A 10-year-old child who was kidnapped by her mother in California in December was found safe in Eagle County this week, federal officials said.
Tina Medina, 43, fled California shortly after the child’s father was awarded sole custody, the U.S. Marshals Service said in a news release Friday.
Marshals believed Medina might be with her parents in Colorado and later discovered she was “actively taking steps to mislead or throw off law enforcement,” agency officials said.
Federal officers worked with local and state law enforcement to find her in Gypsum, where she was staying with a relative. She was arrested Tuesday, and the child was recovered safely. Medina is being held in the Eagle County jail on suspicion of parental kidnapping on $1 million bail.
In a Change.org petition, Medina said her daughter has lived in Colorado most of her life and Medina was not given notice or due process before her arrest warrant was issued.
“What’s happening is not a custody dispute. It is a misuse of prosecutorial power and a coordinated act of retaliation against a mother standing up for her child’s safety,” Medina wrote.
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