Carlee Russell, the Alabama woman who faked her own kidnapping last year, pleaded guilty Thursday and avoided jail time, as reported by CBS affiliate WIAT.
Russell, then a 25-year-old nursing student, told Hoover police she was abducted on July 13 after spotting a toddler on the side of the road. She claimed to have been forced into a car by an unknown man who pushed her over a fence. Following her supposed disappearance, a massive search involving hundreds of police and volunteers ensued for the missing Russell.
However, on July 15, Russell reappeared at home and informed officers that she recalled being in a trailer truck with a man sporting orange hair and a woman. She also mentioned hearing a baby crying inside the truck.
Subsequently, Russell mentioned that she managed to escape from the situation. Nevertheless, authorities grew skeptical of her account's timeline, leading her to eventually confess to fabricating the entire abduction story.
The judge has ordered Russell to pay $18,000 in restitution to the city of Hoover.
