ABC15 sat down with the biological family of two sisters who had been missing since their mom's murder in December 1989. Earlier this week, the Mohave County Sheriff's Office announced the daughters of murder victim Marina Ramos had been found with the help of DNA.
The women are now 37 and 36 years old. Elizabeth and Jasmine Ramos, whose adoptive names are Melissa and Tina, shared their emotional response to learning about their past.
The murder of Marina Ramos
The case began when a woman's body was found in the middle of the desert in Mohave County back in 1989.
It took over 30 years for the Mohave County Sheriff's Office to identify the 28-year-old victim. Investigator Lori Miller was finally able to give this Jane Doe a name, Marina Ramos.
"From there, when we did tell the family that it was her, and they asked at that time another question which totally blew us away," said Miller.
That question they asked was, "Where were Marina's two babies who had never been seen again?" For decades, investigators had never known there were two missing children.
Where are the girls
"I never would have thought that those two little girls would have been victims of homicide, too," said Miller. "I just, it just wasn't in my heart."
Miller always believed the girls were alive and never wavered.
During her search, Miller learned about a third older daughter, who had grown up with her grandparents in Puerto Rico. The woman provided her DNA to help with the search for her sisters.
"She basically did every DNA test, completed every kit imaginable," said Miller.
Within the last month, a match on a genetic genealogy website first led Miller to Marina's younger daughter, Tina.
"I was shaking," Tina told ABC15. "I was crying. I was, you know, nervous about everything."
She was just two months old when she was last seen in 1989. Her sister, Melissa, about one. The two women are still in shock.
"I'm someone who likes to really live in the moment and take it all in, and I think it's going to take me a long time for that to happen," said Melissa.
Newspaper clippings show a search for the girls' parents after the two were left in the bathroom of a Southern California park.
"They had been found in the park on December 14, 1989, in Oxnard, and we found Marina on December 12 in Mohave County," said Miller. "So, there was no way she could have abandoned her children."
The sisters were eventually adopted together, learning about their adoption in their teens. As adults, the two now live states apart.
"I think she deserves to know us, to be around us," said Melissa about hopefully meeting their older sister.
"I'm still scared and nervous about it, but I'm ready to talk to them, and meet them, and get to know them," said Tina.
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The family that never gave up
ABC15 first spoke with Marina Ramos' sister, Margarita, back in 2023. At that point, the family had just learned about Marina's murder.
"I don't know how people could have the guts to do that and still live out there, you know, like nothing," said Margarita.
Elizabeth and Jasmin's aunt, along with other family members, have also been helping with the search for the girls. Margarita even looked for her sister back in the early 90s throughout the Bakersfield area, where their family is from.
More recently, she and the extended family would answer any questions Miller had, hoping one day to find Marina's daughters.
Then finally, in the last few weeks, Margarita got the call she had been waiting for.
"First thing that came out of my mouth was, "you're lying"," said Margarita.
She said learning the pair were alive and well was overwhelming.
"I just started crying, you know," said Margarita. "But [it's] something that we always wanted, to find them alive. And it did happen. You don't know how much I prayed."
She is hopeful an in-person reunion is around the corner. Still, Marina's sister doesn't want to rush her nieces and knows they need time to process everything.
"I really want to meet them, hug them, hold them," said Margarita.
She believes this marks a new chapter for their family and is still hoping to get answers in Marina's murder.
MCSO's investigation into who killed Marina is far from over. The police report from when the sisters were found in that southern California park serves as a new piece of the puzzle.
"Never give up. Always keep faith."
That's Margarita's advice to other families still searching for their own loved ones.
"We have social media," said Margarita. "We have computers. We have everything. We have Facebook, put them out there. You know, there's somebody out there that might know these girls, or might know somebody."
Anyone with information in this case is asked to call the Mohave County Sheriff's Office at 928-753-0753 ext. 4408.
