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2 Bodies Found Duct-Taped Together On Banks Of Hudson River In NYC Identified

Sisters Rotana and Tala Farea, from Virginia, "were not in the water that long" when they washed ashore in Manhattan, according to a top NYPD official. 

By Gina Tron

Two bodies that were found duct-taped together last week near the Hudson River in New York City have been identified as two sisters from Virginia.

Rotana Farea, 22, and Tala Farea, 16, were bound by duct tape at their waste and feet, fully clothed with their bodies facing each other when they washed ashore Wednesday, according to WABC in New York. They were found with "no obvious signs of trauma," and were pronounced dead at the scene, according to New York City Police. 

“They were not in the water that long,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said last week, according to the New York Post.

Tala Farea had been reported missing on Aug. 24, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which noted that she may be with her sister, Rotana. 

A New York City Police Department spokesperson said an investigation into the deaths is ongoing and that the city medical examiner will determine their cause of deaths, according to WTOP in Washington D.C.

At least one police source speculated to the New York Daily News last week that the cause of death could be suicide.

"They were bound together. There's no visible sign of trauma. It appears to be a suicide pact," the source told the paper .

Anyone with information about what happened is urged to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Tips can also be submitted on the CrimeStoppers website, on Twitter or by texting TIP577 to 274637.

[Photo: New York City Police Department]

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