New photos, details on Saudi sisters found dead

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - The NYPD released new photos of Rotana Farea, 16, and her sister, Tala Farea, 22, on Wednesday in the hope solid tips from the public might help crack the case.

The bodies of the Saudi sisters were discovered along the Hudson River waterfront in Manhattan earlier in October.  Police said the Farea sisters, who were living in Fairfax, Virginia, may have been staying in the New York metro area between Aug. 24 and Oct. 24.

Investigators still hadn't determined how they died. The sisters' bodies were taped together and facing each other and lying on rocks, but had no obvious signs of trauma, police said. They were both fully clothed.

They were reported missing in August.  Their mother told detectives the day before the bodies were discovered, she received a call from an official at the Saudi Arabian Embassy, ordering the family to leave the U.S. because her daughters had applied for political asylum, New York police said Tuesday.

Anyone with information about the sisters is encouraged to contact the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

The NYPD says all calls/texts are strictly confidential.

With the Associated Press