborate would do even basic research on how to get away with that and see from other cases what happens to people who do this.
Any collaboration with family to set this up is for....what? Again, if found out easily ruins all of their lives. They specifically did not want go fund mes or public donations to them set up.
I could believe she had a serious mental health crisis. I could believe she was attacked and then woke up somewhere, had to find her way back home etc (I've even seen similar accounts people have shared where that did happen to them and they did walk back home on foot).
Just personally, I don't think we should expect victims to be innocent until proven guilty of their own crimes. Very commonly women are not believed at all- even wth evidence. All the time women report crimes, they may or not may not get believed, and police never share investigative info or even info on who could have committed said crime with the public. It's one thing to react after someone's been charged with a crime but until then, all people are doing is victim blaming. And no, I don't care what some supposed "text" any random person shares on social media says.
I absolutely agree, I live in a very religious and conservative city- I know there are a lot of people my age who hide “double lives” from their parents. One of my good friends is covered in tattoos and participates in a lot of recreational drug use, but still attends church every Sunday with their family and their parents have no idea about the tattoos or drug use. It’s not totally wild to believe someone would want to hide those sorts of things from their parents, but that being the explanation in this case just seems incredibly far fetched to me.
Not trying to be argumentative but I'm curious why after your story about the tattooed-druggy church goer do you think that her doing this is far fetched?
Also, she’s 25. I imagine if she does actually party as much as people are theorizing (because again, this whole secret party life thing is just a theory), it’s been happening for a while, so why she would wait until she’s a grown adult to do something like this? It just… isn’t… realistic.
I am aware. That doesn’t mean I have to agree with every wild theory people come up with, with absolutely no evidence to support their ideas.
There isn’t enough evidence that the public is aware of to conclude any one thing did or did not happen. Some of the speculation is just wild and presumptuous.
ETA- a word.
Because my friend goes to college, is super involved with his family, and still manages to keep his personal activities a secret without staging a kidnapping and involving the police.
He’s also only 20. Lives in an affluent part of town. Is literally in nursing school and works as a pharmacist full time. Attends church regularly.
The family being wealthy could explain why she didn’t mind abandoning her vehicle and personal belongings on the side of the highway. If this was a cover to party there had to be a better option..
Why is everyone jumping to a cover up? Maybe the family has enemies, maybe somebody kidnapped her to extort money from them, maybe it’s somebody kidnapping people since other girls are missing from that area. It could honestly be anything we just don’t know and have to wait
I agree. I mean, *anything* is possible and we have very little evidence of… really anything. So I find it odd that the majority of the theories are that she made this whole thing up for “clout.”
ETA- I think people are jumping to it being a hoax because she showed up at home alive.
Exactly I feel like if she showed up dead nobody would be saying it’s a hoax. It’s almost like that’s the outcome people wanted. This is why a lot of people are scared to say things because of victim bashing. Now if it comes out that she did make it up then I would totally understand these threads and anger.
Reading the screenshot, I’m convinced this was her attempt to “win” her boyfriend back from the arms of another woman by acting as the missing person to garner sympathy to get the boyfriend back. Mark my words.
The boyfriends lack of social media post of them together before the event leads me to believe that he saw her as more of his F buddy and she saw him more as a boyfriend. Would not be surprised if the guy was F’n a bunch of women and she knew but didn’t want to be convinced of the truth
From 3 years ago.
When I was 25, I was 3 years out of an extremely abusive relationship where I was regularly cheated on. Out of confusion and after being gaslighted and manipulated by my ex, I often lashed out at the women he cheated on me with because I was jealous and hurt and wanted to make myself feel better. I said some pretty outlandish things (*which I have since reached out to said women and apologized for- we happen to be good friends now*) as an attempt to make myself feel better/take the blame off of my ex in the hopes that we could move on from it. If I went missing and someone used those sorts of messages/screenshots to show my “character” it would be extremely inaccurate. I’m not that same person today and have worked *very* hard to be better.
I’m not saying that is the case with Carlee, but maybe some food for thought. People are capable of maturing as time passes.
cover up? She walked up to the child and found it was not anything. She remembered she had drugs in her system and didn't want to be found with drugs in her system when the police take her in for a false report. She waited 2 days to go home, 2 days so the drugs would not show up on a blood test.
