Two sisters missing since 1989 were recently found alive in Ventura, California — and never knew they had been reported missing.
The women, originally named Jasmin and Elizabeth Ramos, were just 2 months and 14 months old when their mother, Marina Ramos, was murdered in Mohave County, Arizona.
On Dec. 12, 1989, Ramos was found dead in the desert, stabbed multiple times and left nude. At the time, she was not identified.
Days later, two infant girls were discovered alone in a park bathroom in Oxnard, California. A passerby heard crying and found them on the wet floor, with no adults in sight. Authorities could not connect the abandoned children to the unidentified homicide victim.
That connection wasn’t made until recently, after investigators used DNA evidence to identify Ramos as the girls’ mother.
For decades, her identity remained a mystery. In February 2022, her fingerprints were matched to an alias, Maria Ortiz, leading officials to confirm her real name: Marina Ramos.
ABC15 Arizona reports how a DNA and genetic genealogy effort — uniting the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office, DPS crime lab, FBI Phoenix, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children — finally cracked the case of Ramos’ missing daughters:
MCSO worked with Marina’s family, discovering she had an older, third daughter who had grown up with her grandparents. MCSO was able to get a DNA sample and use it to search multiple genetic genealogy databases. Within the last month, Miller received word that a possible close match had been found.
Miller worked first with forensic genetic genealogists and then started the process of tracking down the woman who supplied the sample. The 36-year-old was ultimately identified as Jasmin Ramos.
MCSO was then able to connect with her sister, later identified as Elizabeth Ramos, to do further testing.
Through police reports and past news coverage, Miller traced the girls back to a southern California park where they were left just days after Marina’s death.
“The girls were eventually adopted by a couple in Ventura County and were raised together in a loving home,” the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
The sisters, now known as Tina (Jasmin) and Melissa (Elizabeth), reportedly kept newspaper clippings about their abandonment — a clue that helped investigators piece the case together.
Their mother’s homicide remains unsolved. Authorities continue to seek leads and are urging anyone with information to come forward.
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Who the H is Miller? Patrick Houck needs to proof read his articles before publishing them.