Bellingham woman accused of kidnapping her son extradited from Panama
A Bellingham woman appeared in U.S. District Court in Seattle late Wednesday following her extradition from Panama. She is accused of kidnapping her 4-year-old son and taking him to Panama illegally.
Talisa Manuella Munoz, 32, was charged with international parental kidnapping and providing a false statement in application and use of passport on Oct. 10. She faces up to 15 years in prison.
Court documents obtained by The Bellingham Herald show that the FBI received a call from the child’s father on Sept. 12 reporting the kidnapping of his son. He said that Munoz was supposed to return the child to him following a weekend visit on Sept. 8. He messaged Munoz that morning asking where she was after she didn’t appear at the meeting location, and she replied, “I’m not going to be there.”
He said this was not the first time Munoz had withheld their son from him. He said that in November 2023, she threatened to take the boy to Canada.
Munoz accused the boy’s father of abusing him, court records show, and told him that they were staying at a shelter. She said the child would spend the next few weeks with a psychologist to get “proper documentation of abuse.”
The Bellingham Police Department contacted Munoz’s mother two days later, and she told officers that she dropped Munoz off at a parking lot on Sept. 6. She said Munoz was picked up by Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services of Whatcom County, and she had no way of contacting her. Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services of Whatcom County said they could not provide any information about whether Munoz was at any of their facilities.
Munoz’s mother also told officers that the 4-year-old’s father was abusive to him and Munoz, and that there was an ongoing case with the Everett Police Department. The department confirmed that Munoz had made several reports, according to court records, but said none of the allegations were substantiated.
A March 2024 investigation by the Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families into abuse allegations also confirmed no evidence of abuse.
Leaving the U.S.
The 4-year-old’s father told investigators that he hadn’t heard from Munoz since Sept. 8, and her phone number was disconnected. Court records show he received a Facebook message from Munoz’s twin’s boyfriend saying that Munoz took the boy to Miami before he was blocked.
An FBI investigator subpoenaed American Airlines for flight records and determined that Munoz, her sister, the 4-year-old and Munoz’s infant son from another father flew from Seattle to Miami and then to Panama City on Sept. 6.
The 4-year-old’s father said he never applied for a passport for the child and had no knowledge of a passport application for him.
Documents from the U.S. Department of State showed that Munoz applied for a passport on the boy’s behalf between June and July 2025, according to court documents. She wrote on the application that she had no way to find or know the child’s father, and submitted an invalid birth certificate. She also falsely claimed that no court had ever issued an order referencing the custody of the child.
Investigators later found a Facebook group chat including Munoz, her sister and her mother in which they had discussed moving to Panama since August. In the days leading up to Munoz leaving the U.S., they sent messages about how Munoz could avoid being caught or located once she moved.
Munoz and her son were returned to the Western District of Washington on Jan. 8, and the boy was reunited with his father. Munoz has been detained pending trial.