Three 9/11 victims finally identified in DNA breakthrough as 1,100 families still wait for answers 24 years on

Almost 24 years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, three victims have been identified through DNA analysis.

In 2001, four coordinated terrorist attacks were carried out by Islamist extremist group Al-Qaeda. The terrorists flew two hijacked planes into the Twin Towers in New York and a third into the Pentagon.

A fourth plane, crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back against the hijackers. It remains the deadliest terrorist attack to date.

Sadly, not everyone who perished in the horrific attacks have been identified. Of the 2,976 who lost their lives, around 1,100 victims remain unidentified, around 40 percent.

However, thanks to advanced DNA analysis, the remains of three more victims have been confirmed, the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) announced on Thursday (August 7).

The Twin Towers were struck by two planes on September 11, 2001 (Fabina Sbina/ Hugh Zareasky/Getty Images)

The three new identifications are Ryan Fitzgerald, of Floral Park, New York, Barbara Keating, of Palm Springs, California, and an adult woman whose name has not been made public at the request of her relatives.

These individuals are the 1,651st, 1,652nd, and 1,653rd victims to be positively identified and the first new identities confirmed since January 2024.

The OCME said these identifications were made possible after remains that were recovered were analysed, as well as family outreach.

Fitzgerald’s identification came about through DNA testing of remains recovered in 2002, while the remains of Keating and the unnamed woman were found in 2001.

According to an online obituary, Fitzgerald, who was 26 at the time of his death, had just begun working in the foreign currency exchange desk at Fiduciary Trust and he had just started living on his own in Manhattan.

There are still unidentified victims of the attacks (Jose Jimenez/Primera Hora/Getty Images)

Keating was a 72-year-old grandmother and was on American Airlines Flight 11 which struck the North Tower.

“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 New York Mayor Eric Adams in a statement.

“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. Jason 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.”