Ana María Ramírez Cetina, 24, was one of the victims of the Learjet crash near Palm Beach on Sunday.
She was working as a nanny for Adam Robinson and Helen Sharp’s children, Emma and Charlie, who were also victims in the accident, along with the other passengers and pilots.
In a Tuesday X post, Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella mourned Ana María, a Colombian citizen.
“Her untimely passing fills us with sadness,” Abelardo de la Espriella wrote in the post, translated by Business Insider from Spanish. “To her family, friends, and loved ones, I send a heartfelt embrace and all my solidarity in this difficult moment.”
She had a degree in biomedical engineering
Ana María Ramírez Cetina was a biomedical engineering graduate from ECCI University in Bogotá, according to a Tuesday interview with her sister, Angie Ramírez Cetina, on Colombia’s Caracol Radio.
Seeking better opportunities, she said Ana María moved to the US about two years ago with her mother and lived in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, while caring for the family based in Aspen.
She also told Caracol Radio that Ana María had found it difficult to find a job and, not wanting to sit still, successfully found work as a nanny: “She was very happy with that family,” Angie said.
Angie said that Ana María video-called her from the airport before she boarded the flight, and had sent her a photo of the plane.
Angie had also sent her a video of her son, which Ana María said she would watch as soon as she landed.
“My sister and I were inseparable,” she added. “Truly, Ana María will always be my other half.”
In a joint statement, the victims’ families wrote, “Anita Maria cared for Emma and Charlie with tenderness and devotion, and she was truly part of the family. She showed us a legacy of unconditional love and devotion.”
She loved traveling
In a Tuesday interview with Colombia’s La FM radio, Mario Alejandro Ramírez, Ana María’s father, said they spoke several times a week and that she often told him about her travels.
“It was very hard for me, but it was her dream, and I told her: keep going, and I’m always there for her, keep going,” he said in the interview, translated from Spanish. “She would tell me: ‘Dad, I’m going this way, Dad, I’m going that way.’ She really liked to travel, and things were working out for her there.”
He added that Ana María had moved to the US before she could collect her diploma, so he went to the university to receive it on her behalf.
“It was an achievement for her and for me too,” he said.
