Nearly 20 years have passed since authorities responded to an emergency call in the Ali Chukson region of the Arizona desert.
A bulldozing crew, assigned to work along Interstate 15 in Pima County, noticed a heap in the desert expanse. They looked closer.
It was a girl — her small frame lifeless and decomposing in the July heat.
Authorities have identified the body of a girl whose body was found in the Arizona desert after she crossed the border in 2007.
For years after her death in 2007, authorities knew Ayda Tomás Ramírez only by what she left behind.
She was carrying a falsified Mexican birth certificate. She wore gray, lace-up sneakers with the logo of a footwear company, "Arco," printed on the tongue and heels. Small earrings framed her face. She wore a small graphic T-shirt, peach-colored with beaded shoulders and camouflage-print block letters: "U go girl."
Two decades later, authorities have finally confirmed her identity.
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Ramírez went missing from a rural municipality in Guatemala before her death in the Arizona desert, according to a July 2 news release from Moxxy Forensic Investigations.
She died 2,000 miles north of Cuilco, her hometown in the mountains of Guatemala's Huehuetenango province.
She was 14.
Ramírez is one of thousands of migrants who have died attempting the long desert trek from Central America. Many others remain nameless.
Moxxy, the forensic investigations company, identified Ramírez as part of a renewed effort by the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner to crack cold cases.
Ramírez's name appeared on the forged paperwork that she carried across the border, but authorities could not confirm that it was her real identity. Investigators at the time estimated that she was between 13 and 17 years old.
The company said in a news release that their investigators also worked with the Consulate of Guatemala in Tucson, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Bode Technology, the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, and the Guatemalan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"Ayda's identification comes from the culmination of collaborative efforts and profound dedication needed to restore the identities of Latin Americans and grant their loved ones answers," said Bryan Worters, a spokesperson for Moxxy. "Our thoughts are with Ayda's family as they process this development."
