The mother caught trying to cross the Canadian border with her Merced daughters was arrested in San Francisco and booked into the John Latorraca Correctional Center in the early morning hours of Tuesday, authorities said.
Rene Snider, 37, appeared in Merced County Superior Court before substitute Judge Louis F. Bissig on Tuesday via a video arraignment, which was continued until 1:30 p.m. Thursday. She did not enter a plea.
She is charged with four felonies related to the alleged abduction of her two daughters, Drea and Lyza Martinez, 12 and 11, respectively.
Bail was originally to be $40,000, but the court granted the increase to hold Rene Snider in lieu of $1 million.
Officers arrested Snider on Monday at the San Francisco International Airport, according to booking records. She was released Sunday from the Pembina County jail in Cavalier, N.D., jail records show.
Snider has a history of leaving the area with the girls, authorities said, including a 2009 incident in England and an earlier occasion when she took the girls out of state. Given that history, Detective Joseph Henderson requested a bail increase, according to court records. Bail was originally to be $40,000, but the court granted the increase to hold Snider in lieu of $1 million.
The judge also granted a request for a no-contact restraining order on Snider, who must remain 100 yards from the girls and the relatives in their household.
Vincent Andrade, chief deputy public defender, objected to the order, to no avail, saying Snider and the girls’ father, Jose Martinez, are involved in ongoing family court matters and the order could be a roadblock.
We’re extremely relieved.
Tabitha Martinez, the girls’ stepmother
On several occasions in court, Snider interjected or interrupted the proceedings. She was advised to remain silent by the judge and public defender until her Thursday hearing.
Tabitha Martinez, the girls’ stepmother, said in a phone interview the girls have returned to school. She said the family also has filed for a restraining order through the District Attorney’s Office.
She thanked Merced police for their work. “We’re extremely relieved,” she said.
Thaddeus Miller: 209-385-2453, @thaddeusmiller
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