MOHAVE COUNTY, Ariz. — A body found in 1989 has been identified as a missing mother from Arizona, officials say.
In a news release, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office said that on Dec. 12, 1989, a woman’s body was found on Old Temple Bar Road near White Hills Road in Mohave County, Arizona, about 50 miles south of Las Vegas.
The woman had no clothes on and she appeared to have been stabbed multiple times, authorities say. It appeared to investigators that she was murdered where her body was located. However, investigators were unable to identify her or the suspects involved but detectives reportedly obtained a DNA profile from the victim.
Mohave County Sheriff’s Office submitted the woman’s fingerprints to the FBI in Feb. 2022 and it reportedly matched a woman who lived in Bakersfield, California, according to KPNX.
The woman in Bakersfield was named Maria Ortiz, according to Mohave County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators followed up and led them to a possible associate or friend of Ortiz. Investigators called the associate who said they did not know anyone named Maria Ortiz but did have a cousin named Marina Ramos.
Ramos had missing since 1989 along with her two young daughters who were two months old and 14 months at the time, according to Mohave County Sheriff’s Office.
According to KPNX, Ramos and her daughters, Elizabeth and Jasmin, were last seen leaving in a car driven by a man who was known as “Fernando”. They were reportedly heading to Ontario, California. Elizabeth and Jasmin would be 34 and 33 today.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Mohave County Sheriff’s Office at 928-753-0753 ext. 4408.