What is the movie Taken about? Carlee Russell tweet surfaces online amid shocking press conference revelation

On Wednesday, July 19, Hoover City authorities said that they suspect Alabama woman Carlee Russell of having faked her own abduction. On Thursday, July 13, Russell disappeared shortly after a call with 911 dispatchers, in which she claimed that she could see a white toddler walking alone on the interstate.

Upon arriving at the scene, they found Russell's car empty along the shoulder of the interstate. There was no evidence that a lone toddler had been in the area.

Two days later, Carlee Russell returned home on foot, claiming that she had been snatched from the side of the road by an unknown abductor.

However, after probing Russell's search history, investigators began to suspect that the entire disappearance had been orchestrated by the Alabama woman. They noted that prior to going missing, she had searched up the film Taken, which is about a kidnapping case.

Officials believe that she may have looked up the film in order to plan her own disappearance.

Starring Liam Neeson, the Taken film series follows retired CIA operative Brian Mills as he attempts to save abducted family members from organized crime figures. The films depict various human trafficking groups, leading authorities to suspect that Russell may have used them to fabricate the plot of her own kidnapping.

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Carlee Russell's search history prior to her disappearance

Hoover City police Chief Nick Derzis expressed his suspicions about Carlee Russell at a Wednesday search conference. Derzis said that it was highly unlikely that in the hours before her kidnapping, a genuine victim would search up an abduction related film.

Russell's fascination with the film was also nothing new. In 2013, she had posted online about her enthusiasm for Taken 2.

Derzis said at the press conference:

"I do think it's highly unusual the day that someone gets kidnapped that seven hours, eight hours before that, that they're searching the internet, Googling the movie Taken about an abduction. I find that very strange."

On the other hand, Russell's family continues to insist that the Alabama woman was genuinely kidnapped. They claimed that an orange-haired kidnapper grabbed Russell from the side of the road and took her away in an 18-wheeler truck.

Derzis described Russell's account of the incident.

He said:

“The next thing she remembers is being in the trailer of an 18-wheeler,” Derzis said. "Russell was able to escape the truck on foot but was recaptured, blindfolded, and brought to a house."

Authorities are still investigating the disappearance of Carlee Russell. Derzis said that while he is suspicious of the self-proclaimed kidnapping victim, he is still happy that she is no longer in danger. He said that the case poses no greater threat to the public at large.