Overview

• Her body was found on Jan. 27, 1981 in a citrus orchard in the 3000 block of Guiberson Road south of Piru with multiple gunshot wounds.
• Authorities quickly ruled the death a homicide and documented an estimated age of 20 to 25, about 195 pounds, brown eyes, and brown hair with a reddish tint.
• The victim was discovered wearing a plaid shirt, a turquoise tank top, a skirt, and flip-flop style sandals.
• The Ventura County Sheriff's Office Cold Case Unit reopened the investigation in 2023, working with Redgrave Research Forensics Services to apply advanced DNA analysis.
• Genetic clues suggested family ties to Michoacán, Mexico, leading to a summer 2025 confirmation that the victim was 24-year-old Maria Belmontes Blancas who arrived in California in 1980, and detectives now urge tips at 805-383-8739 or [email protected].