Source: Hoover Police Department / Hoover PD
Carlee Russell‘s alleged abduction case was the main character on social media yesterday and got significant coverage in the mainstream media. But we still don’t have real answers and we have lots of very real questions.
BOSSIP reported in detail about the press conference held by Hoover Police Chief Nicholas C. Derzis where he laid out all of the facts, not rumor or innuendo, that have been gathered thus far based on their investigation. Those facts, while not 100% conclusive, point to the idea that this whole thing might, repeat might, be an elaborate hoax as several of the details just don’t make sense to reasonable people.
A great many people were truly concerned about the missing Black woman, especially because oftentimes Black women aren’t treated as important by law enforcement or the community at large when they are thought to be victims of foul play. One of those concerned parties was Angela Harris, the mother of a kidnapped and murdered 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard who was also from Alabama.
Blanchard was taken and killed by an abductor in 2019, and upon hearing the news of Carlee’s story, her mother could not sit idly and do nothing.
Harris recently took to social media to talk about her feelings after helping to spearhead the rescue efforts to bring Carlee back home.
“As you know I led the search for Carlee Russell,” said Harris. “We did what we are supposed to do, we did everything the right way. I’m not gonna speak about anything that has to do with what happened. That will all come out later, right now as a mom who has lost her child to kidnapping and murder, I cannot even tell you what it feels like to have a missing child.”
“Just hope that you’re never in that situation. No judgement on me for anything,” she added. “I am 100% thankful that Carlee is alive.”
On Wednesday, she also shared a message on her Facebook page thanking supporters.
It goes without saying that there will be a lot of jokes, finger-pointing, eye-rolling and side-eyeing following a situation like this, but it is important to remember that Black women do get kidnapped and everybody isn’t lying. So, the next time a story like this comes up, don’t be so quick to dismiss it as hijinks. Better to be wrong trying to help someone than to be wrong in not believing someone who is being victimized. It costs you nothing to care, it could cost a life not to.