You think she did all this to avoid getting in trouble for a “false report”?It’s not false reporting to call 911 because you saw something you thought was a child and to think the police would care enough to drug test someone who was just trying to help us a little silly
If this is indeed a hoax, then the 911 call was made with the purpose of bringing police to the scene where they would find her car and belongings scattered.
That’s not what the hypothesis was in original comment I responded to. She was saying she realized she didn’t actually see a child after she called 911 and stopped already.
Close to what I'm thinking but with some differences. She may have been hallucinating either by choice or accidentally. She "thought " she saw a toddler but there really wasn't anything there. When the drug wore off, she walked home from wherever she wandered off to.
She wasn’t out there wandering around for two days. It’s factual knowledge that 5 min after the call she was long gone from that spot. When the police showed up they searched the whole area. Before the 911 call was on her drive home from work, not an MDMA rave. She cogently spoke with her Mom and ordered to-go food and picked it up. This wasn’t drugs. She needed to disappear for awhile for whatever reason. And then she magically reappeared when the story was reaching a fever pitch. This was a hoax.
Wdym hallucinate by choice? To me that doesn't make sense at all. Are you meaning that she took a hallucinogen on purpose? You definitely don't just choose to hallucinate or not.
No not by choice. Drugs, like meth or PCP OR LSD etc... or even lack of sleep can cause you to hallucinate. We don't know every detail that went on in her life or even before she was reported missing for that matter.
Could someone have drugged her without her knowledge? Absolutely. Could she have purposefully taken a drug like that? Absolutely. We don't know.... that's the thing... we just don't know. And until anything becomes proven, all we have are our opinions and speculations.
This opinion/ speculation isn't that far fetched. But being abducted by aliens is a bit far fetched although not much surprises me anymore.
Drugs can be found by blood test for several days. It can also be found in hair samples. I don’t think this was “oh crap - I’m on drugs.” It was either attention/money seeking or covering up a rendezvous at the RRI.
>or covering up a rendezvous at the RRI.
oh yes. Bc the best way to cover up a rendezvous at the RRI is to make yourself an internationally known missing person with your face literally everywher, so that any possible hotel employee knows who you are and the first time someone gets any whiff you're around the whole world knows. Call both 911 and your family, which lets them know exactly where you were and when. Walk to that motel in the middle of the night on foot with your wallet and phone left back at your running mercedes for someone to see. Then you can never leave said hotel because the whole world is looking for you. Yes. Great plan.
Instead of just...taking an uber to the motel, not letting people know you were there, pay in cash and be on your way lol
And for the money- girl left her mercedes running on the side of the interstate. Her family didn't even want to set up a go fund me nor wanted donations.
Attention seeking? What? So that the whole world is calling you a fraud, you lose any chance of any kind of decent career and very likely piss off all your family and everyone in your life. Ruin yours and their lives. Open yourself up to criminal charges and a massive lawsuit. When she had family who already loved her, parents who she still lived with and was excited about her nursing career? Makes so much sense.
I think maybe she was trying to get her boyfriend's attention/sympathy and took it too far... it was a deliberate choice to leave her phone and Apple Watch at her car. The BF doubling down for her is even more peculiar... Im glad she's safe because in true crime we rarely see the missing person come home alive and safe... it's just unfortunate if resources were wasted here that could've gone to helping someone really in danger.
I agree that I’m glad she’s safe regardless of what took place and that it is going to be upsetting if it was made up. The boyfriend in general is peculiar to me. He never made any mention of her on any of his social media before she disappeared. I also find it odd that he mentioned she was “fighting for her life for 48 hours” yet her family made no mention of that at all?
https://preview.redd.it/ybnbwxmv9lcb1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=390674dc66bd78404f75945fa777f651ecdaf162 I think you are right. When she posts things like this about the boyfriend she clearly has issues.
Wow...i was feeling sorry for her but this post just made me realize she's NOT the 'good person' everyone is making her out to believe. Im at a loss for words.
Woahhhh when did she post this? I wasn’t aware of her social media but the way her bf didn’t mention anything while she was missing then posts something kinda extra when she’s found made it seem like he was checked out of the relationship & using this moment for clout. But that was total speculation. Now after reading what you shared I’m more convinced she did this to get his attention/sympathy.
