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The Chief of Hoover Police says there's no risk to public safety in the Carlee Russell disappearance case ... implying she was never abducted as claimed. Chief Nick Derzis addressed the media Wednesday to share the facts uncovered by investigators in the time since Carlee returned home.

Derzis says Carlee was captured on surveillance leaving her work, July 13, the day of her disappearance, taking a robe and toilet paper with her. She then ordered food and stopped at a Target to buy granola bars and Cheez-Its.

From there, Derzis says Russell hit the road, making a 911 call on her way to report she saw a child on the side of the freeway. He played the 911 call in full, where you hear Russell say it appears the child was 3 or 4 years old and walking in a diaper.

Derzis says his officers responded within 5 minutes of Carlee's call -- and she was nowhere to be found -- she was also the only person to report the child on the side of the road ... despite it being an area with lots of traffic.

Officers discovered Carlee's phone, wig and the food she ordered in her car ... but say the Target items, robe and toilet paper she'd taken from her workplace were gone.

As we reported, Carlee showed up two days later, July 15, at her parents' home.

Derzis says detectives were able to briefly interview Carlee who claimed when she got out of the vehicle to help the young child a man with orange hair and a bald spot came out of the woods, grabbed her, and led her over a fence and into an 18-wheeler trailer.

Carlee told cops at one point she was able to escape the trailer, and she was put in a car, blindfolded and taken to a house where she says she was forced to undress and the man and a female accomplice -- who Carlee says she never saw -- took photos.

Derzis says Carlee told them she was eventually able to escape when she was loaded into another vehicle -- running through the woods until eventually arriving at her family home.

Derzis also revealed some searches Carlee did on her phone in the days and even hours leading up to her disappearance. These included, "Do you have to pay for an Amber Alert?" "How to take money from a register without getting caught?" "Birmingham bus station?" "One-way bus ticket Birmingham to Nashville" and also the movie "Taken" about being abducted.

What's more ... Derzis says there were also searches Carlee conducted on her phone that revealed her state of mind leading up to the disappearance -- but he wasn't going to share those out of respect for her family.

The suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer got off on talking about the slayings and provided obscure details only the assailant would know, this according to a former escort who says she survived an encounter with him.

Rex Heuermann went on a "date" with former prostitute, Nicole Brass, first meeting her on the escort website, BackPage, which was similar to how the victims crossed paths with the Gilgo Beach murderer, Brass told the New York Daily News.

The two reportedly arranged to have dinner at Steamroom seafood restaurant in Port Jefferson, Long Island, during the height of the deadly rampage about a decade ago. While the conversation started off normal, Brass recalled it soon took a scary turn.

Brass said, "He asked me if I’m a true crime fan ... We talked briefly about other serial killers, then he said, "Have you heard of the Gilgo Beach murders? That’s when he got real weird."

She claimed Heuermann brought up the Gilgo murders, which she had been following at the time, and he became enthusiastic while revealing details of which she was completely unaware.

Brass said Heuermann specifically discussed one victim she didn't know about and "it seemed like he was talking about it from experience, not a point of view."

She continued, "It didn’t seem like somebody who feels bad when he talked about the victims. It seemed like somebody who really wanted to brag about what they did, but couldn’t."

Brass went on to say Heuermann's body language changed while he discussed the crimes, appearing as if "he was visualizing it in his head and getting off to what he was saying."

Of course, Brass wanted to get the hell out of there, so she cut the dinner short, but Heuermann insisted on her leaving with him in his car to go to a hotel room he booked. Luckily, she was able to break away from him and split.

Brass said she never reported the incident to police because she was on parole at the time for a felony drug conviction.

As for Heuermann, prosecutors identified him as the Gilgo Beach killer last week, charging him with the murders of 3 sex workers and eyeing him in a fourth slaying. Heuermann has denied any wrongdoing.

Cops are clarifying some things after Carlee Russell was recovered following a 48-hour period of her having gone missing ... and it sounds like they, too, have more questions.

Hoover PD issued a new statement with a handful of details they say they can elaborate on as the investigation continues -- the most important of which, it seems, is the fact that even now ... they say they haven't gotten any further reports about a wandering child.

Remember, this was at the crux of the case from the beginning -- Carlee called 911 on the night she disappeared ... telling dispatchers she saw a toddler walking by itself along a local highway at night, and reiterated that to family members as well before pulling over.

After that, she vanished ... only to turn up 3 days later, with not very many answers as to what happened to her -- other than her loved ones claiming she was kidnapped, that is.

There's more info HPD is relaying in their new remarks ... including the fact that they say there's residential surveillance footage that apparently shows Carlee walking down the sidewalk in her neighborhood alone -- this before she showed up to her parents' front door.

