Woman who lied about being in 9/11 attacks became president of Survivors' Network
For almost six years, Tania head was one of the most recognizable figures in the September 11 Survivors movement.
She described surviving the attack on the South Tower, being badly injured and losing her husband in the North Tower.
There was just one problem: Head was not in the United States when the attacks happened.
Her real name was Alicia Esteve Head, and she was living in Barcelona, Spain, studying in graduate school on September 11, 2001.
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The details emerged after the New York Times began looking into her story ahead of the sixth anniversary of the attacks, according to an NPR report featuring the authors of The Woman Who Wasn't There: The True Story of an Incredible Deception.
Head had become deeply involved with the World Trade Center Survivors' Network and was instrumental in helping the organization gain attention within the 9/11 community.
She also became a prominent figure giving tours at Ground Zero.
What did Tania Head claim happened on 9/11?
Head told people she had been working for Merrill Lynch and was on the 78th floor of the South Tower when the second plane hit.
Her account included a series of extraordinary details. She said the impact threw her across a room, that she passed out and suffered a severe arm injury, and that she encountered people who had been badly burned or injured as she tried to escape.
She also said she was helped by Welles Remy Crowther, known as the "man in the red bandanna" because of his efforts to help people escape the towers before he died.
Another part of the story involved a dying man who allegedly handed Head his wedding ring and business card while asking her to get them to his wife.
She also said her husband, whom she sometimes referred to as her fiancé, was killed in the neighbouring tower.
The story was powerful enough to convince people around her, including Angelo Guglielmo, who had met Head while volunteering at Ground Zero. Guglielmo later became involved in a proposed documentary about Head and her work with the survivors' organization.
How was the Tania head 9/11 story exposed?
The story started falling apart when New York Times attempted to interview Head for a sixth-anniversary profile.
She initially agreed, but later canceled the interviews.
During routine background checks, reporters discovered inconsistencies.
One major problem was Head's claim that she had worked for Merrill Lunch. The company told the newspaper it had never employed anyone by that name.
Further investigation established that Head's real name was Alicia Esteve Head and that she had been in Barcelona at the time of the attacks.
The revelations shocked people who had known her, but Guglielmo told NPR that his attachment to Head did not immediately disappear after the truth came out.
Robin Gaby Fisher, co-author of The Woman Who Wasn't There, said Head never appeared to have made money from the deception. Instead, Fisher believed she had been motivated by attention and a desire to become a public figure.
Despite the fraud, survivors interviewed for the book continued to say that Head had helped them feel recognized and supported after September 11.
Thomas Bamford