Crime Stoppers says it’s returning money raised in Carlee Russell search

A little over $63,000 raised for seeking information leading to the safe return of Carlee Russell will be returned to donors, Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama announced Tuesday.

Russell, who admitted through her attorney on Monday that her July 13 kidnapping had been a hoax, may soon be facing criminal charges from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

According to al.com, Crime Stoppers is returning the $63,000-plus that was donated in the hours after Russell went missing after making a 911 call the evening of July 13 and reporting she’d seen a baby wandering by itself on Interstate 659. Russell arrived back at her home late July 15, and on July 24 her attorney Emory Athony released a statement saying Russell made up the baby, the kidnapping and the ordeal she detailed for police in the hours after she returned home.

Read the full al.com article right here.