The police are also clarifying reports -- citing dispatch chatter that went over the airwaves -- of Carlee having been transported to a hospital in an unconscious state. They say that's not true ... all that happened is that somebody called 911 reporting she was unresponsive -- but they say she was, in fact, awake and speaking when paramedics actually arrived.

One last important detail ... HPD says it's waiting for Carlee to be made available for a follow-up interview, claiming they've only been able to obtain a preliminary statement from her.

On its face, it sounds like they're somewhat suspicious themselves about this whole thing -- which echoes the growing public sentiment at this point ... people are raising an eyebrow.

Thus far, her family members have stuck to the same story ... namely, that she escaped her abductors, and that she fought for her life. They've also scoffed at the notion that anybody would question what happened to her ... and yet, folks still have their doubts regardless.

Carlee Russell's parents are backing her boyfriend's claim she fought for her life to escape an alleged kidnapper -- but they're very tight-lipped over just about everything else.

Talitha Robinson-Russell and Carlos Russell sat with 'Today' to talk about the case -- which has been shrouded in mystery ... and which has come under public scrutiny due to the scant and inconsistent details following Carlee's 48-hour disappearance.

Despite the growing skepticism ... Carlee's family is standing firm she was abducted ... echoing her story she escaped her abductor.

Her parents say she was in a bad state when she arrived at their house Saturday night -- and she's disturbed by people questioning her honesty.

As far as any other details, however ... the Russells are refusing to elaborate, citing an ongoing investigation.

Some feel like the facts of the case aren't lining up ... not to mention the police apparently having left out some pertinent information in terms of what they knew about her recovery and when. As we reported, first responders were discussing Carlee possibly having been located at a local motel in town ... but in their statement, they totally omitted that.

There are also questions about this alleged child Carlee claimed to have seen on the side of a highway the night she vanished. Police say they received no other reports, besides the 911 call from Carlee, of a missing child.

So if there is, in fact, an abductor and a possible kid at risk -- why haven't the police issued any kind of alert to that effect? That's what people are asking.

Fair queries, and yet ... still not very many answers.

The suspected Gilgo Beach serial killer may have had a female accomplice for the 3 victims ... at least according to a lawyer representing the families.

Attorney John Ray, who reps the families of slain Shannan Gilbert and Jessica Taylor, claims Rex Heuermann was not a solo operator and allegedly killed 3 prostitutes on Long Island with help from a mysterious cohort. Police have not linked the Gilbert and Taylor slayings to Heuermann as of now.

Ray pointed to the 2011 death of a 10-month-old baby girl whose body was found swaddled in a blanket near one of the confirmed Gilgo Beach victims. The lawyer insisted that a savage murderer would not have such maternal instincts to wrap the infant in a quilt.

"It's that kind of thing that, if you're such a depraved murderer, you don't take time to do. That to me seems like an act of a mother," Ray said, adding, "We also believe that some of the victims could've been lured by a woman."

Suffolk County Police officials have not commented on Ray's accusations on whether Heuermann had a cohort or if he's being eyed for the baby's murder.

But, Heuermann has enough legal problems to keep him busy. Detectives arrested him last week as he walked from his office in NYC, where he worked as an architect.

Prosecutors charged Heuermann with the murders of three sex workers and he's the top suspect in a fourth slaying. Heuermann allegedly wrapped their bodies in burlap and dumped them near Gilgo Beach between 2009 and 2015.

According to court documents, Heuermann was connected to the crimes through DNA testing and examining his cell phone records.

New video taken the night that Russell disappeared in Alabama appears to show the moment she pulled over on a highway to help a child ... this before mysteriously vanishing.

According to AL.com, the surveillance footage -- which was just published Saturday -- was recorded by an online company that captures and archives live traffic footage ... and it looks like they caught the exact moment that the 25-year-old came to a stop on the shoulder of I-459 in Hoover, Alabama Thursday night ... when she was first reported missing by her family.

It's a disturbing story ... cops say Russell called 911 that night to report seeing a lone child walking along the interstate, and she came to a screeching halt herself to get out and help.

Russell is said to have also been on the phone with her brother's GF, who says she heard Carlee calling out to the child ... asking if they were okay. Then, she claims to have heard Carlee scream before the phone dropped, with only the sound of traffic being heard after.

When police arrived to the scene ... they found her car and belongings -- including her phone, but Russell was nowhere to be found. Ditto for the kid she reported seeing.

Now, in the wake of this new footage -- which police say they have and are examining -- people are picking it apart ... and some even claim to see something that could give a clue as to what happened. In many people's eyes ... this looks to be an abduction via luring.

The reason people believe that -- aside from the eerie details of the case -- has to do with a bright yellow light that can be seen in this footage ... which darts south in the video at a rapid speed, but then goes dark. Unclear what the light may be -- but it seems suspicious.

Her family has been sounding the alarm since, asking the public to help bring her back ... and there's even been a huge reward offered for her return, now increased to $50,000.

