Carlee Russell Charged with Two Crimes Following Kidnapping Hoax

justjared.com:

Carlee Russell is facing the consequences of her actions after admitting to a kidnapping hoax. The 25-year-old nursing student was considered missing on July 13 after she claimed to see a baby on the side of the road.

Two days later, she turned up at her home and then her story began to fall apart. On July 24, she admitted that she was not actually kidnapped. Carlee is now being charged with multiple crimes. Keep reading to find out more… People reports that Carlee has been charged with two misdemeanors: “false reporting to law enforcement and falsely reporting an incident.” Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis responded to people who are frustrated that Carlee is being charged with misdemeanors instead of felonies. “I share the frustration, but existing laws only allow the 2 charges that were filed to be filed,” he said. “Her decisions that night created panic and alarm for the citizens of our city and even across the nation.

As concern grew that a kidnapper was on the loose using a small child as bait, numerous law enforcement agencies, both local and federal, began working tirelessly — not only to bring Carlee home to her family and locate a kidnapper we know now that never existed.” “The story opened wounds for families of loved ones who were really victims of kidnapping, some of which even helped organize searches in hopes of finding Carlee alive, so their family wouldn’t feel the pain and suffering they felt when their loved ones never returned home,” he added.

Each charge that Carlee is facing comes with a potential one year jail sentence, plus fines of up to $6,000. Carlee turned herself in to authorities on Friday (July 28) and has already been bonded out.