Police say the 2-year-old was found safe the next day after an Amber Alert and a tip at a Phoenix gas station.

AVONDALE, Ariz. — A 23-year-old woman is accused of taking a 2-year-old girl from an Avondale home after spending the night there, telling detectives later that she believed the toddler was her long-lost daughter, police and court records say.

The case drew wide attention because the girl was recovered safely after an Amber Alert and a fast-moving search across central Arizona. Prosecutors later said a grand jury indicted Marina Noriega on custodial interference and second-degree burglary charges. The allegations also raised questions about how a stranger came to stay with the family and how far Noriega planned to go after leaving the child’s home.

Police say the child, Kehlani Rogers, disappeared from her family’s home near 118th Avenue and Thomas Road after Noriega stayed there overnight. Family members told investigators they let Noriega sleep at the house because she had nowhere else to go. At some point after the adults went to sleep, police say, Noriega left with the girl. A person later told investigators that they picked up a woman with a toddler in a stroller at an Avondale park and drove them to Maricopa. According to court records summarized by local media, Noriega said she wanted to catch a train to California. Surveillance images later placed the pair in Maricopa, where records say they spent the night outside.

When detectives questioned Noriega after the child was found, authorities say she first claimed the girl was her biological daughter. Investigators said she gave shifting explanations before acknowledging that taking the child was a mistake. According to reports based on court documents, Noriega told police she believed the toddler had been taken from her at a hospital after birth and that she had finally found her in Arizona. Police have not publicly described evidence supporting that belief, and there is no indication in the released records that the child was related to her. The girl’s parents told officers their daughter did not know Noriega before the family agreed to let her stay. Police said the child was recovered in good health.

The search stretched from Avondale to Maricopa and then to Phoenix, turning a neighborhood case into a regional alert. Authorities issued an Amber Alert after deciding the girl had likely been abducted. By the next morning, attention shifted to a QuikTrip near 27th Avenue and Thomas Road in Phoenix. There, a security guard and workers from Camelback Moving recognized the woman and child from the alert. One worker said in video shared afterward that he immediately believed the pair matched the notice. The movers used their trucks to block the suspect’s vehicle, buying time until police arrived. The case became an example of how broad public alerts, surveillance footage and citizen tips can quickly tighten a search radius.

The legal case also moved quickly after the recovery. Prosecutors said on March 6 that a grand jury indicted Noriega on one count of custodial interference and one count of second-degree burglary. Local reports said she remained jailed on a $250,000 cash bond. The burglary count appears tied to the allegation that she remained unlawfully in the home while taking the child. Court proceedings after an indictment usually include arraignment and pretrial hearings, though public reports did not list all future dates. It also remains unclear whether prosecutors plan to seek mental health evaluations or whether defense attorneys will raise questions about Noriega’s state of mind when she told police the child was hers.

The strongest human details in the case came after the child was found. Police documents cited by local outlets said Kehlani later told her parents she had been scared and wanted her mother and father, but that she was otherwise okay. Chad Olsen, president of Camelback Moving, said he was proud of his crew for acting without hesitation after the Amber Alert appeared on their phones. He said their quick decisions showed the alert system can work when people respond fast. For the family, the recovery ended what had become a frightening overnight search. For investigators, the arrest shifted the focus from finding the toddler to explaining why Noriega believed she was taking her own child.

The child has been returned to her family, and the criminal case against Noriega is moving through Maricopa County court. The next major milestone is the next scheduled court hearing, with prosecutors expected to press ahead on the felony charges.

Author note: Last updated March 22, 2026.