Cops released a new photo of Carlee -- seen above, where she's got short hair -- and say this is a more accurate depiction/what she may have looked like the night she went missing.

The new Frontier in the skies is bedlam ... and if you don't believe it, watch this video.

A Frontier Airlines flight bound for Vegas from Philly made an unscheduled stop in Denver ... after 2 women got into a foul-mouthed rant that went all WWE.

The women were actually traveling together, when an argument erupted and they took to the aisle. The screaming became ear-shattering and other passengers eventually got involved.

At least one passenger was hit in the head during the melee.

The plane was diverted to Denver and the 2 women were taken off the plane by cops. The FBI was alerted as well. It's unclear if they were arrested or will face criminal charges.

This has become a thing in the air. Last week a woman was channeling "Final Destination" vibes during a crazy meltdown. There have been scores of disruptions on flights... at least one almost daily.

Leslie Van Houten is likely to kill again after being released from prison -- so says Sharon Tate's sister ... who's deeply offended California cut loose the former Charles Manson follower.

Debra Tate tells TMZ that she's disappointed in the criminal justice system in the state, and especially the governor's office ... which she thinks really dropped the ball in not fighting harder against Van Houten's release.

While Gov. Gavin Newsom said he isn't happy with the decision handed down by the Court of Appeals -- siding with the parole board releasing Van Houten -- he also said he wasn't going to push back, arguing it was a losing effort.

Debra says Newsom could've taken it to a higher court, which is true, and she's taking his surrender as a huge slap in the face to the families of Manson's victims.

As far as how those loved ones feel about Van Houten being a free woman again ... well, she tells us they're absolutely terrified because there's a fear she could resort to her killing ways again in a heartbeat.

Clearly, Debra doesn't buy the parole board's belief Van Houten's rehabilitated. Her rationale boils down to the nature of the crime itself, and the mindset Van Houten was once under. She says once somebody goes down that dark path, in her eyes, it's easy to go back.

Now, while Van Houten wasn't involved in the Tate murders -- remember, it was the LaBiancas she helped butcher -- she's publicly said she really wanted to be present for the slayings of Sharon and 3 friends.

Debra finds that very troubling, and says that's why she has every right to weigh in here.

She adds ... the victims' families are outraged Van Houten gets to live out the rest of her life outside of prison -- despite a life sentence they assumed would be imposed forever more.

Debra's been leading a charge to keep all the Manson family members locked up, with an ongoing online petition she's maintained for a while now.

A transgender woman was crowned Miss Universe Netherlands for the first time ... making history in the Dutch country.

22-year-old Rikkie Valerie Kolle won the pageant Saturday -- which effectively makes her Miss Netherlands ... and which will send her on to compete in the upcoming Miss Universe competition later this year ... where women from all over the world will fight for the crown.

The last Miss Netherlands, Ona Moody, and reigning Miss Universe R'Bonney Gabriel (from USA) were on hand to give Kolle the big prize ... everyone seemed stoked, RVK included.

Now, she's on to the big show ... which is going to be held in El Salvador in December. While she might be the first trans woman in the Netherlands to compete ... she won't be the first trans woman to vie for the Miss Universe title ... Spain's Angela Ponce did so in 2018.

More trans women have been competing in national Miss Universe pageants in recent years -- in fact, the new owner of the Miss Universe org -- Anne Jakrajutatip -- is transgender herself.

A man was spotted on camera allegedly trying to hold up an ATL nail salon, but ultimately failed -- all thanks to the staff and customers who couldn't care less about his demands.

The attempted robbery gone wrong went down this week at Nail First, and in the security footage, the man holds up what you'd assume is a weapon inside his bag ... shouting at everyone in the spot to hand over the cash.

Shockingly, his brute request fell on deaf ears -- he even goes up to the man behind the counter, who seems too busy for his BS ... taking a phone call and walking away.

The guy does snatch the phone from one woman, who ends up walking out of the building -- but everyone else remains chill ... and after some painfully-awkward silence, the guy just takes off without stealing any dough.

Crime Stoppers is working on finding the wannabe crook, according to Fox5 Atlanta ... and customer Lesa Barrow told the outlet the owner was scared at first but kept his cool to keep everyone else calm.

OceanGate is pressing pause in the wake of the Titan submersible's fatal voyage to the Titanic shipwreck ... the company says it's halting all operations.

In a statement Thursday, OceanGate says it's suspending all exploration and commercial operations in the wake of last month's tragedy, which killed OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush and four others.

As you know, Stockton was piloting the Titan submersible when it imploded during a dive to the famed shipwreck ... killing everyone on board, including British billionaire Hamish Harding, French researcher/diver Paul-Henri Nargeolet, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman.

OceanGate has several other submersibles aside from the Titan, but the company says none will be going below the surface any time soon.

