What was Carlee Russell’s sentence for faking her own kidnapping?

It began in 2023 with a 911 call to report a young child wandering alone on an Alabama interstate. It ended one year later when 26-year-old Carlee Russell pleaded guilty to faking her own kidnapping. But how long will Russell spend in prison for her crime?

According to Mystateline.com, after Russell made that 911 call reporting the toddler on the side of the road, she disappeared for two days. When she returned, she told the police that a man forced her into a vehicle, but after that, she couldn’t remember much about what happened. When the police responded to Russell’s 911 call, there was no child. They found Russell’s car, but Russell had disappeared.

Details were hazy, but Russell told the cops that when she stopped to help the child, a man who said he had also stopped to check on the toddler dragged her over a fence and into the back of an 18-wheeler, where there was also a woman and a baby, she said. According to Russell, she escaped the truck once, but she was recaptured and taken to a house where she undressed and was photographed while the woman fed her cheese and crackers.

While she was missing, the authorities searched for Russell, but about 48 hours later, she reappeared and told the police her story. But when the police investigated Russell’s kidnapping, they were unable to verify details or find any evidence of what she said happened to her.

Carlee Russell’s story fell apart

While investigating Russell’s story, Alabama police discovered she searched Amber Alerts on her phone and even the movie Taken, an action movie about kidnapping, among other evidence that Russell faked her abduction. Later that same month, on July 24, 2023, Alabama police read a statement from Russell’s attorney, admitting she lied, including the child reported on the interstate.

In March 2024, Russell pleaded guilty to charges related to the fictitious kidnapping and was sentenced to 12 months probation, mental health counseling, and community service, and ordered to pay an $18,000 fine, according to NPR. She also received a 6-month suspended jail sentence.

In a courtroom statement, Russell said, “I made a grave mistake while trying to fight through various emotional issues and stress I’m extremely remorseful for the panic, fear, and various range of negative emotions that were experienced across the nation.”

Russell apologized to her family, friends, neighbors, and church community, in particular. To date, Russell has never made it clear publicly why she made the whole thing up.