Two sisters identified as missing daughters in 1989 Mohave park case; mother murdered, killer still sought

Two sisters who were found as toddlers in a Mohave, Arizona park in 1989 have been identified as the missing daughters of Marina Ramos, a 28-year-old woman whose murder remains unsolved, authorities announced. The development ties a decades-old disappearance to a homicide with no known suspect, and it comes after a years-long push by investigators to solve the case through DNA databases and genealogical techniques. In August 2025, Mohave County officials confirmed that Elizabeth Ramos and Jasmin Ramos are the daughters Marina Ramos gave up for foster care decades ago, and that the mother’s murder remains under investigation with no charges filed to date.

The case centers on the events of December 1989, when Marina Ramos’s nude body was found in a remote stretch of scrub in Mohave, after she was stabbed multiple times. The morning she was discovered, investigators believe she had been killed elsewhere and left at the site. Two days later, sisters Elizabeth, then 14 months old, and Jasmin, two months old, were found alive in a park restroom after being spared by the killer. They were placed in foster care and later adopted in California, where they were renamed Melissa and Tina. For decades, authorities had only fragmentary witness descriptions and limited archival material to guide them, and the case remained unsolved as investigators struggled to identify the victim.

The trail began to turn in February 2022, when DNA from Marina Ramos’s body was entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). The database identified the victim as Maria Ortiz, a Bakersfield, California woman who had been arrested for shoplifting about six months before her death. That match set off a chain of re-examinations, as investigators tracked down Ortiz’s former roommates, who said they did not know a Maria Ortiz — but one recalled their cousin, Marina Ramos, had disappeared in 1989. A physical description of Ortiz also aligned with Ramos, and investigators concluded that Marina Ramos had used the alias Maria Ortiz at the time of her death. The identification of Ortiz and the recognition that Ramos had used an alias helped shift the focus to the children who had been found with her in the park, rekindling efforts to locate biological relatives and verify the sisters’ identities.

As investigators pursued the case, the sisters learned more about their origins through public records and family outreach associated with the CODIS effort. The families of Marina Ramos provided DNA swabs to help confirm the relationship, and a Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigation Unit team coordinated with genetic genealogists to sift through distant relatives and genealogy databases. By August 2025, a woman who shared a strong DNA link with Ramos’s family members was identified on CODIS, and that lead prompted the sisters to provide their own DNA samples. A genetic genealogist then determined that Elizabeth and Jasmin Ramos were indeed the two missing girls found in 1989, and the sisters provided newspaper clippings from the era that corroborated their discovery.

The revelation that Elizabeth and Jasmin are Marina Ramos’s daughters came alongside a somber reminder: the killer in Marina Ramos’s homicide has not been identified or charged. Law enforcement officials emphasized that the investigation remains open as they pursue potential suspects, including a man described by Ramos’s loved ones as a former partner known only as “Fernando,” who investigators say dated Ramos around the time of her death. Detectives said they are actively trying to locate him and interview him as part of the ongoing inquiry.

The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office called the development bittersweet: it marks a long-sought resolution for the sisters but leaves the homicide unsolved. Sheriff’s officials said solving one part of the 36-year-old mystery is a meaningful step, yet the pursuit of Marina Ramos’s killer continues. In a statement, the agency underscored its commitment to pursuing every available investigative lead, including fresh interviews and forensic examination, to identify the person or people responsible for Marina Ramos’s murder. The case remains a cautionary reminder of the enduring impact of cold cases on families and communities, and the potential for DNA technology to unlock long-standing questions.

As Elizabeth and Jasmin begin to rebuild ties with their broadened family and learn the details of their mother’s life and death, investigators say the work of tracing Marina Ramos’s final days continues. The sisters have expressed both relief at uncovering their origins and sorrow over the violence that claimed their mother. The Mohave County Sheriff’s Office noted that the newfound connection does not erase the pain of decades without answers, but it does provide a sense of closure for two sisters who spent years seeking their place in a family history that had been lost to time.