A 30-year-old Metro Detroit mother is behind bars in Wyoming after allegedly abducting her 6-year-old son and leading police on a dangerous high-speed chase through the small town of Evanston, sending her SUV airborne twice before officers finally brought her down. Marisa Calliea now faces six charges after a four-day search that stretched from Oakland County to the Wyoming-Utah border.
According to FOX 2 Detroit, Calliea was supposed to return her son, Liam, to his father, Justin Malburg, during a scheduled custody exchange on September 3, but she never showed up. The Oakland County Sheriff's Office issued a missing child alert, and Detective Riley James Walsh was named the lead investigator on missing-child flyers circulated while Calliea had an active bench warrant, according to a probable cause affidavit reported by Cowboy State Daily.
A break in the case came from an unlikely source hundreds of miles away. A Flock license plate reader camera in Northville, Michigan, captured Calliea's gray 2014 GMC Terrain on Saturday, September 5, two days after she missed the custody exchange, as reported by WWJ-AM. The scan helped investigators trace her vehicle's path before it crossed state lines into Wyoming, where she had allegedly used the names Maria Peters and Will Peters for herself and her son, per FOX 2 Detroit.
A Walmart Tip Leads Police to the Missing Boy
The case broke open on Monday, when an anonymous tipster reported seeing a woman and a 6-year-old boy enter a Walmart in Evanston, Wyoming, matching the description of the gray GMC Terrain. Evanston Police Officer Nikoli Knezovich was dispatched to the store at 9:49 a.m. and waited in the parking lot for roughly 30 minutes before confronting Calliea, according to the affidavit cited by Cowboy State Daily.
Police say Calliea gave officers false names before fleeing the scene, setting off two separate pursuits through Evanston streets. The probable cause affidavit released yesterday described a harrowing scene: Calliea allegedly drove her SUV past pedestrians, ran a red light, and traveled the wrong way down Front Street before slamming into the intersection of Main and Second streets with enough force to send the vehicle airborne twice, the same affidavit states. Wyoming police ultimately ended the pursuit and arrested her, with Liam found safe inside the SUV, per FOX 2 Detroit.
Father's Relief Comes Just Minutes After Arrest
Jail records show Calliea was booked into the Uinta County Detention Center at 2:29 p.m. on Monday. Just 37 minutes later, Malburg posted on Facebook confirming his son was safe, a rapid-fire timeline documented by Cowboy State Daily. He said he was grateful his son had been found and praised the police response, thanking the people who shared the alert and reported tips that led investigators to Liam.
While Liam waited for his father's flight to arrive, Wyoming's Department of Family Services took temporary custody of the boy, Uinta County Attorney Loretta Kallas confirmed on Tuesday as prosecutors submitted formal charging documents, according to the same Cowboy State Daily report. Liam has since been returned to his father in Southeast Michigan, FOX 2 Detroit reports.
Charges, Bond, and an Alleged Family Connection
Calliea now faces six charges, including fleeing or attempting to elude police, interference with a peace officer, reckless driving, driving while her license was canceled, suspended, or revoked, controlled substance possession, and child endangerment, per FOX 2 Detroit. The Uinta County Sheriff's Office lists her as pre-sentenced, held on a $30,000 cash bond, and she was found with a substance believed to be marijuana, according to the sheriff's office. She also had an outstanding bench warrant for assault and fleeing at the time of her arrest.
The registered owner of the GMC Terrain told Evanston police he is Calliea's stepfather and had given her money for the trip, suggesting she take a vacation amid what he described as ongoing custody issues between Calliea and Malburg, per Cowboy State Daily. The stepfather also claimed the father had assaulted Calliea, an allegation attributed to him alone in that report and not otherwise confirmed.
Legal Stakes Under Michigan and Wyoming Law
Under Michigan Penal Code MCL 750.350a, a parent who detains or conceals a child for more than 24 hours with intent to violate a court-ordered custody agreement commits a felony punishable by up to one year and one day in prison, fines up to $2,000, and mandatory restitution for recovery costs, according to Black River Law PLLC. Because the case crossed state lines, courts in both states can rely on the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, which allows local courts to exercise temporary emergency jurisdiction to protect a child removed during an active custody dispute.
The Northville camera hit that helped locate Calliea's SUV also lands amid a broader fight over license plate surveillance across Metro Detroit. Several communities, including Westland, Ferndale, and Sumpter Township, dropped their Flock Safety camera contracts in 2026 over privacy concerns, even as the technology proved decisive in tracking a fleeing suspect across state lines, as Hoodline has previously reported.
It remains unclear whether Michigan prosecutors will formally seek Calliea's extradition from Uinta County, and how the underlying custody dispute between Calliea and Malburg will proceed in Oakland County court.
