Woman who took son from hospital is charged with kidnapping

Tina Marie Carlsen, a Sumner woman who removed her ill son from Children's Hospital & Regional Medical Center shortly before his scheduled kidney surgery, has been charged with second-degree kidnapping in King County Superior Court.

Prosecutors signed the charges June 22 but didn't release them to the public until Monday.

According to the court documents, Carlsen and the baby's father, Todd Rogers, were in the boy's room the evening of June 21. At 6 a.m. the next day, Carlsen, 34, was seen leaving the room carrying a large backpack. She told nurses that her son, Riley, age 9 months, was sleeping, and she asked that he not be disturbed.

At 7:10 a.m., the nurses found Riley missing and Todd Rogers still in the room. Rogers claimed to not know where the baby or Carlsen were. By 7 a.m. Carlsen showed up at a friend's home in Puyallup and asked to stay there, telling the friend she did not intend for the baby to have the surgery for a potentially fatal kidney disorder.

The friend refused to shelter her. An Amber Alert was issued with a description of Carlsen's car. Carlsen was arrested Saturday in Yelm, Thurston County. The baby, who is in the custody of the state's Child Protective Services, was returned to the Seattle hospital.

Prosecutors are asking that bail for Carlsen be set at $500,000. She is to be arraigned July 3.

Nancy Bartley: 206-464-8522 or nbartley@seattletimes.com