Daughters of victim in Arizona cold case murder found: MCSO
Marina Ramos, on the left (Photo Courtesy: Mohave County Sheriff's Office)
MOHAVE COUNTY, Ariz. - Officials with the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said they have found two people who are biologically related to the victim of a murder that happened decades ago.
The backstory:
According to a statement, the murder victim was identified as Marina Ramos. Her body was found in the area of Old Tempe Bar Road and White Hills Road, about 50 miles south of Las Vegas, on Dec. 12, 1989.
Ramos, according to investigators, was stabbed multiple times, and was left in a state of undress in the desert.
"It appeared that she had been killed at the scene where she was found," read a portion of the statement.
Timeline:
At the time Ramos' body was found, authorities say they were not able to identify her. Investigators managed to identify her as "Maria Ortiz" in 2022, based on a match of fingerprints that were obtained as a result of a shoplifting case in Bakersfield, Calif.
"Investigative follow up revealed that Ortiz had been arrested on June 15, 1989 by the Kern County Sheriff’s Office. A records check with the Kern County Sheriff’s Office and the Bakersfield Police Department showed that Ortiz had listed a residential address in Bakersfield along with the [names] of two friends," investigators wrote.
Per investigators, they later managed to find one of the friends, who by that point was living in Tennessee.
"Telephone contact was made, and the question was posed to her if she knew anyone by the name of Maria Ortiz, missing since 1989. She said she did not but stated that her cousin, Marina Ramos, had been missing since 1989. A physical description of Ramos matched the physical description of the Jane Doe victim," officials wrote.
Investigators say as it turns out, "Maria Ortiz" was an alias that Marina Ramos used. They were also notified that at the time Ramos was last seen, she had a two-month-old and a 14-month-old daughter. Efforts were then made to try and find the girls, with family members of Ramos providing DNA samples.
"On August 27, 2025, investigators located a woman with a high DNA match to a Ramos family contributor. Analysis by a forensic genetic genealogist revealed a high probability that the woman was one of the missing girls," read a portion of the statement. "She was contacted by investigators and during the phone conversation, it was learned that she and her sister were abandoned in a park in Oxnard, California in December 1989."
What We Know Now:
Investigators said the two girls were left abandoned at a park restroom in Oxnard, Calif. on Dec. 14, 1989, two days after Ramos' body was found. The children were later placed in the custody of Child Protective Services, and subsequently placed in foster care.
"The girls were eventually adopted by a couple in Ventura County and were raised together in a loving home," investigators wrote.
What we don't know:
Officials with the Mohave County Sheriff's Office said they are still looking for the suspects in Ramos' murder.