After more than three decades, investigators identified a woman found stabbed to death in the Arizona desert in 1989, and located her two infant daughters who vanished at the time of her death.

Marina Ramos, of Bakersfield, California, was found naked with multiple stab wounds on Dec. 12, 1989 in Mohave County, Arizona, about 50 miles south of Las Vegas. 

While detectives determined she was killed at the scene, they were unable to identify her because Ramos’ DNA did not yield any matches.

In February 2022, the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit resubmitted fingerprints from the case file to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, and the FBI matched the prints to “Maria Ortiz,” an alias used by Ramos, who had been arrested for shoplifting in Bakersfield in 1989. 

“While we are excited to announce that one part of this 36-year-old mystery has been solved, the search for the suspects involved in the homicide of Marina Ramos continues,” sheriff’s office officials wrote in a statement.

A witness in the area told officers she saw a Hispanic woman and two Hispanic men with the two girls at the park.

Authorities used DNA to track down Ramos’ two daughters, who were put into foster care after being found in a California park restroom. (Mohave County Sheriff’s Office via Facebook)

The woman was carrying the younger child in a yellow blanket, and one of the men was carrying the older child, according to the witness. They were seen driving a black mini pickup. 

Anyone with information about the investigation is asked to contact the sheriff’s office.