A mother accused of kidnapping her son and fleeing Canberra pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to allegations she breached a family violence order and unlawfully took the child.
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The alleged kidnapping triggered the ACT's first amber alert and a week-long police hunt for Tessa Woodcock, 36, and her son Phoenix Mapham, 6, who were eventually found by police in a NSW national park.
Police said the pair were on foot in the park, and lacking suitable clothing, shelter and water.
Ms Woodcock, who does not have custody of Phoenix, allegedly took him unlawfully from Orana Steiner School in Weston about 1.30pm on Thursday, August 23.
Phoenix had been missing for several days when his father Cliff Mapham made a public plea for any information that would help lead police to his son.
After a tip off from a member of the public, police homed in on the pair's location, guided by the smell of fire.
Police on motorbikes found the pair in the Tallaganda National Park about 4.40pm on August 30.
Ms Woodcock appeared briefly in the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday when she entered pleas of not guilty to breaching a family violence order and unlawfully taking a child not in her custody.
Her lawyer Adrian McKenna said outside court the charges were serious. "However, she like any other person has every right to have the brief of evidence - which will soon be disclosed - carefully scrutinised," he said.
He flagged a possible future bail application.
The case returns to court on October 30.
