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An unusual kidnapping incident landed a California woman in an Arizona jail after she allegedly abducted a toddler she claimed was her “long lost child.”
Marina Noriega, aged 23, faces charges of custodial interference following an event that triggered an Amber Alert over the weekend, according to reports by KTVK.
Authorities responded to a residence in Avondale after the parents of the young girl reported that a woman known only as “Marina” had abducted their child.
According to the affidavit, Noriega claimed she had traveled from California to Arizona with nowhere to stay, as her father and boyfriend were incarcerated. Relatives reportedly introduced her to the family, who allowed her to stay overnight, as mentioned by Law&Crime.
The parents stated that Noriega was watching television when they went to bed. However, they were awakened before dawn by the cries of another child, only to discover that both Noriega and their toddler had vanished, as reported by KTVK.
They said they searched the neighborhood before calling 911. Police also searched and later issued an Amber alert. Later in the morning, they got tips that Noriega had been seen in Maricopa. One tipster reported driving Noriega and the child from Avondale to Maricopa, where Noriega said she planned to take a train to California.
But Noriega was not on any passenger manifest for a train leaving from Maricopa, and they didn’t see her in the area of the train station.
Police say she and the toddler slept on the street Saturday night and were spotted at a QuikTrip store the next morning in Phoenix.
Kevin Place, working with a moving crew, was one of those who saw her. He said he heard the security guard talking with police and ran back out to his moving truck, where he and his co-workers devised a plan to keep her there. They parked their 30-foot truck to block the vehicle Noriega was in, and moments later, Phoenix police arrived, rescued the toddler, and took Noriega into custody.
Court documents say the girl told her parents when she was returned to them that she was scared and “wanted her mommy and daddy” but was ok.
When she was interviewed by police, Noriega claimed to be the girl’s biological mother. She said the girl was abducted from the hospital in Sacramento where she was born. She said she had come to Arizona to find her own family but “coincidentally” found her own “long-lost” daughter.
But the dates Noriega gave for her supposed daughter’s birth didn’t match the girl se kidnapped, and eventually she admitted the child wasn’t hers. She offered to speak to the family and “apologize for taking their daughter.”
She’s being held on a $250,000 bond. It’s not clear if any other charges are pending.