Uncovered: Three more individuals long thought lost in the 9/11 tragedies identified after nearly two decades
1,653 World Trade Center Victims Identified Through DNA Analysis
A significant milestone has been reached in the ongoing efforts to identify victims of the September 11 attacks, with the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) announcing three new identifications. As of August 2025, a total of 1,653 World Trade Center victims have been positively identified through DNA analysis[1][2][3][4][5].
The recent identifications were achieved through ongoing outreach to families for updated DNA reference samples and the application of advanced DNA technology on remains recovered in 2001 and 2002[1][2][4]. This brings the total identified from the original 2,753 victims to just over half.
Barbara Keating from Palm Springs, who was a breast cancer survivor, was identified as the 1652nd victim. She was on American Airlines Flight 11 and was returning to California after visiting her grandchildren on the East Coast[6]. Ryan Fitzgerald from Floral Park was identified as the 1651st victim. He was remembered as a "man on the town" who had just found his own place in Manhattan, working as a foreign currency trader at Fiduciary Trust in the South Tower[7]. Unfortunately, no further information was provided about the identities of the other two newly identified victims.
Despite nearly 24 years of continuous forensic efforts, approximately 1,100 victims—or about 40% of those who died at the World Trade Center on 9/11—remain unidentified as of 2025[1][3][5]. Mayor Eric Adams stated that the new identifications provide comfort to families who lost loved ones on September 11th[8]. Dr. Jason Graham, the Chief Medical Examiner, emphasized that each new identification is a testament to the promise of science and sustained outreach to families[9]. The OCME continues this work as part of a long-standing commitment to use scientific advancements and family cooperation to identify the remains and provide closure to victims’ families[1][2][3].
This report was contributed to by ABC News. The OCME has never stopped testing remains recovered from the wreckage, and the tally of identified victims is now 1653, which represents little more than half of the 2,753 people killed at the World Trade Center on 9/11. The identifications made since 2024 are the latest in a series of identifications, with the new World Trade Center identifications made using advanced DNA technology and new samples provided by relatives[10].
[1] https://www.nyc.gov/site/ocme/about/1653-world-trade-center-victims-identified-through-dna-analysis.page [2] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/nyregion/world-trade-center-victims-identified.html [3] https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/01/us/world-trade-center-victims-identified/index.html [4] https://abcnews.go.com/US/three-world-trade-center-victims-identified-advanced-dna-technology/story?id=91637575 [5] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/3-world-trade-center-victims-identified-advanced-dna-technology-n1300621 [6] https://www.palmspringslife.com/news/2025/08/barbara-keating-palm-springs-identified-as-1652nd-world-trade-center-victim/ [7] https://www.newsday.com/long-island/ny-newsday-world-trade-center-victim-ryan-fitzgerald-1.24701641 [8] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/nyregion/world-trade-center-victims-identified.html [9] https://www.nyc.gov/site/ocme/about/1653-world-trade-center-victims-identified-through-dna-analysis.page [10] https://abcnews.go.com/US/three-world-trade-center-victims-identified-advanced-dna-technology/story?id=91637575
Politics and general news often feature updates on war-and-conflicts, and the recent identifications of 1,653 World Trade Center victims through DNA analysis is one such instance. The ongoing outreach to families and application of advanced DNA technology continue to bring new identifications, providing comfort to affected families and testifying to the promise of science in forensic investigations.
