The more than $63,000 donated to Crime Stoppers in the search for Carlee Russell will not be refunded — even though the 25-year-old nursing student reappeared two days after she reported seeing a wandering toddler.
Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama initially said it would give back the $63,378 donated during the search for Russell, but reversed itself hours later, according to AL.com.
“This investigation is still ongoing, and accordingly, there is no basis to refund any contributions at this time. Furthermore, the Hoover Police Department has not requested for any donor contributions to be released or refunded,” said the group, which collects anonymous tips about crime.
Bob Copus, the local organization’s executive director, last week said some of the donations had already been returned after Russell reappeared.
The $25,000 donated by the Birmingham Board of Realtors and the $20,000 offered by an anonymous donor were returned, according to the news outlet.
About 60 other donors pledged almost $13,400, much of it through a PayPal account provided by Crime Stoppers, it reported.
Russell disappeared July 13 after she called 911 to report that she had seen a toddler dressed in a T-shirt and diaper walking barefoot along busy Interstate 459 in Hoover, Alabama, as she drove home from her job at a spa in Birmingham.
She promised to remain at the scene until cops arrived, but when they got there, they couldn’t find her or a small child.
Russell emerged at her home some 49 hours later, claiming she had been abducted and held captive — but police have said her account of what transpired has not added up.
She has refused additional interviews with investigators.
Her boyfriend, Thomar Latrell Simmons, is asking for people to stop harassing her online over her alleged hoax.
“The only thing I can say is, I want everyone to stop bullying her. I know what it seems like what she did. Just stop bullying on social media,” Simmons told The Post. “Think about her mental health. She doesn’t deserve that. She doesn’t. Nobody deserves to be cyberbullied.”
