Movers Spotted Child From Amber Alert, Took Quick Action

The men in the moving truck were supposed to be hauling boxes, not blocking a suspected kidnapper's escape route. But around 7am on Feb. 22 in Phoenix, Camelback Moving foreman Kevin Place overheard a convenience-store security guard on the phone with police about a 3-year-old girl whose face he'd recognized from an Amber Alert, per the Washington Post. The guard believed he'd just seen the child, who'd vanished from her home two days earlier, and the woman suspected of taking her stroll into the store and make their way toward the restroom.

After comparing the guard's photo with the alert, Place sprinted to his truck and told his co-workers what he'd seen, and they jotted down the license plate of the car waiting for the woman and toddler, where a man was waiting in the driver's seat. The movers then used their roughly 30-foot truck to box in the vehicle until police arrived minutes later, taking 23-year-old Marina Noriega into custody and recovering little Kehlani Rogers, who was later reunited with her parents in good health, according to police.

Authorities say Noriega, a "recent acquaintance" of the family, is charged with felony custodial interference on $250,000 bond, per 12News; they'd already previously IDed her as a suspect after she and Kelhani were spotted together in Maricopa the day before the child was found, per People. The little girl's parents tell 12News that Noriega was a "random woman" they'd let into their home because she "needed a place to stay." Court records show that Noriega told authorities she'd "made a mistake" and that she "denied intent to sell or harm the child."

The security guard and eight movers have since received Good Samaritan awards and recognition from the city of Avondale, where Kehlani's family lives. The men—many of them fathers—say they acted from their gut and hope the incident reminds people that those buzzing Amber Alerts matter. "Without it, we would have never known who that little girl was," Place says. The president of the moving company says of his workers, per a release: "We are incredibly proud of our community heroes. This is a powerful reminder that the Amber Alert system works."