Carlee Russell fundraiser update: $63,000 will not be refunded to donors as Alabama woman admits there was no abduction

Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama (CSMA), who had raised reward money for missing 25-year-old nursing student Carlee Russell’s safe return, announced on Monday, July 24, that the donations will not be refunded unless the donors ask for it. The announcement came after it was revealed on the same day that Carlee was not abducted.

Carlee went missing on July 13 after making a 911 call and reporting that she saw a toddler alongside Interstate 459 in Harpersville, Alabama. The Hoover Police Department reported that she returned home by herself on July 15. When her family took her to a hospital for an evaluation, she told authorities that she had been kidnapped.

However, on Monday, July 24, during a press briefing, Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis revealed that they received a letter from Russell’s attorney stating that Carlee admitted to never having been abducted and that the missing child report she made was also false.

After Carlee Russell’s confession, Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama announced that the raised money of around $63,000 would not be returned if the donors don’t want the money back.

“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,” they stated.

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CSMA's executive director on Carlee Russell's false abduction

Bob Copus, the executive director of the non-profit organization, said on Monday morning that some of the donations for Carlee Russell’s return had already been refunded. He said the rest would be returned if the donors requested it.

After Carlee mysteriously went missing last week, an intensive investigation was launched involving volunteer searchers. Reward money started pouring in from donors as well.

Usually, the CSMA offers up to $5,000 as reward money for information in missing cases. But often, donors contribute to the funds to increase the reward money, and such was the case in Carlee Russell’s disappearance.

Bob said that the donations from other people started coming in during the Kamille “Cupcake” McKinney’s abduction case, where people were giving the organization small donations of $2 and $5. He said that some even donated large sums.

“At the end of that, we told people, if you would like your money back, you can have it back. If you would like it to roll over into the reward fund, you can do that too, but it’s your choice,” he added.

Crime Stoppers of Metro Alabama since then created the Cupcake McKinney Fund specifically to be used for cases of child endangerment. Bob Copus said that $34,000 was kept in that restricted fund, which could only be used for child endangerment cases. Currently, there are about 12 active funds with outside donations.

“For large donations, we have an agreement that said you’re giving us this money for this specific case to be used if law enforcement officials deem they’re going to use that money for a payout. If it’s not used or the case is never solved, you can have your money back,” Copus said.

In Carlee Russell’s case, $20,000 was offered by an anonymous donor, while $25,000 was offered by the Birmingham Board of Realtors. These two donations had already been refunded. The rest of the $13,378 was donated by around 60 donors, mostly through a PayPal link.

On Tuesday, the organization emailed each of those 60 donors to inform them that their donations could be returned if they wanted the money back. Bob Copus said the CSMA would never raise funds based on a crime.

“This is strictly for the benefit of getting law enforcement the best information as quickly as possible. And also, it allows the public to get involved because they want to get involved. We had donations as large as $25,000 and as small has $5, but every dollar counted because it came from somebody who wanted to see Carlee come home,” he said.

Bob added that the donations helped Carlee Russell’s family since it showed them that people cared about Carlee’s return.