Family of ‘woman with pretty nails’ still seeks missing body after Venezuela quake

The relatives of 71-year-old Cristina Ramos, famed as “the woman with the pretty nails,” say she died in hospital after the June 24 earthquakes but her remains have not been located.

A magnitude-6 earthquake on June 24 collapsed homes in Playa Grande, Venezuela, trapping 71-year-old Cristina Margarita Ramos, whose calm humor and perfectly manicured nails made her a viral rescue symbol. After 20 hours rescuers freed her and her husband Jesús Enrique Magallanes, she was taken to La Guaira Naval Hospital where she later died, according to her family. More than a month later, her siblings recognized her in photographic records at the Los Silos forensic depot, but her corpse has not been found, prompting the family to demand answers from Attorney General Larry Devoe and scientific police chief Douglas Rico.

Human-rights NGO Cofavic warned that the disaster response suffered from poor coordination, missing bodies and inadequate documentation, urging a genetic database and an exhumation plan with international support. The government’s recent update raised the death toll to 6,125 but omitted demographic details, deepening families’ frustration over transparency and the dignity of the deceased.