Madison Kwiecinski 

News Editor

Mvk5945@psu.edu 

Nearly every American knows about the horrific events that occurred on September 11th, 2001. The names of those we lost are written on memorials across the country. 

However, at the World Trade Center, where 2,574 lives were lost, 1100 of those who lost their lives that day are yet to be officially identified, and have the remains returned to their loved ones. 

For these families, they know their loved ones are gone, but no DNA that has been able to be recovered and identified from ground zero or any of the remnants from the attack that day. 

However, DNA technology is constantly evolving, and new progress is being made. As the nation approached the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, two more victims were able to recently be identified and returned to their families. 

One of the two people recently confirmed was Dorothy Morgan of Hempstead, N.Y., and is the 1,646th person to be officially identified from that day. Dorthy’s name is etched into the 9/11 memorial at ground zero. Dorothy worked for Marsh & McLennan, an insurance company, and would have been 67 this year.

Morgan’s daughter, Nykiah Morgan spoke to NBC New York, stating that although she had recognized her mother was gone, she was shocked to hear officials had identified her remains. This was made possible by advancing DNA technology being able to be used on remains located in 2001. 

The second victim identified, and the 1,647th person to be identified, was a male whose name is withheld at the families request. The unnamed man’s identity was confirmed through remains located in 2001, 2002 and 2006. 

The last remaining identifications that were successful before the two recently announced took place in October of 2019, a pace that has been moving increasingly slower as time has gone on. 

Dr. Barbara A. Sampson, the Chief Medical Examiner of New York, issued a statement saying, “Twenty years ago, we made a promise to the families of World Trade Center victims to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to identify their loved ones, and with these two new identifications, we continue to fulfill that sacred obligation.”

At this point, all DNA remnants from the World Trade Center have been tested, but now forensic scientists must undergo the tedious task of retesting all of the remains, and cross referencing them with new advancing DNA technology and samples provided from the families. 

The newest method being used for this purpose is called Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) , and is also employed by the U.S. military. NGS was being studied by the Medical Examiner’s office in 2018, but the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically slowed down the process. 

Dr. Timothy McMahon, Director of the Department of Defense DNA Operations for the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System, referred to the new DNA technology as a game-changer. When speaking on whether or not this technology could solve all unidentified remains cases, he said, “Probably not….But even if it leads to 20 percent identification, that is significant. You are bringing closure to someone’s family on this.”

According to New York City’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner, This longtime, ongoing effort to identify victims of the World Trade Center attacks is considered the largest and most complex forensic investigation in U.S. history. However, that does not impact the United States ongoing commitment to bring closure to all of these families, who lost their loved ones over two decades ago.