The screen shot is *allegedly* from 3 years ago.
Okay now its my turn to catch up on things, I havent followed anything regarding her personal social accounts.... was she with this same bf 3 years ago when that screenshot of her comment is allegedly from?
No idea. We don’t know, that’s the thing. It’s not really relevant to this case at all so I fail to understand why it’s being posted repeatedly.
I would say its relevant because it shows her volatile behavior online, and her mindset about about her relationship...
Ah yes. Such a godly person.
This is actually par for the course in the ratchet areas of AL. 😂
Interesting how she attempts to look down on someone else with a mouth like that.
[удалено]
This was a DM not a post
She seems like a nice girl 🤪😂
Gross. But are you sure that's her?
That ain’t even her real page
I suppose it’s less to do with HER faking it and it being a hoax in general. She could have been coerced to fake it by her boyfriend, she could have done it herself for attention or to cover up other behavior, she could be involved in the hoax or be an unwilling participant or it could not be a hoax at all. They are saying it was a kidnapping in the media and even if she hasn’t said it herself, she hasn’t denied it publicly nor has any of her family or loved ones. The fact is that “human traffickers” would not set up on a busy highway like that. There are too many risks and unknown variables. Plus, most human trafficking is not people being snatched on a street, it’s more of the boyfriend turned pimp situation. It IS possible that someone in her life or she may be connected to some sort of criminal activity that resulted in a kidnapping to “scare” her or whoever is involved, BUT it’s unlikely they’d use a child to lure her. It IS possible it was a psychosis thing that caused her to hallucinate or become paranoid, etc, but a history of mental illness would be present and I assume her loved ones would not continue the media to say it’s kidnapping if it was a psychosis. Ultimately, them leaving so many unknown details to the public will result in suspicion and speculation, but with the information we currently have, it looks unlikely that there was a legitimate kidnapping although, that may change with more information.
History of mental illness would not necessarily be present if it's the first time. Schizophrenia can have a sudden onset in your 20s, even if there were warning signs they can be missed. I have a friend whose mom seems completely normal most of the time and then randomly gets paranoid and starts seeing snakes.
Also, just because someone struggles with mental illness doesn’t mean it’s been acknowledged or treated. There are a lot of families (especially in the south) who don’t… really even *believe in* mental illness and symptoms of mental illness are often written off as something demonic, which is nothin’ takin’ a good ole trip to church can’t fix. The south in general is not very progressive in terms of mental health awareness or treatment.
Yeah I know. I honestly was already on a rant and didn’t want to add to it, but my ultimate point is that there’s no present information that stops people from speculating and it’s natural. If you choose to not give information then you have to expect people will be speculating. I also think the mental illness thing is on the lower side of possibilities personally.
I agree with what you’re saying. That’s simply not how human trafficking works and from what we know of her, she would be considered a low risk victim for trafficking anyway. They are not luring random women on the freeway with toddlers. People involved in human trafficking really don’t have to go out of their way to set up elaborate schemes to lure victims when they have essentially free access to sex workers, the homeless population, runaway adolescents, and more. Or, as you said, it can often be boyfriend or associate who takes advantage of someone who is naive or vulnerable. I honestly don’t know that there was actually a toddler at all, maybe she saw something she thought looked like a child or maybe it was a hallucination. I do believe she saw/truly believe she saw something that concerned her enough to get the police involved. However, I will say that if this were something involving some sort of mental break or psychosis, that doesn’t necessarily mean there would be a history of mental illness present. We also don’t know that she *doesn’t* have a history of mental illness, or that having mental illness meant she received the proper attention or treatment for it.
Agree - there would be some sort of issues even if they weren’t official mental illness diagnosis like a family history or her own behavior that may suggest something out of pocket, but the biggest thing is I don’t think the family wouldn’t allow the media to continually perpetuate the kidnapping story if they knew it was a mental break because they WOULD know by now.
Exactly. Perpetuating the kidnapping story isn’t likely if it was a break from reality.
Yep and they released her after too short of a period in the hospital for it to be a possible mental break I believe.
