Bodies of Australian scientist and sister found

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP):

Argentine authorities say they have found the remains of two missing sisters and have arrested the son of one of them. Autopsy results released on Sunday showed that at least one of the two had been shot.

The bodies of 63-year-old Pirhya Sarussi of Israel and 54-year-old Israel-born Australian scientist Lily Pereg were found on Saturday on a lot beside the home of Gilad Pereg near the city of Mendoza, according to prosecutor Claudia Rios, who confirmed that the 36-year-old son of Sarussi was arrested on homicide charges.

The local newspaper, Jornada, said that authorities had not yet ­determined which of the bodies belonged to which of the victims, but it said that one had received three gunshots and the other showed signs of being dragged.

The two women vanished about two weeks ago, and colleagues of Dr Pereg opened a GoFundMe page to raise money for a search.

The Sydney-based University of New England said Pereg was a ­microbial ecologist with a 25-year research experience in plant and soil ­microbiology. She chaired the soil, microbiology, and biodiversity subdivision of the European Geosciences Union.