Bones Found Are Remains Of Half-Sisters

Human bones found in a field near this suburban community are the remains of two young half-sisters who vanished in July 1996 from a Seattle motel, the King County medical examiner’s office confirmed today.

Investigators said the girls died from homicidal violence, but they don’t know exactly how. Bothell police are investigating.

The girls were identified as 9-year-old Carmen Joy Cubias and her 11-year-old half-sister Sammiejo White.

Their mother reported them missing on July 7, 1996, while they were living at the Crest Motel in north Seattle.

The girls disappeared while their mother had gone to a bus station to pick up some clothes. They told a brother they were going to a nearby fast-food restaurant.

After a search, police said at the time the girls may have been runaways.

The remains were found last week in a search after a transient noticed a few bones in an area of a former farm that has been cleared for a development.