Authorities in Arizona are asking for the public’s help in locating a missing 3-year-old girl, who is believed to have been kidnapped from her home.
Kehlani Rogers was last seen at her home near 118th Avenue and Thomas Road in Avondale at approximately 11:30 p.m. local time on Friday, Feb. 20, the Avondale Police Department (APD) announced in a post on Facebook. An AMBER alert has been issued following her disappearance.
Rogers is described as 3 feet 5 inches tall. She has a thin build, with brown braided hair and brown eyes. The police believe she was taken by a 23-year-old woman named Marina Noriega, as the pair was spotted together in Maricopa on Saturday, Feb. 21.
“This evening, detectives acted on one of the many tips provided by our community, leading to the identification of a suspect: Mariana Noriega…,” the APD shared in a Facebook update on Saturday, Feb. 22. “Surveillance footage from a local business confirmed that Noriega was last seen today in the City of Maricopa, Ariz., with the victim, Kehlani Rogers.”
In a photo of the surveillance footage provided by the police, Rogers is seen wearing purple pajamas with multicolored smiley faces. Noriega, described as a white woman of short stature and thin build with brown hair, is wearing black and white tank tops with pink fuzzy pants.
Authorities confirmed to 12 News that Noriega is not a family member of Rogers.
A family member shared with ABC 15 Arizona that Rogers’ father took Noriega into his home “because she needed a helping hand.” The nature of the pair’s relationship is unknown at this time.
“The fact that she was not allowed to be taken, there was no prior conversation, there was no plan. They woke up this morning and Kehlani’s gone and Marina’s gone – this is what leads us to believe that she’s in danger,” said APD’s Jaret Redfearn, per Fox 10 Phoenix.
In the AMBER Alert shared on Friday, the police confirmed that local agencies and hospitals were notified with “negative results” concerning Rogers.
The APD is urging anyone with any information about Rogers or Noriega’s whereabouts to contact them at 623-333-7000 or Silent Witness at 480-WITNESS, if they wish to remain anonymous.
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