9/11 victim identified using first-of-its-kind genetic genealogy technique
An adult female was formally identified using the technique, the 1,651st victim to be formally identified.
In a groundbreaking development, a victim of the September 11, 2001 attacks has been identified using a pioneering genetic genealogy technique. This marks the first time in 25 years that New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the NYPD Detective Bureau have successfully identified a 9/11 victim through this method. The unidentified female victim is now the 1,651st to be formally identified.
Dr. Jason Graham, the city's Chief Medical Examiner, expressed his delight at this milestone, stating that it represents a significant breakthrough in their ongoing efforts to identify the nearly 3,000 victims of the World Trade Center attacks. He emphasized that the application of new methods, specifically forensic investigative genetic genealogy, has enabled this identification for the first time in 25 years.
Forensic investigative genetic genealogy combines DNA testing with family tree research, a technique that was unimaginable 25 years ago due to the lack of available technology. NYPD Detective Gregory Paduano echoed this sentiment, noting that the methodology did not exist at the time of the attacks and that there is great potential for its future use in solving unidentified cold cases.
The medical examiner's office and the police department have already begun to explore the application of this technique to other World Trade Center victim identification efforts. Forensic anthropologist Dr. Jennifer Odien highlighted the promising prospects of this approach, particularly in cases where DNA profiles do not match their reference samples.
Currently, there are 47 such profiles that could potentially be identified using genetic genealogy, representing a small fraction of the 1,100 unidentified victims of the 9/11 attacks.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has committed to never stopping their efforts to identify these victims. Dr. Graham emphasized that the World Trade Center was the largest mass murder in U.S. history and the most complex forensic identification effort. He expressed optimism about using innovative methods to honor the families of the victims.
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