\n<\/p>\n
CLEVELAND — <\/span>Authorities in Cleveland were working Wednesday to identify two young half-sisters whose bodies were found buried inside suitcases on the city’s east side.<\/p>\n The bodies were recovered on Monday in the city’s Collinwood neighborhood after a tip from a dog walker, according to police. One of the girls is believed to be between 8 and 13 years old, and the other between 10 and 14 years old.<\/p>\n Cleveland Police Chief Dorothy Todd said at a Tuesday news conference that it was not clear how the girls, who were both Black, died, but that their bodies had been there for some time. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are hoping to find answers,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is a terrible, tragic situation.\u201d<\/p>\n The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner\u2019s Office used preliminary DNA relationship testing to confirm that the two girls were half-sisters, according to a statement. The office said further information would be released as it became available. <\/p>\n The circumstances didn’t appear to match any active missing persons cases in the area, Todd said. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n