Body found decades ago in Arizona identified as missing California mom, cops say
Marina Ramos, 28, was last seen in Bakersfield, California, with her 1-year-old and infant daughters 34 years ago.
They were with a man “known only as ‘Fernando,’” the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office said in a Feb. 14 news release posted on Facebook.
“The four were seen driving away in his black SUV, headed for Ontario, California, where ‘Fernando’ lived,” deputies said.
Decades later, the sheriff’s office said it has identified a body found in Arizona in December 1989 as Ramos.
Her daughters, however, are still missing, deputies said.
“The family would like to know what happened to those two little girls,” Lori Miller, an investigator with the sheriff’s office, told The Arizona Republic. “The hope is that they were just raised by somebody else, that they are still alive and thriving somewhere.”
When Ramos’ body was discovered months after her disappearance, she was unclothed and had been “stabbed multiple times” in Mohave County, about 50 miles south of Las Vegas, Nevada, the sheriff’s office said. It looked as if she had been killed where she was found.
At the time, the sheriff’s office said it was not able to identify the body or “suspects involved in her homicide.” Detectives, nonetheless, got a DNA profile from the body, deputies said.
Last year, detectives submitted the woman’s fingerprints to NamUs, the sheriff’s office said. A day later, the sheriff’s office was notified they were a match for Maria Ortiz of Bakersfield.
The sheriff’s office said it contacted someone who may have known the woman.
When contacted by phone, the person said they didn’t know anyone named Maria Ortiz, but that they did have a cousin named Marina Ramos, who had been missing since 1989, the sheriff’s office said. Ramos also had two young daughters who were missing as well.
“The two missing daughters, Elizabeth Ramos and Jasmin Ramos, would now be 34 and 33 years old,” the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators contacted another family member who provided a DNA sample, the sheriff’s office said. It was a match, confirming the woman’s identity as Ramos.
The sheriff’s office said it is looking for “any and all information” about the case.
Anyone with information is asked to call 928-753-0753 ext. 4408, the sheriff’s office said.
This story was originally published February 15, 2023 at 10:06 AM with the headline "Body found decades ago in Arizona identified as missing California mom, cops say."
