Missing Sisters Whose Bodies Were Found in the Hudson River Were Not Dead Long Before Discovery.

When the bodies of two young women were found, bound together and floating in the Hudson River, New York officials sought help in identifying them. Thanks to the public, and a missing person's report, they were identified as sisters Tala, 16( left), and Rotana, 22( right), Farea.

Tala Farea was reported missing by her mother a few weeks earlier by her mother but that report was cancelled when their mother determined that the two sisters were together in New York where Rotana lived. When they were found dead, their family was adamant that they would not have committed suicide and must have met with foul play.

A relative of the family met with Arab News and described the family as being just like any other Saudi family who moves to a new country.

"They had decided to move to the United States a few years ago, seeking better schools for the sisters and their two brothers, 18 and 11 years old. The children lived with their mother, Wafa’a, in the Virginia suburbs, and their father, Abdulsalam, often travelled back to Saudi Arabia, where he had a job.

“They were just like any one of us, they were a happy family. They were comfortable and at ease with everyone, and so the rumors that they ran away from home were beyond us. It’s impossible. Their mother was naturally protective, but in no way was their household problematic for them to run away.”

The relative rebutted media claims that the girls ran away from home and were missing for two months.

Rotana was specializing in computer and information technology at college and recently moved to New York, where she changed schools and her major. Tala was reported missing when she went to see her sister in New York this summer without her mother’s knowledge, the family member explained.

“Tala was upset for quite some time after her sister decided to continue her studies in NYC. Yes, it did cause a problem for the family as the mother had to file a missing case report to the police over her daughter’s disappearance, but the search was called off later when they found Tala was with her sister, Rotana. The police told their mother that since her younger daughter was safe with an adult, it’s safe to call off the search.”

According to new information obtained just yesterday, "the medical examiner said the girls were alive when they entered the water but they have not been able to give further details about the way they died.

They refused to give the cause of death and police have not indicated when the examiner is likely to release their report.

Their bodies were not decomposed when they were spotted by a bystander, leading investigators to believe they had not been dead long."

More questions than answers are surfacing as the investigation wanes on. Tala Farea was recently awarded a full scholarship to a top private school in Saudi Arabia but was refusing to go. Reports also show that this was the second time that the two girls had separated from their family.

"In December last year, the pair fled to a shelter in Fairfax. The family reported them both missing.

When officers tracked them down, the sisters begged them not to tell the family where they were. What led to them returning home remains a mystery but police are focusing their investigation on the circumstances surrounding it."

Hopefully the police will be able to get to the bottom of what happened to these two young women.