Mystery of two sisters washed up in river, bound together with duct tape

A sketch released while police were identifying bodies. The women have since been identified as Rotana Farea, 22, and Tala Farea, 16, of Falls Church. Photo / New York Police Department

Officials in New York provided no cause of death today for two young Virginia women whose bodies were found along the Hudson River last week, and police said it had not been determined if they were victims of foul play.

New York police said Rotana Farea, 22, and her 16-year-old sister Tala Farea, both of Fairfax County, Virginia, were discovered near 68th Street and Riverside Drive on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

Police said the two had been duct-taped together around their waists and feet. Their bodies were identified at the weekend.

Tala Farea was listed as missing by the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children as of August 24, and "may be with her sister," the centre said. No family members or friends could be located today.

Police told the New York Post that they believed the women had entered the river from the George Washington Bridge and then floated more than 100 blocks south to just below Riverside Park, which stretches for 50 blocks along Manhattan's west side.

New York police Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea told the Washington Post "they were not in the water that long."

A New York police spokesman said that police were awaiting the results of autopsies on the sisters before determining whether the case was a homicide.

A spokeswoman for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner did not return messages seeking information.

Tala Farea had been missing from Fairfax since August 24, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children https://t.co/kUZWtge5lX

— 8News WRIC Richmond (@8NEWS) October 28, 2018