Woman accused of abducting 3-year-old claimed she was her long-lost daughter

AVONDALE, Ariz. (TCN) -- A woman accused of abducting a 3-year-old girl from her home has been booked into jail on one count of custodial interference, according to authorities. 

Arizona’s Family reports a couple called police on Feb. 21 stating that a woman staying with them had kidnapped their toddler. NBC reports the child’s name is Kehlani Rogers; the names of her parents have not been released.

Marina Noriega, 23, was reportedly staying at the family’s house for the night after she told them she had nowhere to go and that her parents and boyfriend were in prison. According to court documents obtained by the outlet, Noriega had allegedly made comments about having a dead baby, and the family she was staying with believed she was hiding personal details about herself.

When they woke up and found Noriega and Rogers gone, they reportedly searched the neighborhood before they called the police, according to Arizona’s Family. Authorities issued an Amber Alert and followed up on a tipster who said that they drove Noriega and the toddler to Maricopa, Arizona. Noreiga had reportedly told them she was going to take a train to California. Authorities could not find a record of a ticket purchase, and court documents state Noriega and the toddler spent the night on the streets on Feb. 21. 

The following day, a convenience store security guard and moving crew in Phoenix, Arizona, spotted the two, according to Arizona’s Family. Kevin Place, one of the movers, said he heard the security guard talking to the police about the missing child, so the team moved their truck so to block Noriega and the child from leaving. 

NBC reports moving crew member Ralph Vollmer said, “I showed him the Amber Alert photo. He’s like, ‘That’s her. That’s her.’ Because I swear that’s the child that she just ran past me.”

NBC San Diego reports police arrived within 90 seconds.

Place said, “You get the Amber Alerts a lot and you don’t hardly ever see the people they’re asking for, but super glad that the Amber Alert worked out this time,” Arizona’s Family reports.

Rogers was reportedly returned safely to her family unharmed. Noriega was arrested with drug paraphernalia, which she allegedly used in the presence of the child. She allegedly told investigators Rogers was her biological daughter and had been abducted from the hospital in Sacramento. She allegedly said she came to Arizona looking for her child and coincidentally found her but then eventually acknowledged that Rogers was not hers.

Noriega is being held on a bond of $250,000, per Arizona’s Family. 

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