The remains of a 9/11 victim, unidentified for nearly 25 years, have been identified using a new forensic method, city officials announced Monday. The individual, whose name has been withheld at the family's request, is the 1,654th victim to be identified since the 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
This identification marks the first time the breakthrough technique, known as forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG), has been employed to identify remains from the event. FIGG combines DNA technology with genealogical research, involving collaboration between the city's Office of the Medical Examiner and the NYPD's Investigate Genetic Genealogy Squad.
Officials stated that this approach has also facilitated the identification of three other recently discovered sets of remains, providing further closure for affected families. The Medical Examiner's office described the identification of victims' remains as a "sacred commitment."
The FIGG system is considered a "promising addition" to the ongoing efforts to identify the nearly 1,100 victims whose remains have yet to be identified. "We will continue to work until every possible answer is found and every family that has been waiting can have the clarity and closure they deserve," Mayor Zohram Mamdani said in a statement.