To: Ashley Holden

Mojave County, Arizona (Scripps News Phoenix) — The Mojave County Sheriff’s Office wants answers to: 1989 Murder Unsolved Case.

The victim, a 28-year-old woman, was found stabbed and left naked in the middle of a desert road about 80 miles from Las Vegas and 60 miles from Kingman, Arizona.

Investigators currently investigating the case said she was believed to have been killed at the scene in early December morning.

The woman was eventually found the same day by a tourist en route to the Grand Canyon.

More information: Open case file archive

The four women first walked past the victim, thinking it was an animal carcass. However, as a result of taking a detour and examining it, it turned out to be a corpse.

With no cell phones, they had to drive to Kingman to alert law enforcement.

Mojave County Sheriff’s Office investigator Lori Miller has been working on the case since 2021.

“They speculate there were two suspects, one between 5’10” and 6’2″ tall and the other between 5’4″ and 5’8″,” Miller said. said Mr.

Miller said detectives in the 1980s came to that conclusion after examining the limited evidence left at the scene, including footprints, tire tracks and a small piece of clothing. However, detectives were able to obtain a DNA profile from the victim.

“There was nothing outside at the time this incident happened and it was pretty desolate,” said the sergeant. John Cole.

“She didn’t have jewelry,” Miller said. “She had nothing to her, which is why she remained Jane Doe for so long.”

Sergeant John Cole has photographic evidence of the unsolved murder of Marina Ramos. (KNXV)

She was buried under this name in Mojave County until 2022 when Miller resubmitted her fingerprints and a match was found.

The name returned was Maria Ortiz. The woman’s footprints matched a shoplifting incident in Bakersfield, California.

“So the adventure really began,” said Miller. “Because it was a real adventure to find out who she really was.”

Miller was able to contact a woman listed as a friend in police records.

“I said, ‘Do you know Maria Ortiz,’ and she said, ‘No, but I have a cousin I haven’t seen since 1989,'” Miller said.

Family DNA was used to confirm the true identity of the victim as Marina Ramos.

Ramos’ family said they were concerned that she would sometimes go by a different name due to her independent lifestyle.

“When we told the family it was her, they asked another question then and we were completely stunned,” Miller said. “Where are her two little girls? Are they like two little girls?” We didn’t know the two girls at all. “

Ramos’ family learned that she had been murdered and that her two daughters were missing at the same time.

“It’s really crazy to find out that she’s been missing for 30-odd years,” said Margarita Maldonado, Ramos’ sister. She said, “I can’t find the words to describe it. How? Why?”

Maldonado said he searched for his sister around Bakersfield, where his family continued to live.

Now their focus has shifted to finding Elizabeth and Jasmine, who were 14 and 2 months old in 1989.

“We just want to know what happened to the girls,” Maldonado said. “They are not alone, they have families.”

Asked if she believed the girls could still be alive, Miller said: “In my heart I believe…there is no proof.”

Ramos was last seen with a man named Fernando in a black SUV. Miller said Ramos met the man at the park.

Marina Ramos was last seen with a man named Fernando. (Mojave County Sheriff’s Office)

Miller’s cousin was the last person to see Ramos and has since worked with law enforcement in Tennessee to create a sketch of Fernando.

When she last saw Ramos, Fernando said he was going to live with them in Ontario, California, she said.

“I never met this guy,” Maldonado said.

But Maldonado said her sister tended to seek independence and was overly trusting. Maldonado said she thinks her sister befriended the wrong people.

“They were going to Ontario, California,” Miller said. “Ontario, California and White Hills, Arizona are polar opposites, so I don’t know what happened.”

After identifying Ramos, the Mojave County Sheriff’s Department posted her story on Facebook, along with a photo of her and a sketch by Fernando.

“I’m tasked with trying the virtually impossible to find women who are 33 and 34,” Miller said.

If you have information about this incident, please call the Mojave County Sheriff’s Office at 928-753-0753.

This story first published From EW Scripps’ Scripps News Phoenix.