Introduction
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Police issued an Amber Alert for 3-year-old Kehlani Rogers after she disappeared late Friday night from her Avondale home near 118th Avenue and Thomas Road.
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Police identified the suspect as 23-year-old Marina Noriega, who was shown on surveillance video with Rogers.
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The AMBER Alert was canceled Sunday.
Avondale, Arizona – An Amber Alert was issued on February 21 for a 3-year-old girl who was believed to have been abducted and was with an unrelated adult.
what we know
Avondale police, sheriff’s deputies and the FBI are searching for 3-year-old Kehlani Rogers, who was last seen around 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 20 at her home in the Avondale neighborhood. 119th Avenue and West Thomas Road.
On February 22, Lt. Manuel Rios said: “We can officially confirm that Keilani Rogers has been found safe and in good health and Marina Noriega has been taken into custody.”
The Avondale Police Department said Rogers was found after a possible sighting near 27th Avenue and Indian School Road in Phoenix.
Rios said they don’t believe Rodgers was harmed during the ordeal.
Dig deeper
Police identified the suspect as 23-year-old Marina Noriega. The woman, previously known as “Merena” and “Mariana”, is described as a 30-year-old white female with a short, thin build, brown hair and hazel eyes.
Surveillance video from a local business confirmed that Noriega was last seen with the child in Maricopa, wearing purple pajamas with a colorful smiley face.
Jaret Redfearn of the Avondale Police Department said: “The fact that she was not allowed to be taken away, with no prior conversation and no plan. They woke up this morning and both Kehlani and Marina were missing – that leads us to believe she is in danger.”
local perspective
Police searched the car and spoke with neighbors.
“They stopped here and just asked if they could let their dogs do some quick searches around the house – absolutely. Anything to help resolve the situation,” one neighbor said.
“The police came to my house this morning and asked if we had cameras and they wanted to see if there was anything on our cameras but we saw nothing,” said another.
what we don’t know
Police have not released specific information about how the child was taken from the neighborhood.
what’s next
“Noriega is now in the custody of Avondale police detectives and will be booked into the Maricopa County Jail System on charges related to this incident,” Rios said.
Amber Alert canceled.
A map of the area near where the child was last seen.
source
avondale police department