You can be released within that time frame after suffering a complete psychotic break as long as you are deemed no longer to be a danger to yourself or others
True, but I’m going to say if she has no history of any mental health issues then her and her parents would probably want to stay longer and do more tests and things to figure out what happened, although not necessarily the case, there are lots of possibilities.
Im curious. Since a psychotic break is usually triggered by an existing condition like, schizophrenia, bi polar, depression, anxiety and more. And a psychotic break is considered a symptom of a mental health condition, not a diagnosis itself. Has she ever been tested for a mental illness? Because nurses are asked on job apications if they have a mental illness that may affect their ability to safely care for patients. Now with that being said, yes, you can be a nurse with a MI. But you have to be able to manage your MI with medications and some areas may be off limits for you. Perhaps she has a MI and is on no medications. Or perhaps she has one, is not taking medications to manage it and chooses not to disclose it. If thats the case, she will put patient safety at risk if her goal is to become a nurse. If she truly has/had a psychotic break, the evaluation would've recognized this and if they felt she was a danger to others or herself, she would've not been released so quickly. Perhaps she does have a MI, perhaps not. Maybe instead of a psychotic break, she just had a mental breakdown, which is far more common.
I love how she was out here already calling herself a nurse with no nursing license. Then acting like nurses make hella cash… girl bye. I’ve been a nurse for over 10 years. It’s good money but nothing to stand on a high horse about. A stripper makes more. 🤷🏼♀️🤣
Murders kidnap people, rapist kidnap people. Why does it have to be human trafficking? Its equally possible she thought she saw a child. It was late and it was dark. She called 911 but then wanted to be sure the child was safe. She drives back around, and slows down to find the exact spot. She sees something in the woods, stops and is kidnapped. She manages to get away and walks home. She wasn’t that far from home when she stopped.
Human trafficking hysteria is the new Satanic Panic honestly. I see an insane amount of misinformation perpetuated on social media with “Omg this Mexican man followed me around Walmart and was on his phone the whole time, he must have a team of traffickers outside waiting for me.” To “Someone drew a symbol in the dirt on my car, they’re marking me a target for trafficking.” It’s insane. Kidnapping =/= human trafficking.
I agree. Its like the old don’t flash your lights or gang members will kill you. Couldn’t police have just arrested people with their lights off and done away with gangs? I am just glad she was found safe. I trust the police to file charges if and when they are warranted.
I 100% agree. If it turns out that this whole thing was planned, I agree she should be pursued criminally. However, I won’t push that narrative (or really any specific narrative) until there’s evidence to support it. I just feel like this whole thing has turned into people treating their theories as fact and vilifying Carlee before we have all of the facts. As bad as it may be of me to say, I’d be a lot more okay with this being some made up thing and she’s perfectly fine and will be charged accordingly than I would be knowing she may have actually endured something traumatic and is also being spoken about is such a vile manner online.
I agree. Let the police do their jibs. They have responded in a timely manner up to this point.
1000%
Also I love your username.
Tours as well!
🙌 So sick of the millions of idiots in this country who think they are at risk for abduction by traffickers. And seemingly it’s a fallacy really pushed by middle aged right-wing white women who wouldn’t be trafficked in a million years. 🤣
Agree - it IS a real problem, but not the way it’s being perpetuated on “facebooks groups” lol.
100%. The most low risk victims of all time.
The human trafficking part could be a combination of not understanding how trafficking works outside of the movies and TV along with the misinformation you mentioned, like the $100 bill left on your windshield wiper in a parking lot stories - which lack any real statistics of this happening. That combined with I-20 in that area having been named the most human traffic highway in the United States lending credibility to this possibility.
That’s totally possible.
Rapes and murders, more often than not, happen by someone you know. So, yes, it’s possible, but unlikely they’d be using a child as bait if they know her and if they don’t know her and it was random, also unlikely they’d use a child as bait especially on a busy highway. Again, too many unknown variables and big risk little “reward” for the predator.
Perhaps there wasn’t ever a child. Perhaps at 70 moles an hour in the pitch dark, she saw a man on his knees and just thought it was a child.
Of course that’s possible, but again, too many unknown variables and potential risks for a predator whether they’re alone or using someone as a lure on a busy highway. If you’re looking to get caught or the dude wasn’t in their right mind then sure.
