Police released pictures of two Saudi Arabian sisters who were found dead and duct-taped together in the Hudson River late last week, The New York Daily News reports. Tala Farea, 16, and Rotana Farea, 22, were reportedly found duct-taped together in a “cross-like configuration” when they washed up on some rocks near Riverside Park. Sources also told the newspaper that they both had their “sandals duct-taped to their feet.” In a press conference Wednesday, NYPD detectives revealed they were questioning the siblings’ family and friends in Fairfax, Virginia, in an attempt to determine why then ended up in New York City. “Those interviews are unraveling pieces of the puzzle about what is happening behind the scenes and what was going on with the girls’ lives,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said.
Family members reportedly said the sisters had been missing since Aug. 24, when their mother found out they had left a “shelter” and were “seeking asylum” to the United States. The Saudi government had ordered the entire family to come back to the country, the NYPD said. According to arabnews.com, their mother filed a missing persons report in August but withdrew the report when she learned Tala went to New York to be with Rotana.