7/16 6:38 AM PT -- Carlee Russell has been found. She returned home Saturday night by walking up to her home and banging on the door. She was taken to a local hospital for evaluation. There are reports someone dropped her off at the house and she was in shock.
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.
We covered it all in a recent episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.