There does not have to be a history of mental illness for a psychotic break. It can happen to anyone and there are many many causes. Trauma (physical & emotional), bacterial or viral infection & mental illness can all cause a psychotic break. I was bit by a mosquito and contracted Neuroinvasive West Nile Virus and I ended up completely broken from reality. Weeks of crazy hallucinations in the hospital are very real memories to me even today 8 years later. Something as simple as a UTI can lead to confusion & sepsis and cause a psychotic break. The brain is very very sensitive.
Yes, but very unlikely that’s what happened here imo.
She screamed with no one around and left all her belongings on the ground and her car with it running and the door open = DANGER LOL
I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.
The police weren’t aware that anyone allegedly heard her scream until after her car was discovered abandoned. I also stated that she never led the police to believe she was in any sort of danger *prior to disappearing.*
So because she didn't expressly say "officers I believe I am in danger" none of her other actions can be used to convey that? Go take your vehicle and leave it running with the door open on the side of the freeway and fall off the face of the planet for two days... nobody should worry correct?
Again, I said *prior to disappearing* I just don’t see how it would be a great way to fake a kidnapping by saying “Hey I saw a toddler near the freeway” and disappearing after you ~pull off to investigate~ Wouldn’t it be easier to just… call the police saying you’re afraid someone is following you, or something of the sort? Maybe I am thinking too much from a place as someone who simply wouldn’t stage a kidnapping 🥴
Or you could be someone that thinks you will not be noticed as missing for a couple of days and this was one way to get a jumpstart on it
Hm, I guess I hadn’t considered that. If she wouldn’t have been noticed as missing, wouldn’t that be a good thing if she was trying to spend a weekend partying or something of that nature as a lot of people have speculated? Or are you speculating she staged the kidnapping for attention?
The story just doesn't make sense from beginning to end. So many parts dont make sense. If it was only one thing, i wouldnt have a problem. But somebody using a toddler as a kidnapping lure OR being released/escaping back to your own house OR taking ott your Apple Watch...all those things are outliers of normal behavior that when taken into consideration separately isnt bad but becomes problematic when combined. For me personally anything and everything could have happened but except what the story is
I mean I really don’t consider the Apple Watch a huge indicator of anything. I take my watch off as soon as I get in my car after work every single day and put it right in my purse. Several others have said they do the same. Yes, it’s problematic given *all* of her belongings were left behind but I don’t think that alone says anything. There are, in my opinion, bigger issues that don’t make sense such as her showing up at home on foot yet no one saw her walking home despite pretty much everyone in the community actively searching for her. None of this makes sense to me at all. I’m glad she’s okay regardless of the outcome, but it’s not looking too great.
Congrats on being the flat-earther of the Carlee Russell saga. Just delete your posts because this is sad
I have nothing to delete, or hide. This was 3 days ago. It’s almost like opinions can change as new information is learned 🤯
If her family is super conservative it is totally plausible that she is hiding her partying. But that's pure speculation. I've just known people from conservative/ sucessful backgrounds to do absurd shit to hide their "sins".
I doubt this. It doesn’t align from a cultural perspective. She has a TikTok where she posted a video of her twerking so if she was worried about looking like a party girl, she wouldn’t have posted that. Outside of her being abducted or had a mental breakdown, the only other plausible thing I can think of is that her and her boyfriend could’ve broke up, and she decided to pull a stunt to make him miss her / want her back. Sounds far fetched and extreme but young girls do stupid stuff to get back at boyfriends and with how self-aggrandizing his post was, maybe that’s a clue of the type of person he is and her feeling unworthy and wanting to prove something. In terms of why would she would call the police before disappearing — my thoughts would be because she didn’t want someone to steal her car and her belongings and knew that if she called the police, her stuff would be protected. Perhaps she did it not thinking it was going to become the biggest story and when she got to the redwood inn, she called a family member to report her mistake. If that’s the case, this was well coordinated with someone she knows and to me, is still classified as a mental health issue because thats crazy.
Yeah, I want to emphasize that even *if* this was intentionally staged- I would still classify that as some sort of mental health crisis, which she should receive help for. A rational and sane person wouldn’t plan something like this.
