Nearly a quarter of a century after the morning that changed America forever, officials in New York have confirmed that three more victims of the September 11 attacks have been identified through groundbreaking DNA technology. The announcement from the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner was described as both a moment of relief and a painful reminder that, for more than 1,100 families, the wait for answers continues.
According to The New York Times, the newly identified individuals include two men and one woman, all of whom were killed when hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Their names have been withheld at the request of their families, but officials say the identifications were made possible through advanced forensic sequencing that can analyze DNA fragments far smaller than was previously possible.
Mayor Eric Adams, speaking alongside forensic experts, called the development “a testament to New York’s promise to never stop searching for the missing.” He noted that while the news brings long-awaited confirmation for three families, it also underscores the enormity of what remains — over 40 percent of those killed in the attacks still have not been identified.
Dr. Jason Graham, the city’s chief medical examiner, told CNN that the work “is both science and a sacred duty.” Graham explained that the remains recovered from Ground Zero were so fragmented and exposed to extreme heat and chemical damage that traditional DNA testing often failed. Now, with new techniques developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense, forensic scientists are finally able to extract viable profiles from even the smallest samples.
24 years later, more names from 9/11 are being restored. Three families got the call this week. Over 1,100 are still waiting. #911NeverForget— NYC News Desk (@NYCNewsDesk) August 9, 2025
The 9/11 attacks killed 2,753 people at the World Trade Center alone, but for many families, there were no bodies to bury — only unanswered questions and annual memorials that reopened wounds. The latest identifications bring the total confirmed through DNA analysis to 1,652, according to OCME records. Each success, Graham said, is the result of “meticulous, painstaking work that can take months or even years for a single profile.”
For the families receiving the calls this week, the emotions are layered. “It’s closure, but it’s also reopening everything,” one relative told NBC New York. “We always held on to hope, but now it’s real. We finally know.” The family, who asked not to be named, said they plan to inter their loved one’s remains at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum’s unidentified remains repository beneath the memorial plaza.
That repository, maintained by the city in partnership with the museum, holds more than 21,000 fragments of human remains recovered from Ground Zero. Many have been tested dozens of times over the past two decades, with each new technological advance offering another chance. “We’ve gone back to the same fragments again and again,” Graham said in an interview with The Associated Press. “We never give up.”
Incredible work by the NYC medical examiner’s office — 3 more 9/11 victims identified through DNA tech developed for military remains. #NeverForget— Forensic Science News (@ForensicNews) August 9, 2025
The identifications are part of what is now the largest and most complex forensic investigation in U.S. history. Initially, recovery workers faced unimaginable conditions — tons of debris, hazardous chemicals, and the emotional toll of searching for human remains in the ruins of the Twin Towers. The medical examiner’s team began testing remains almost immediately, but in 2005, progress slowed as the limitations of then-current technology became clear.
In 2018, New York partnered with Bode Technology and military forensic labs to test ultra-degraded DNA, drawing on methods developed to identify soldiers from decades-old battlefields. This has led to a steady, if slow, stream of new identifications — often just a few each year.
Advocates for the families have praised the persistence. Mary Fetchet, founder of the Voices Center for Resilience, whose son Brad was killed in the South Tower, told USA Today that “every name we restore is a victory against forgetting.” But she acknowledged the heartbreak for those still waiting: “We’re 24 years on, and over a thousand families have no remains to hold.”
At the 9/11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan, news of the latest identifications brought a fresh wave of flowers and handwritten notes at the victims’ engraved names. Some visitors told Gothamist they were moved by the reminder that the work continues daily, long after media attention has faded.
The technology now identifying 9/11 victims could change the way we solve cold cases worldwide. A bittersweet breakthrough. #911Anniversary— Justice Watch (@JusticeWatchNow) August 9, 2025
Forensic experts believe that similar advances could help resolve thousands of unsolved cases beyond 9/11. The same techniques are already being applied to mass disaster sites, missing persons cases, and war crime investigations. “The ripple effect of this technology is enormous,” said Dr. Ellen Greytak, a genetic genealogy researcher who spoke to Scientific American. “It means no case is ever truly cold.”
Yet for the families, the science is always personal. In one case, a Brooklyn mother who lost her son in the North Tower told ABC News she cried for hours after receiving the call this week. “I thought maybe this day would never come,” she said. “Now I can bring him home.”
The city’s medical examiner’s office has vowed to continue testing indefinitely, saying that as long as there is hope, the effort will go on. For now, the announcement stands as both progress and a sobering measure of how much is left undone — over 1,100 victims, each with a family still waiting for the phone to ring.