Missing woman, Carlee Russell, was abducted on I-459 in Hoover, Alabama after telling family members she was stopping to check on a toddler she saw on the side of the interstate

Carlee Russell was abducted on I-459 in Hoover, Alabama after telling family members she was stopping to check on a toddler she saw on the side of the interstate.

The search began Thursday night when Hoover 911 at 9:34 p.m. received a call from Russell, said Lt. Daniel Lowe.

Russell told the dispatcher that she was near mile marker 11 when she saw a toddler walking alone on the side of I-459 between the flyover to the Galleria and Highway 150.

After calling 911, Russell stopped to check on the child and called a family member to report the same details, Lowe said. The family member lost contact with her, but the line remained open.

Officers who were already en route to the location of the initial 911 call located Russell’s vehicle and some of her belongings nearby but were unable to find her or a child in the area.

The US Department of Justice reports the Ashanti Alert Act became law at the end of 2018. It’s named in honor of Ashanti Billie, a 19 year-old who was abducted and killed in Virginia in 2017. The DOJ says the law established a voluntary nationwide network to help with search and recovery for those missing between 18 and 65.

It doesn’t guarantee every state will have a plan established to respond with an alert in these cases. Their website reads: “The National Ashanti Alert Network does not accept reports of missing adults, but is a link to the state, territorial, and tribal area to share missing adult information to assist in the location and investigation of that individual.”

Many will remember Aniah Blanchard, a 19-year-old who was abducted and murdered in 2019. Her mom Angela Harris tells WBRC Fox 6 that she’s working closely with the family of Carlee Russell and says Alabama needs to utilize something like the Ashanti Alert.

A $25,000 reward is being offered in exchange for any information about her disappearance or whereabouts. Anyone with information is asked to call Hoover Police Department at 205-444-7562. You can also call Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777 to remain anonymous.