Three victims of Al-Qaeda’s deadly September 11 attacks were identified ahead of the 24th anniversary of the tragedy, New York City officials announced Thursday.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason Graham announced the three identifications of those killed in the World Trade Center in 2001. Of the 2,753 people killed in the attacks, 40% remain unidentified.
Ryan Fitzgerald of Floral Park, New York, Barbara Keating of Palm Springs, California, and an adult woman whose name is being withheld at the request of family are the 1651st, 1652nd, and 1653rd persons identified by the Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME).
“The pain of losing a loved one in the September 11th terror attacks echoes across the decades, but with these three new identifications, we take a step forward in comforting the family members still aching from that day,” said Mayor Adams.
“As a former law enforcement officer who served our city on 9/11, I understand deeply the feeling of loss so many families have experienced. We hope the families receiving answers from the Office of Chief Medical Examiner can take solace in the city’s tireless dedication to this mission.”
The three victims were identified by OCME through family outreach and advanced DNA analysis of remains recovered from the attack.
“Nearly 25 years after the disaster at the World Trade Center, our commitment to identify the missing and return them to their loved ones stands as strong as ever,” said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Graham.
“Each new identification testifies to the promise of science and sustained outreach to families despite the passage of time. We continue this work as our way of honoring the lost.”
Fitzgerald’s remains were not found until 2002, though the DNA of Keating and the third victim were found in 2001.
Graham also announced that OCME has identified 22 human remains associated with previously identified individuals, providing new hope that further victims may be identified in the coming years.
Identification of 9/11 victims in 2024
The announcement of the identification of Fitzgerald, Keating, and the third victim comes almost a year after the remains of John Niven were identified and finally laid to rest.
Niven’s bone fragments were discovered in 2006, five years after the attacks, on the roof of the Deutsche Bank building across from Ground Zero. This opened a whole new line of enquiry, and investigators began searching the building. They even examined the dust vacuumed in the building.
It was through this new line of investigation that researchers uncovered 700 small bone fragments.
Advancements in the field of DNA analysis allowed the remains to be identified.
A year prior, in 2023, victims 1,648 and 1,649 were identified. Their identities were not released, per the request of the families, though officials confirmed the remains had belonged to a man and a woman.