New York City scientists have finally been able to identify three more victims from September 11.
24 years ago, the Big Apple's iconic World Trade Center was targeted by four coordinated terrorist attacks, which saw 19 al-Qaeda hijackers fly two commercial airplanes into the Twin Towers; a third into the Pentagon, while the fourth was commandeered by passengers and crashed into a Pennsylvanian field.
2,976 people were killed in total - at least 2,700 of which during the Towers strike - yet only 1,653 of those victims have been identified in the years since. This is because investigators are working with tens of thousands of bone fragments and body parts.
Last week, three more bereaved families were granted closure.
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"This is the most complex forensic DNA identification effort in history, and it stems from the largest mass murder in US history," said Dr. Jason Graham, New York City's chief medical examiner, told the New York Times.
"Nearly 25 years after the disaster at the World Trade Center, our commitment to identify the missing and return them to their loved ones stands as strong as ever. Each new identification testifies to the promise of science and sustained outreach to families despite the passage of time. We continue this work as our way of honouring the lost."
It is believed that the families were contacted about potential DNA matches in 2022, and on August 7 this year, they were confirmed.
One of the three individuals remains anonymous at their family's request, yet 72-year-old Barbara Keating and 26-year-old Ryan Fitzgerald's were happy for their stories to be made public.
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Barbara, who worked as a receptionist at the St Theresa of the Child Jesus church in Palm Springs, was a passenger on the American Airlines Flight that hit the first tower.
In a remarkable twist, her hairbrush proved to be the key in bringing her home.
Her friend and colleague Mary Arthen commented: "It brought everything back again from 24 years ago.
"It was kind of shocking to me that it took so long to identify her. In my head she passed that day. It was just a devastating time for our church, so many people knew her."
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Mary also revealed that Barbara wasn't supposed to be on that fateful flight, but when her daughter had a car accident she made sure to travel home two days earlier than planned to aid with childcare.
"She got a ticket for that day and took that plane. She really was this very sweet, kind, quiet lady. She left a big hole in our church community," added her friend.
Barbara's son Paul also went on to share: "We had forensic experts telling us two decades ago, ‘Really, you should not expect any DNA because of the physical act of the explosion itself, because of the heat.'
"We’re talking about people putting in overtime 24 years later, for us. That’s the amazing, amazing part. You know they’re not going to stop until they’ve identified every person."
The second of the publicly identified 9/11 victims, Ryan, was working in the south tower at the time of the plane's impact.
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He was working there as a Foreign Currency Trader at Fiduciary Trust Company International.
Dan Seddon