More updates in the Carlee Russell “kidnapping” are making their way to media reports, with some experts chiming in on the so-called use of a toddler as “bait,” in human trafficking. Sabrina Thulander of Polaris has gone on record claiming that a toddler wouldn’t be used in such an event as a kidnapping, but she’s very wrong.
The New York Post writes that Carlee Russell (also reported as Nichole Russell) returned home after she was missing for approximately 48 hours. During the search for her, authorities have also searched for an unattended toddler, which the once-missing woman called 911 to report just before she vanished. Since she has been home, a slew of rumors have resulted from the lack of details, as well as the few details that are known by the public. One such detail is the so-called toddler that Russell claimed to be talking to while on the phone with a loved one. It should be noted that nobody on the other end of the phone heard a child, just that Russell was asking the child where its parents were, just before she screamed and the phone call disconnected. Human trafficking expert Sabrina Thulander believes that nobody would use a toddler as “bait” in such a situation, but she is indeed incorrect.
Some serial killers and other violent types have been known to use their own young family members as bait to lure potential victims. One such serial killer was Gordon Northcott, who used his own nephew to lure young boys to his farm before assaulting, murdering and disposing of their remains. The serial killer’s nephew was an unwilling party to these horrifying acts, but he was still a child being used as bait to kidnap, torture and murder others.
Alvin and Judith Neely were believed to use their own children to lure some of the victims of their serial killing crime spree — also in the sate of Alabama. There are other cases where assailants are presumed to have used children as bait in the commencement of their crimes, such as toolbox killer David Parker Ray.
Human trafficking or serial killer activity?
Anytime a woman goes missing or appears to be part of a harrowing situation — such as the Carlee Russell incident — human trafficking comes to the front of speculative discussion. That could be way human trafficking expert Sabrina Thulander chimed in with her two cents regarding this case. She might be right that human traffickers don’t often use children as bait to acquire their victims. However, who knows if human trafficking was even an element at play in this alleged abduction? It’s been established that some serial killers have used children as bait to lure victims, and so it could easily be speculated that Carlee Russell might have encountered a serial killer herself.
Chelsea Hoffman is a true crime writer with over a decade of professional writing experience. She is best known for her coverage of missing people including the tragic disappearance of Madeleine McCann as well as the heartbreaking cases of Dylan Redwine, Heather Elvis and many others.
