The identities of two California women has ended a 36-year mystery.
In August, authorities found Jasmin Ramos, 37, and Elizabeth Ramos, 36, to be living under new names in their native California 36 years after they vanished. The pair—whose identities were discovered through DNA testing—had been raised by foster parents unaware of their missing person status.
The sisters’ birth mother, Marina Ramos, was discovered dead in 1989 in an Arizona desert. At the time, she was unidentified, referred to as a Jane Doe victim, though in 2022 authorities were able to uncover her identity through fingerprinting technology. After Marina’s identity was confirmed, investigators began the search for her daughters—who were just 14-months and 1-month-old at the time of their mother’s murder—using DNA samples from Ramos’ family.
Three years later, they got a match.
“On August 27, 2025, investigators located a woman with a high DNA match to a Ramos family contributor,” the Mohave County Sheriff Office explained in a Sept. 22 Facebook post. “Analysis by a forensic genetic genealogist revealed a high probability that the woman was one of the missing girls.”