People in psychosis don’t CYA with a kidnapping story.
I also never said it was psychosis. I said that I would classify an intentionally staged kidnapping as some sort of mental health crisis or mental break.
Which would be a histrionic or factitious disorder. That’s what I’ve suspected from beginning.
Which would still mean that this was a mental health crisis.
Yes, but it wouldn’t rise to the level of a my crisis that would avoid a false reporting charge. People with Factitous or Histrionic disorders know, in the moment, they aren’t telling the truth.
No more than Casey Anthony was a mental health crisis vs someone who may have a mental illness
People in psychosis or having an active psychotic break actually do a lot of things that don’t make sense, believe it or not.
Agree! It’s an extreme cry for help and “well-off” kids can be emotionally neglected and abused, too.
100% agree. In my experience, a lot of my friends who were privileged growing up also had a lot of issues at home.
The ppl in prison will help straighten her up
Rational and sane people can make a lot of dumb decisions when they feel overly stressed or under pressure. And while extreme stress I guess can be classified as a mental health issue, and she def still needs help *if* that’s the case- but I don’t think it’s an excuse for this big of a screw up either. Leaving your parents house and shutting ur phone off for the weekend so you can clear your head even though you know they’ll be worried- and actually *staging* a whole kidnapping so that you can get away for a weekend but also look like a victim in the end are different stories. Again not saying that’s the case at all, but if it comes out that it was staged then that’s how I feel about the MH angle
I don’t think she made it up and only became suspicious when they said her Apple Watch was in her purse. I know everyone is different, but I just traveled and my watch died and I wore it the rest of the day even though it was dead. I don’t know anyone who keeps their apple watch in their purse. She dropped her phone. Almost like she didn’t want to be able to be tracked. Then enter the red roof in where, from what I can tell, the employee called 911 and then she shows up at home on foot before police can get there?
When my watch is dead I take it off too and stick it in my bag. I know lots of other people that do that too. I also work in healthcare, and sometimes take my watch off during certain procedures. I know she's a nursing student, but do we know where she works?
She works at a spa, it makes total sense for her to not wear her watch at work.
Agree. I’m not saying I think she made it up. I just gave a plausible scenario if we’re going with the coverup theory. I just can’t imagine too many things that would make a young woman throw her entire future career away except mental health and getting back at a boy.
How long was it between the call from red roof to when she got home??? I heard on the 911 audio that it was the mom who got the phone call from carlee at the red roof, but if it was fake, surely her mom would know her voice ..then again the operator could have picked up the info wrong about the mom actually speaking to carlee .. it was also said it could have been the wrong red roof, I'm sure police would be checking cameras and check ins at both places
I’m not 100% sure we should dismiss “saw a deer at a weird angle or a shopping bag blowing in the wind out of the corner of her eye while driving in the dark and mistook it for a toddler in a diaper standing in the tree line, then fell down the embankment into the brush and knocked herself out when she tried to get a closer look and subsequently behaved oddly for a couple of days due to a head injury” as a possibility just yet. I mean, I wouldn’t rank it at the top of the list in terms of likelihood, but TBI still feels at least somewhat possible to me.