The Titan wreckage was recently recovered from the bottom of the Atlantic ocean ... along with presumed human remains.

Cocaine may have been found inside the White House this weekend -- and it appears to have been discovered in an area that President Biden frequents a lot on the job.

The Secret Service says it discovered a white powdery substance Sunday night in the West Wing during routine rounds. It's unclear where exactly in the West Wing it was found -- but a spokesperson for the agency will only say agents stumbled upon it in a "work area."

The SS rep also notes any notion the substance might've been found in the executive mansion is false. While Secret Service won't disclose where the alleged coke lay, it appears DC's FEMS let the cat outta the bag ... reportedly relaying via dispatch it was in the library.

POTUS was not at the White House during this entire ordeal, BTW.

The discovery of the unknown powder prompted an increased security alert and a brief evacuation of the premises, and tests are being done to decide what it might be. WaPo, citing sources familiar with the matter, says preliminary tests suggest it is, in fact, blow.

Speaking of that dispatch audio from earlier ... it seems a firefighter who was on the ground firmly believed cocaine was the culprit, -- telling the department's hazardous materials team that a test they conducted indicated "cocaine hydrochloride." No ambiguity at all.

Officials are saying the substance did not pose a threat, and an investigation is underway as to how it made its way into the White House ... and, obviously, who brought it in.

Frightening new details have emerged about the 5 people trapped inside the Titanic-bound sub ... and what they experienced leading up to their deaths, which was nothing less than a nightmare come true.

The doomed passengers were engulfed in darkness the entire time they were inside the Titan submersible while descending into the depths of the North Atlantic Ocean to view the wreckage of the Titanic on June 18, according to the New York Times.

As you know, Titan imploded after it took off on its voyage from St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, killing everybody on board, including OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, whose company ran the ill-fated operation.

Christine Dawood, whose husband Shahzada and son Suleman also perished, told the NYT .... Rush turned off all the floodlights on the way down to the ocean floor to conserve battery power for the tour of the Titanic, leaving the passengers in almost total darkness.

Dawood said the only light in the sub came from glowing marine organisms, such as flaming fungus, shimmering squid, and flashing fish. She noted laptop computer screens provided slightly more illumination, but that was it.

Christine also said OceanGate recommended the passengers download their favorite tunes onto their phones so they could listen to the tracks on a Bluetooth speaker for what was supposed to be a four-hour expedition. Country music, though, was barred from everyone's playlist.

Dawood learned all this information because she was present during the tutorial to go over safety procedures before her husband and son launched to sea.

It looked like a scene straight out of, well, a movie on the Warner Bros. lot ... as black smoke billowed into the air from the famous Hollywood plot.

Fire crews raced to the scene in Burbank Friday afternoon after a transformer -- no, not the car/robot kind -- reportedly blew up and started a fire. The good news is no one appears to have been hurt during the melee, and the whole thing was put out super quickly.

As for the lot, it's obviously got a TON of history, so it's a good thing none of the famous sound stages suffered any significant damage in the blaze.

And, if you're wondering ... that iconic WB water tower didn't come in handy for firefighters, it's actually empty.

The Warner Bros. lot served as home base for some of the most popular shows ever on TV -- including "Friends," "The Big Bang Theory," "Shameless," and "Euphoria."

Not to mention, some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters were also filmed on location, including "Jurassic Park," "Batman & Robin," "Casablanca," "Inception" and a ton more.

French Prez Emmanuel Macron got his groove on Thursday night in Paris, as rioters hit the streets protesting a police shooting that killed a 17-year-old.

Macron and his wife hit up Elton John's Farewell Tour in Paris, seeming at least on the surface unbothered by the explosion of violence in his country.

The riots were triggered by a confrontation Tuesday in the city of Nanterre, who French police fatally shot a driver in the chest ... after the 17-year-old tried to leave the scene.

Rioters hit the streets in several cities. So far more than 600 hundred people have been arrested for starting fires, looting and other crimes.

Macron has said the riots are just an excuse to commit crimes, calling it "an unacceptable exploitation of the adolescent's death."

Some rioters have compared the police shooting to the George Floyd murder.

Losing luggage at the airport is bad, but losing a leg is worse ... and that's what happened to a woman in Thailand.

The painful incident went down Thursday morning at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok, where a woman lost part of her leg after getting caught in a moving walkway.

The victim, a 57-year-old Thai woman, reportedly suffered the grisly injury while trying to make a 9:45 AM flight ... her foot became trapped in the moving walkway in Terminal 2 and horrified onlookers rushed to hit the emergency off switch as her leg became mangled.

As you can see, the woman's foot is trapped beneath the belt at the end of the walkway ... and a medical team had to amputate her leg above the knee to get her out. Ouch.

The Associated Press reports the woman is trying to get her leg reattached ... and she's been taken to two different hospitals for treatment.