A woman staying at an Arizona family’s home kidnapped a 2-year-old girl, who was rescued at a gas station and reunited with her parents nearly two days later, according to police.
Marina Noriega — a 23-year-old California woman described as a “recently met acquaintance” of the toddler’s family — was arrested at the Phoenix area gas station after allegedly abducting the girl on Friday, February 20, Avondale Police Department Officer Daniel Benavidez said in a Monday, February 23, news release shared with Us Weekly.
Following an Amber Alert for Kehlani Rogers, the Avondale Police Department confirmed the toddler was “found safe and in good health,” on Sunday, February 22, when she was returned to her family, according to police.
Noriega has been charged with one felony count of custodial interference, police said.
It was not immediately clear whether she had retained legal representation or entered a plea as of Tuesday, February 24.
Kehlani was last seen at her Avondale home the evening of February and was believed to be with Noriega when she disappeared, according to the amber alert.
According to court documents viewed by KTAR News, Kehlani’s parents told investigators that Noriega was “a random woman who family members brought to the residence to help as she was transient and needed a place to stay.”
The morning of Saturday, February 21, Kehlani’s parents told police that a woman staying with them and their daughter had disappeared from the house, a probable cause statement for Noriega’s arrest says, KTAR News reported.
The report set off a search for Kehlani, leading to police receiving a tip from a person who shared they had potentially driven the woman and child seen in the amber alert to Maricopa, according to court records viewed by KPNX.
The individual told police that the woman said she planned to travel to California by train, the TV station reported.
Following several tips, Noriega and Kehlani were spotted together on surveillance footage from a local business in Maricopa on February 21, police said in an update that day.
Then, on Sunday morning, they were spotted at a QuikTrip gas station in Phoenix, according to police, KPNX reported.
Employees working for a moving company saw Noriega and Kehlani at the gas station and called Phoenix police, according to the Avondale Police Department.
There, “they retrieved Kehlani” and apprehended Marina “without incident,” police said.
In a statement shared by QuikTrip and provided to Us, the company’s corporate communications manager, Aisha Jefferson, said that a QuikTrip protective services employee, referred to as a QuikTrip Guardian, also called law enforcement when they saw “two customers connected to an active Amber Alert.”
“Law enforcement arrived promptly, secured the child, and took the [suspect] into custody,” Jefferson said. “We’re grateful for our Guardian’s attentiveness and quick thinking, and for the swift response and professionalism from the Phoenix Police Department.”
Kehlani was found to be healthy, according to police, who said she appeared to be unharmed during her abduction.
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In an interview with police after her arrest, Noriega said that she “made a mistake,” according to court records viewed by KPNX.
“Marina denied having any plan for the child after she took her and denied intent to sell or harm the child,” a court filing says, according to the TV station.
Noriega also said that she and Kehlani had “slept on the street” in Maricopa, according to court reports obtained by the TV station.
Noriega was booked in the Maricopa County Jail, where her bond was set at $250,000, AZ Family reported.
