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Carlee Russell admitted she did not see a toddler wandering on the side of the highway and lied about being kidnapped in a hoax that set off a nationwide effort to find her, an attorney for the Alabama woman said Monday.
Hoover Police Chief Nicholas C. Derzis read the statement provided by Russell's attorney during a news conference, in which the 25-year-old nursing student said she was not abducted as the nation was led to believe when she disappeared July 13. Russell said she had not left the Hoover area.
She returned home 49 hours after a call to 911 reporting seeing the child on the interstate.
"My client apologizes for her actions to this community, to the volunteers who were searching for her, to the Hoover Police Department and other agencies as well," the statement said.
The police department is consulting with the district attorney’s office regarding potential criminal charges, according to Derzis.