NEW YORK (AP) — Police are investigating the mysterious deaths of two sisters from Saudi Arabia whose bound bodies washed up on New York City's waterfront.
The sisters' bodies were discovered Oct. 24 on a bank of the Hudson River, about 225 miles from Fairfax, Virginia, where they were reported missing in August.
Police identified them as 16-year-old Tala Farea and 22-year-old Rotana Farea.
Investigators said Tuesday they hadn't determined how the Farea sisters died.
New York police said they have interviewed the sisters' mother.
She told detectives the day before the bodies were discovered, she received a call from a Saudi Arabian official saying the family had to leave the U.S. because her daughters had applied for political asylum.
The Saudi government said in a statement it had appointed a lawyer to follow the case.
Disclaimer: This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Associated Press (AP) wire.