Mother wanted in 2018 child abuse, kidnapping case jailed in Tucson after extradition from Mexico

PHOENIX — A Tucson woman who fled to Mexico after allegedly assaulting a child welfare worker in 2018 has been extradited and is now in custody, authorities said.

Andrea Vanessa Ramirez, 36, was returned to the U.S. on Friday and faces multiple charges, including kidnapping, child molestation, sexual exploitation, child abuse involving a firearm and fleeing prosecution.

Ramirez and her husband, Luis Alberto Herrera-Ramirez, allegedly attacked an Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) employee during a supervised visit with their two children, who were in state custody due to prior welfare concerns.

The couple fled to Mexico in May 2018.

Mexican authorities arrested both parents in 2024, rescuing their children, then aged 5 and 11.

Herrera-Ramirez was sentenced last week to 387.5 years in prison for numerous crimes against minors, including molestation and exploitation. He remains in Pima County Jail awaiting trial on additional kidnapping charges.

Ramirez was held in Mexico during extradition proceedings and has not yet been sentenced.

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