'We're just gonna scour the earth': Search continues for missing woman who called 911 to report toddler along I-459

USING THE WVTM 13 LIVE DOPPLER. AN URGENT SEARCH TONIGHT FOR KARLIE RUSSELL, THE 25 YEAR OLD VANISHING LAST NIGHT ALONG INTERSTATE 459 IN HOOVER. THE SEARCH IS STARTING IMMEDIATELY LAST NIGHT AND CONTINUING INTO TODAY BY LAND AND SKY. CREWS ARE WORKING AS HARD AS THEY CAN TO FIND HER. RIGHT NOW, A $25,000 REWARD IS BEING OFFERED AND AS POLICE CONTINUE TO SEARCH, WE ARE BRINGING YOU TEAM COVERAGE FROM ALL ANGLES OF THIS STORY. AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, HER FAMILY IS DISTRAUGHT. CARLY’S MOM AND DAD HOLDING OUT HOPE, KNOWING THEIR DAUGHTER IS A FIGHTER. IT IS THE CHANCE FOR HER TO PUT UP A FIGHT TO TRY TO SAVE HER LIFE. SHE’S GOING TO DO EVERYTHING SHE CAN TO PUT UP A FIGHT. SO WE’RE ASKING THAT THE COMMUNITY AGAIN, PEOPLE EVEN IN OTHER STATES, TO DO THE SAME THING. IF YOU CAN PLEASE SPARE ANY TIME, IF YOU’LL JUST GO TO GAS STATIONS, HOTELS, JUST ANYWHERE YOU CAN IMAGINE WHAT THEY’RE GOING THROUGH RIGHT NOW. WVTM 13, LISA CRANE IS ANCHORING OUR COVERAGE TONIGHT AND SHE GETS US STARTED THIS EVENING. LISA, WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THIS CASE AND HOW IT ALL UNFOLDED. WELL, WE KNOW 25 YEAR OLD CARLY RUSSELL CALLED 911 LAST NIGHT AT ABOUT 930. SHE HAD LEFT WORK, WAS ON HER WAY HOME. SHE SAID THERE WAS A TODDLER WALKING ALONE ON THE SIDE OF 459. SHE HUNG UP WITH 911. AND THEN SHE CALLED A RELATIVE. NOW, AT THAT POINT, WE BELIEVE THAT SHE GOT OUT OF HER CAR TO CHECK ON THE CHILD, THINKING THAT POLICE WOULD BE THERE AT ANY TIME. HER RELATIVES SAID SHE HEARD CARLY SCREAM. AND THEN WHILE IT SEEMED CARLY DROPPED HER PHONE, THE CONNECTION CONTINUED. WHEN POLICE ARRIVED, THEY FOUND CARLY’S VEHICLE, HER CELL PHONE AND PERSONAL ITEMS. BUT NO CARLY AND NO CHILD. A SINGLE WITNESS HAS REPORTED POSSIBLY SEEING A GRAY VEHICLE WITH A LIGHT COMPLECTED MALE STANDING OUTSIDE OF CARLY’S VEHICLE. BUT WE HAVE NO FURTHER INFORMATION ON THAT INDIVIDUAL OR THE VEHICLE AT THIS TIME. TIME SHE WENT MISSING, TIME. WE HEARD THAT SCREAM. AND SO MANY PEOPLE STARTED HELPING. LOOK FOR HER. WE’VE BEEN FROM HERE TO TUSCALOOSA TO MISSISSIPPI, MISSISSIPPI, JUST CHECKING HOTEL, CHECKING HOTELS AND GAS STATIONS, GAS STATIONS, JUST ASKING AROUND TRUCK STOPS. NOW, THE FAMILY ORGANIZED SEARCHES THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT AND ALL DAY TODAY. THEY HAD FOLKS MEET AT THE HOOVER, MET MANY STRANGERS, FRIENDS AND RELATIVES, VOLUNTEERS. THERE TO HELP OUT. TODAY, JARVIS ROBERTSON HAS THAT PART OF THE STORY FOR US HERE IN HOOVER. THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF ATTENTION FOCUSED ON FINDING 25 YEAR OLD CARLY RUSSELL, BUT NOT JUST IN THE BIRMINGHAM HOOVER METRO ACROSS THE STATE AND COUNTRY. THIS CASE IS DRAWING A LOT OF ATTENTION NOW. A LOT OF PEOPLE SHOWED UP TO THE HOOVER, MET HOPING TO HELP FIND HER. THIS IS THE FLIER THAT THEY’VE BEEN GIVING OUT. NOW, CLOSE FRIENDS, FAMILY MEMBERS, EVEN STRANGERS, ALL DEDICATED, TRYING TO FIND OUT WHERE SHE IS. I HAD A CHANCE TO SPEAK WITH SOME OF HER CLOSE FRIENDS AND FAMILIES ABOUT WHY THIS IS SO IMPORTANT. TAKE A LISTEN. THIS IS THE SECOND WAVE, AND IT’S HOTTER THAN IT WAS EARLIER. I MEAN, IT’S LATER THAN IT WAS EARLIER. AND TO SEE THE NUMBER FROM EARLIER GROW LIKE THIS, IT JUST IT JUST SPEAKS TO THE KIND OF FRIEND AND PERSON THAT SHE IS. THE NUMBERS ARE HERE AND WE ARE SO APPRECIATIVE. WE REALLY THANK EVERYBODY THAT HAS COME OUT TO HELP US SEARCH FOR CARLY. AND THE HASHTAG IS LESS FIND CARLY NOW, ALTHOUGH THEY MAY HAVE GONE HOME FOR THE DAY, THEY’RE STILL NOT GIVING UP IN HOPES OF FINDING HER. THEY WILL BE BACK OUT TOMORROW MORNING STARTING AT 8:00 AT THE HOOVER MET AGAIN LOOKING FOR CARLY RUSSELL IN HOOVER. I’M TRAVIS ROBERTSON, WVTM. 13. ALL RIGHT, JARVIS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WELL, ANGELA HARRIS HAS BEEN HELPING OUT DURING THE SEARCH. HER NAME MIGHT SOUND FAMILIAR. SHE IS THE MOTHER OF ANIAH BLANCHARD AND HER CHILD, ANIAH DISAPPEARED AND WAS LATER FOUND MURDERED IN 2019. CARLY RUSSELL’S PARENTS SAY HAVING HER THERE HAS BEEN HELPFUL AND COMFORTING. WELL, MY HEART’S BREAKING. FIRST OF ALL. AND AS SOON AS I WOKE UP THIS MORNING AND SAW THE FACEBOOK POST, I IMMEDIATELY REACHED OUT TO THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS LIKE, HOW CAN I HELP? AND KNOWING THAT THIS SITUATION IS VERY SERIOUS AND KNOWING WHAT THIS FAMILY IS GOING THROUGH, I JUST CAME IMMEDIATELY TO DO WHATEVER I CAN TO BE SUPPORTIVE AND ALSO SEARCH IF NEED BE. IT’S GOING TO BE TOUGH. I’M NOT GOING TO LIE, BUT WE’RE GOING TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN. NOW, IF YOU HAVE MISSED ANYTHING, YOU CAN FIND IT ALL ON THE FREE WVTM 13 APP. YOU CAN WATCH THE NEWS CONFERENCE IN FULL THERE. EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT THIS CASE IS THERE ON THE HOME PAGE. LIVE IN HOOVER, LISA CRANE WVTM 13. AGAIN, IF YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT CARLY RUSSELL’S DISAPPEARANCE, PLEASE CALL POLICE. THERE IS A $25,000 REWARD FOR AN