*Content warning: This story deals with themes of suicide and could be triggering for some readers.
On August 24, 2018, Tala Farea left her home in Fairfax, Virginia.
The 16-year-old is thought to have met up with her 22-year-old sister, Rotana.
The pair were not seen for two months.
Then last week their bodies washed up on the shore of New York’s Hudson River. The sisters’ bodies were found on the rocks near 68th Street and Riverside Park in Manhattan’s Upper East Side on Wednesday. They were unconscious and unresponsive.
According to the Washington Post, the sisters were bound together with duct tape and they were facing each other. They were both fully clothed in fur-trimmed jackets and black leggings, and their bodies showed no obvious signs of trauma.
Their cause of death is unknown.
The New York Post reports that police believe the women entered the river from the George Washington Bridge and then floated 100 blocks south to just below Riverside Park.
New York Police Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea told the New York Post “they were not in the water that long”.
The police have not been able to rule out foul play in the deaths of the young sisters.
Some believe the Farea sisters may have jumped off the George Washington Bridge as a part of a suicide pact.
Tala was reported as missing on August 24 through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The report said she “may be with her sister”.
Both women were pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities are now waiting for the results of an autopsy.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental illness, please seek professional help and contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, MensLine Australia on 1300 78 99 78 or Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467. If someone is in immediate danger, call 000 immediately.
