BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A Bellingham woman has been sentenced in federal court after taking her young son to Panama without his father’s permission.

U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd announced on Monday, Aug. 31, that 32-year-old Talisa Munoz will spend 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to unlawful use of a passport.

Court documents state Munoz did not return her 4-year-old child to his father as required by their custody plan following a weekend visitation in September 2025.

An FBI investigator used flight records to discover that Munoz had flown to Panama City with her son and a family member. A search of Munoz’s social media chat history found that she and her family members had been planning the trip for months.

The FBI later learned that Munoz had claimed in a passport application for her son that she had no way to find the father nor knew his identity. The father was not listed on the original birth certificate because he wasn’t in the delivery room due to COVID-19 restrictions at the time.

Investigators also found in messages exchanged between Munoz and the father that she claimed he had abused their son.

According to court documents, the Everett Police Department and the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families had both previously investigated Munoz’s claims and found no evidence of abuse. Child Protective Services also confirmed there were no open cases in relation to her claims.

Authorities in Panama arrested Munoz in December 2025 before extraditing her to the U.S., while the child was returned to his father.

Munoz also owes the father restitution, which will be determined in November.