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A convenience store security guard and some moving company employees helped authorities in Arizona locate missing two-year-old girl Kehlani Rogers and nab 23-year-old suspect Marina Noriega on Sunday.
Noriega was “booked into the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office Intake, Transfer and Release (ITR) facility in Phoenix for one count of custodial interference, a class 3 felony,” the Avondale Police Department noted in a press release provided to Fox News Digital. “The relationship between Noriega and that of Kehlani’s family, was that of a recently met acquaintance.”
KSAZ reported that the toddler’s parents said Noriega was a transient they were allowing to spend the night at their home, when she vanished with their daughter.
Marina Noriega was taken into custody in connection with the brief disappearance of Kehlani Rogers in Arizona. (KSAZ)
The child had last been seen late Friday night, according to a Saturday Facebook post about her going missing. The toddler was later recovered on Sunday and reunited with her family after some good Samaritans swooped into action.
A Camelback Moving foreman told KSAZ that he overheard the security guard at the QuikTrip saying on the phone that he thought the child was at the property.
The foreman explained that once the security guard told him, he “knew… we had to do something” and “couldn’t just ignore it.”
“QuikTrip security guard, C. Edmonds, first noticed the young girl and an adult woman matching the alert description and enlisted the assistance of Camelback Moving crew members, who were at the location, to help identify and confirm the suspect’s vehicle,” a Camelback Moving press release noted.
“In a quickly coordinated initiative, the Camelback Moving employees positioned one of their trucks to block the suspect’s vehicle while moving a second truck to prevent any escape from the parking lot,” the release continued.
The Avondale Police Department indicated that “Phoenix Police received a citizen tip on Kehlani’s location after employees of a moving company observed Kehlani and Marina at a Phoenix area gas station, around 27th Ave. and Thomas Rd. Phoenix Police responded to the gas station, where they retrieved Kehlani. Marina was taken into custody without incident.”
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Marina Noriega was taken into custody in connection to the brief disappearance of Kehlani Rogers in Arizona. (KSAZ)
Camelback Moving president Chad Olsen celebrated the heroic actions of the company’s employees.
“We are incredibly proud of our community heroes: Robert Hernandez, Ralph Vollmert, Christopher Dixon, Kevin Place, Kevin Kimes, Gerardo Galacia, Kobe Brown and Michael Macallum for their courage, quick thinking and teamwork,” Olsen noted in a statement. “Their actions exemplify what it means to look out for our community and to take its safety seriously. This is a powerful reminder that the Amber Alert system works. We also want to express our sincere gratitude that Kehlani was safely returned to her family.”
In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, QuickTrip spokesperson Aisha Jefferson said, “On Sunday morning, a QT Guardian at one of our Phoenix locations recognized two customers connected to an active Amber Alert and immediately alerted Phoenix Police Department. Law enforcement arrived promptly, secured the child, and took the suspects into custody.”
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Gastonia, North Carolina, QT, QuickTrip gas station and convenience store. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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“We’re grateful for our Guardian’s attentiveness and quick thinking, and for the swift response and professionalism from the Phoenix Police Department. The safety of our employees, customers, and the communities we serve is a top priority,” Jefferson added.
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