New technology is helping to identify the remains of 40% of those who died in the 9/11 attacks.

New York

New technology is enabling the chief medical examiner's office in New York to identify more victims of the 9/11 attacks, with around 40 percent of those who died still unmatched to any remains. The process involves extracting DNA from remains, some of which are severely damaged, and comparing it to reference samples collected from personal items or relatives. 

Recent advancements have allowed the identification of additional victims, bringing the total identified to 1,653 out of 2,753. However, the lack of reference samples for all victims continues to hinder progress, and approximately 1,100 victims remain unidentified. The medical examiner's office remains committed to ongoing identification efforts, providing closure to families whenever possible.

New technology identifies the victims of 9/11

Tomorrow marks 24 years since the 9-11 attacks, and 40 percent of those who died here in the city still have not been matched with any remains. All right, but a group of people in the chief medical examiner's office wants to reduce that number. Fox 5's Robert Moses shows us how new technology is helping make this possible. Four years into his job at the chief medical examiner's office, Mark Desire responded to Ground Zero. We're standing within a stone's throw of the South Tower, and boom, it cracked, and it was right over us. I thought I was dead. I left foot. Yeah, I was shattered. Knocked me out of my shoes. A state police boat ferried him to safety in New Jersey, shattered foot and all. That's him in the middle in the green shirt, bloodied. Behind him, the North Tower is ablaze, the South Tower gone. One of the reporters said the North Tower just collapsed. I'm like, where's the South Tower? That fell on you a while ago. After the buildings fell, Desire and his team embarked on a mission they never could have foreseen, identifying the 2,753 dead. Think of the enormity and gravity of that task, naming the unearthed human remains, some as small as a pea, damaged by fire, rain, sun and jet fuel, and returning them to their loved ones. Desire and his colleagues first had to build a catalog of reference samples by gathering razors, toothbrushes, anything with the DNA of the victims or their close relatives to match with the DNA profiles of the remains. That family's there, and they're crying and hugging you and shaking and thanking you for bringing their little boy home. That's very powerful. In August, Ryan Fitzgerald of Floral Park, Barbara Keating of Palm Springs, California, and another woman whose family asked that she remain anonymous became the 1,651st, 1,652nd and 1,653rd victims to be identified using remains found in 2001 and 2002. Dr. Jennifer Odeon, a forensic anthropologist in the medical examiner's office, notified their loved ones. I know that there is a level of shock that, you know, we're continuing to do this testing, but also appreciation. Odeon has spoken with hundreds of families through the years. She maintains one of these green folders for each of the 2,753 victims. We have those 1,100 where no remains have been identified to them. So the folders are very thin because we don't have a lot of documentation for that individual. But as remains start to be identified to an individual, the folder gets bigger and bigger. The technology has improved to the point where they can extract enough DNA now on some of those remains. The toughest of the tough remains they're now able to get results from. Using a small deer bone, Kevin McKenna demonstrated how. Liquid nitrogen fills this container to freeze tiny pieces of the bone and make them fragile. Those pieces are pulverized into a powder which is treated with chemicals to extract the DNA and create a profile. The goal is to reference that profile against the existing database to find a match. It's the greatest honor to know that after all this time, we can actually make an identification. We can actually hand that piece back to the family so they can have that loved one with them. But nearly half of 9-11 families don't know that closure. In part because to this day, the medical examiner's office does not have reference samples for all 2,753 victims. We have 45 full, complete DNA profiles from remains recovered that we've been able to generate that don't match any reference samples. So in theory, you could make 45 identifications tomorrow. Absolutely. About 10,000 sets of remains reside here in the repository at the 9-11 Memorial and Museum where the North Tower once stood behind a wall with a quote from the poet Virgil. No day shall erase you from the memory of time. Next to the repository is a reflection room off-limits to the public where loved ones can gather. People go there to pray. People go there for birthdays, anniversaries. So it's, again, very personal for each family. It's personal for those who work in the medical examiner's office too, which is why they invited us here. Every month we identify remains. It's important that the public and the families know that we're still here. And that commitment is as great today as it was in 2001. Robert Moses, Fox 5 News.

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