A 2-year-old girl was found safe two days after she was reportedly kidnapped from her home in Arizona. Authorities said the child was taken by a stranger who had been smoking meth and had stayed with her parents for a short while.
Kehlani Rogers was last seen on Friday evening at her home in Avondale. Her family reported her missing, and she was located safe on Sunday morning, as confirmed by the Avondale Police Department.
Marina Noriega, 23, was arrested after police spotted her with Kehlani at a gas station in Phoenix.
Court documents revealed that Kehlani’s parents had allowed Noriega, a “random woman,” to stay at their home when she needed a place to go. However, early Saturday morning, they discovered that Noriega had vanished with their daughter.
As the search for Kehlani and her captor ramped up, investigators reviewed surveillance footage from a nearby business, which confirmed their presence together.
A woman also provided a tip, stating she believed she had seen Noriega and the girl in her vehicle, matching descriptions from an Amber Alert. This woman reported that Noriega mentioned plans to board a train to California with Kehlani.
Following her arrest, Noriega initially claimed she was Kehlani’s mother but later acknowledged that she wasn’t and admitted to having made a mistake.
According to court documents, investigators noted that Noriega had no definitive plans after taking the child and denied any intentions to harm her. She stated that she and Kehlani had “slept together on the street.”
Stephen Garcia from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office informed the court that Noriega was found with a glass pipe at the time of her arrest and admitted to using meth the previous day while she was caring for Kehlani.
Noriega has been charged with obstruction of custody and is being held on a $250,000 cash-only bond.
