MOHAVE COUNTY, Ariz. (KTNV) — The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) from the Mohave County Sheriff's Office was able to link two children who were found in a park restroom in Oxnard, California, to a cold case victim in Mohave County.
On Dec. 12, 1989, a woman was found dead on Old Temple Bar Road off White Hills Road, just 50 miles south of Las Vegas. She had been stabbed multiple times and left nude in the desert.
At the time, police were unable to identify the victim or any suspects involved in her death, but homicide investigators were able to obtain a DNA profile from the victim.
In February 2022, the SIU was able to obtain the victim's fingerprints and matched them to a Maria Ortiz from Bakersfield, California. A records check revealed Ortiz was listed at a residential address in Bakersfield with two friends.
Authorities made contact with one of the friends, who was later discovered to be the victim's cousin. The cousin revealed the victim's real name was Marina Ramos, and she had been missing since 1989. Maria Ortiz was an alias used by Ramos.
Authorities also learned that Ramos had two young daughters, 2-month-old Jasmin and 14-month-old Elizabeth, at the time. After this discovery, the police tried to track the whereabouts of the two young girls. Using the DNA obtained from family members, investigators found a match to a woman and her sister who were found abandoned in a park in Oxnard, California, in December 1989. Through the use of DNA samples, results confirmed the two women to be Elizabeth and Jasmin Ramos, the daughters of Marina Ramos.
Reports revealed that the girls were found in a park restroom in Oxnard on Dec. 14, 1989, just two days after Marina's body was found in Mohave County.
After the girls were found, they were placed in the custody of child protective services and later placed into foster care. They were eventually adopted by a couple in Ventura County and raised together in a loving home, according to authorities.
While the Mohave County Sheriff's Office has found the mother of the two girls, authorities are still looking for the suspects responsible for the homicide of Marina Ramos.
Witnesses say they saw a woman and two men with the children at the park. They were seen in a black mini pickup. The witness told officers the woman was carrying the smaller child in a yellow blanket and one of the men was carrying the older child. The woman was described as a Hispanic female wearing a long red skirt with white boots. The two men were only described as Hispanic.
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Mohave County Sheriff's Office at 928-753-0753 ext. 4408.