Two bodies have been recovered from a pond in Chaska, Minnesota, during a search for two women who went missing in the early hours of Saturday (October 13).
The families of cousins Bushra Abdi and Zeynab “Hafsa” Abdalla, both 19, called police after they failed to return home from their respective night shifts over the weekend.
The cousins reportedly left their workplaces on Saturday just before 3 a.m. Abdalla, who works in Shakopee, arrived to pick up Abdi, who works in Chaska.
The pair were last seen in a 2006 gray Chevrolet Impala which they had borrowed from one of the women’s families, according to Abdi’s sister, Habsa Abdi.
Police said one of the 19-year-olds dialed 911 from Carver County, telling the operator “help me!” Habsa Abdi told the Minnesota Star Tribune.
“I don’t think that they ran away, because that makes no sense whatsoever,” Habsa Abdi said. “Knowing these girls at this hour…they were returning back to their jobs.”
Her sister added that Bushra Abdi left her wallet and identification at work and probably took cash with her to meet her cousin.
The search focused in on a swamp off Highway 41 after tracing the 911 call. Officials said they found a car submerged in the water, with one body floating nearby and another inside the vehicle, reports KSTP-TV.
Although the bodies are yet to be formally identified, police believe they are of the missing 19-year-olds. Officers are investigating if their deaths were a result of an accident as tire tracks were seen leading up to the pond where the car was found.
The Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN) issued a public appeal over the weekend to help find the cousins.
Jaylani Hussein, executive director of CAIR-MN described the pair as "very outgoing...bright, young, beautiful young girls.”
"The community is fearing the worst," Hussein told MPR News.
In a joint statement, the Shakopee Police Department and Chaska Police Departments said they were “appreciative and supportive” of the CAIR-MN for their public appeal.
“If you have any information, please call the Shakopee Police Department, the Chaska Police Department, or CAIR-MN,” the forces added in a statement.