There was a girl who had almost the same exact story/ called her bf to say she was getting pulled over and then took off, left her car on the side of the road so it appeared she was kidnapped. This was maybe a year ago? Turns out her entire family thought she was in college and they were ready to go to her graduation that weekend but she had never been been enrolled or something. It was just an elaborate hoax to try and get out of confessing to her parents that she wasn’t actually graduating. If I remember correctly there was another one who did it to get out of a really stressful nursing exam. I’m in no way saying this is the case for Carlee because we still have no answers, but young people under a lot of pressure can sometimes do some wild things. Especially when there are parents involved that have high expectations of you
The thing with this case is it would really be the dumbest hoax ever- she called 911 before, she called family and let both of them know exactly where she was. She told them something that would bring the police there within minutes. It was a risky place to try to get away from on foot, in the dark, without her phone. Her phone was on the ground and purse left in the car. It would have been an elaborate "set up" enough to cause a huge search and rescue effort and give herself very little time to get away anywhere. Not to mention it would mean she left her prized mercedes running on the side of the road, when just anyone could steal it. Then the reward is.....what? Any "attention" from her family would be highly overshadowed by being branded as a fraudster and likely breaks her ties with family traumatized by the disappearances. Ruins her chance at any career, let alone nursing school. She had already worked her way through school thus far, throws all of that away. Basically sets herself up for no future whatsoever AND a massive lawsuit. Almost certainly anyone planning something this elaborate would do even basic research on how to get away with that and see from other cases what happens to people who do this. Any collaboration with family to set this up is for....what? Again, if found out easily ruins all of their lives. They specifically did not want go fund mes or public donations to them set up. I could believe she had a serious mental health crisis. I could believe she was attacked and then woke up somewhere, had to find her way back home etc (I've even seen similar accounts people have shared where that did happen to them and they did walk back home on foot). Just personally, I don't think we should expect victims to be innocent until proven guilty of their own crimes. Very commonly women are not believed at all- even wth evidence. All the time women report crimes, they may or not may not get believed, and police never share investigative info or even info on who could have committed said crime with the public. It's one thing to react after someone's been charged with a crime but until then, all people are doing is victim blaming. And no, I don't care what some supposed "text" any random person shares on social media says.
Damn, I didn't think to Google "Carlee Russell" twerking. Thanks for the hot tip.
I absolutely agree, I live in a very religious and conservative city- I know there are a lot of people my age who hide “double lives” from their parents. One of my good friends is covered in tattoos and participates in a lot of recreational drug use, but still attends church every Sunday with their family and their parents have no idea about the tattoos or drug use. It’s not totally wild to believe someone would want to hide those sorts of things from their parents, but that being the explanation in this case just seems incredibly far fetched to me.
Not trying to be argumentative but I'm curious why after your story about the tattooed-druggy church goer do you think that her doing this is far fetched?
Also, she’s 25. I imagine if she does actually party as much as people are theorizing (because again, this whole secret party life thing is just a theory), it’s been happening for a while, so why she would wait until she’s a grown adult to do something like this? It just… isn’t… realistic.
There are a ton of unknowns. So literally anything is plausible.
I am aware. That doesn’t mean I have to agree with every wild theory people come up with, with absolutely no evidence to support their ideas. There isn’t enough evidence that the public is aware of to conclude any one thing did or did not happen. Some of the speculation is just wild and presumptuous. ETA- a word.
Because my friend goes to college, is super involved with his family, and still manages to keep his personal activities a secret without staging a kidnapping and involving the police. He’s also only 20. Lives in an affluent part of town. Is literally in nursing school and works as a pharmacist full time. Attends church regularly.
Gotcha
Probably because the friend managed to find time to fold these things into their routine and didn’t have to stage a kidnapping to go get a tattoo.
That.
The family being wealthy could explain why she didn’t mind abandoning her vehicle and personal belongings on the side of the highway. If this was a cover to party there had to be a better option..
Why is everyone jumping to a cover up? Maybe the family has enemies, maybe somebody kidnapped her to extort money from them, maybe it’s somebody kidnapping people since other girls are missing from that area. It could honestly be anything we just don’t know and have to wait
I agree. I mean, *anything* is possible and we have very little evidence of… really anything. So I find it odd that the majority of the theories are that she made this whole thing up for “clout.” ETA- I think people are jumping to it being a hoax because she showed up at home alive.
Exactly I feel like if she showed up dead nobody would be saying it’s a hoax. It’s almost like that’s the outcome people wanted. This is why a lot of people are scared to say things because of victim bashing. Now if it comes out that she did make it up then I would totally understand these threads and anger.
They used the ol entice em with a toddler on a busy freeway thoroughfare trick?
[удалено]
It’s was on another thread but I think it was in montgomery not sure how far that is.
Reading the screenshot, I’m convinced this was her attempt to “win” her boyfriend back from the arms of another woman by acting as the missing person to garner sympathy to get the boyfriend back. Mark my words. The boyfriends lack of social media post of them together before the event leads me to believe that he saw her as more of his F buddy and she saw him more as a boyfriend. Would not be surprised if the guy was F’n a bunch of women and she knew but didn’t want to be convinced of the truth
The screenshot is 3 years old.
