Three more 9/11 victims identified after nearly 24 years
Nearly a quarter-century after the Sept. 11 attacks, New York City officials have identified the remains of three more victims through advanced DNA testing.
The newly identified are Ryan D. Fitzgerald, 26, a Manhattan-based currency trader; Barbara A. Keating, 72, a retired nonprofit executive; and a woman whose name is being withheld at her family’s request, News.Az reports, citing AP News.
While all three were long known to have died in the 2001 terrorist attacks, their families had never before received confirmation of recovered remains. About 40% of the 2,753 people killed at the World Trade Center have never had remains identified.
The breakthrough came from testing tiny fragments recovered more than 20 years ago, using DNA techniques that can now extract genetic profiles from material degraded by fire, sunlight, and time.
“Each new identification testifies to the promise of science and sustained outreach to families despite the passage of time,” Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason Graham said.
Keating, a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11, was traveling home to Palm Springs, California, after a summer in Cape Cod when hijackers flew the plane into the North Tower. Fitzgerald was at work in the towers while pursuing a master’s degree in business.
Mayor Eric Adams said he hopes the news “offers some solace” to the families. The identifications mark the latest in a long-running effort to return remains to loved ones, with testing continuing as science evolves.
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