The bodies of two Saudi sisters were found tied together with duct tape at their feet and bound at the waist near the Riverside Park in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York Police said.

Tala Farea, 16, and Rotana Farea, 22, had been living in Fairfax, Virginia with their mother, but Rotana had moved to live in New York. The family are Saudi nationals from Jeddah.

The two bodies were found on Wednesday at around 3:00pm by a passer-by who informed the police.

The NYPD said police responded to the 911 call and “upon arrival, officers discovered two unidentified females unconscious and unresponsive with no obvious signs of trauma.” Emergency medical personnel pronounced them dead at the scene.

Police said there were no obvious signs of trauma on the bodies, adding that they were both clothed.

The mother had reported Tala missing about two months before the incident, but the search was called off when she was found visiting her sister in New York. Both girls were then reported missing again when they lost contact with their mother about a week before the incident.

The cause of death has not been determined yet by the city’s medical examiner’s office.

Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2020 KSA 09:51 - GMT 06:51