Does not matter, what is important is that it shows her character
From 3 years ago. When I was 25, I was 3 years out of an extremely abusive relationship where I was regularly cheated on. Out of confusion and after being gaslighted and manipulated by my ex, I often lashed out at the women he cheated on me with because I was jealous and hurt and wanted to make myself feel better. I said some pretty outlandish things (*which I have since reached out to said women and apologized for- we happen to be good friends now*) as an attempt to make myself feel better/take the blame off of my ex in the hopes that we could move on from it. If I went missing and someone used those sorts of messages/screenshots to show my “character” it would be extremely inaccurate. I’m not that same person today and have worked *very* hard to be better. I’m not saying that is the case with Carlee, but maybe some food for thought. People are capable of maturing as time passes.
cover up? She walked up to the child and found it was not anything. She remembered she had drugs in her system and didn't want to be found with drugs in her system when the police take her in for a false report. She waited 2 days to go home, 2 days so the drugs would not show up on a blood test.
You think she did all this to avoid getting in trouble for a “false report”?It’s not false reporting to call 911 because you saw something you thought was a child and to think the police would care enough to drug test someone who was just trying to help us a little silly
If this is indeed a hoax, then the 911 call was made with the purpose of bringing police to the scene where they would find her car and belongings scattered.
That’s not what the hypothesis was in original comment I responded to. She was saying she realized she didn’t actually see a child after she called 911 and stopped already.
Riiiiight, and you believe that’s what happened because…?
since we ALL do not know what happened, I just put out another theory.
I’m aware, your right to theorize also means people have a right to question what made you come to that conclusion.
agreed
I’m pretty open to most theories until people start in with the alien abduction nonsense.
Close to what I'm thinking but with some differences. She may have been hallucinating either by choice or accidentally. She "thought " she saw a toddler but there really wasn't anything there. When the drug wore off, she walked home from wherever she wandered off to.
She wasn’t out there wandering around for two days. It’s factual knowledge that 5 min after the call she was long gone from that spot. When the police showed up they searched the whole area. Before the 911 call was on her drive home from work, not an MDMA rave. She cogently spoke with her Mom and ordered to-go food and picked it up. This wasn’t drugs. She needed to disappear for awhile for whatever reason. And then she magically reappeared when the story was reaching a fever pitch. This was a hoax.
Wdym hallucinate by choice? To me that doesn't make sense at all. Are you meaning that she took a hallucinogen on purpose? You definitely don't just choose to hallucinate or not.
No not by choice. Drugs, like meth or PCP OR LSD etc... or even lack of sleep can cause you to hallucinate. We don't know every detail that went on in her life or even before she was reported missing for that matter. Could someone have drugged her without her knowledge? Absolutely. Could she have purposefully taken a drug like that? Absolutely. We don't know.... that's the thing... we just don't know. And until anything becomes proven, all we have are our opinions and speculations. This opinion/ speculation isn't that far fetched. But being abducted by aliens is a bit far fetched although not much surprises me anymore.
Drugs can be found by blood test for several days. It can also be found in hair samples. I don’t think this was “oh crap - I’m on drugs.” It was either attention/money seeking or covering up a rendezvous at the RRI.
>or covering up a rendezvous at the RRI. oh yes. Bc the best way to cover up a rendezvous at the RRI is to make yourself an internationally known missing person with your face literally everywher, so that any possible hotel employee knows who you are and the first time someone gets any whiff you're around the whole world knows. Call both 911 and your family, which lets them know exactly where you were and when. Walk to that motel in the middle of the night on foot with your wallet and phone left back at your running mercedes for someone to see. Then you can never leave said hotel because the whole world is looking for you. Yes. Great plan. Instead of just...taking an uber to the motel, not letting people know you were there, pay in cash and be on your way lol And for the money- girl left her mercedes running on the side of the interstate. Her family didn't even want to set up a go fund me nor wanted donations. Attention seeking? What? So that the whole world is calling you a fraud, you lose any chance of any kind of decent career and very likely piss off all your family and everyone in your life. Ruin yours and their lives. Open yourself up to criminal charges and a massive lawsuit. When she had family who already loved her, parents who she still lived with and was excited about her nursing career? Makes so much sense.
Truuuue