September 11th Families' Association

Last Updated January 5, 2010  

*Please note that these percentages reflect two new 
identifications, One of the identifications was made 
by retesting of remains from the Phase I Recovery 
and the second identification was from the 
Phase II Recovery.

                  

Posted January 5, 2010
UPDATE ON THE RESULTS OF DNA TESTING OF REMAINS 
RECOVERED AT THE WORLD TRADE CENTER SITE AND 
SURROUNDING AREA:

The Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) continues to work to 
identify as many victims of the 9/11 attacks as possible. New 
methodologies are being utilized for unidentified remains from the 
original recovery (Phase I) and for remains recovered during the 
current WTC PHR Recovery Project (Phase II)*.

Since January 2006, a total of 6317 bone samples have been 
selected for DNA re-testing (Phase I Recovery) and 1773 additional 
specimens have been recovered as part of the Phase II Recovery. 
This results in a total of 8090 samples that require DNA testing 
(Table 1). As of this report, 1696 remains have been linked by DNA 
to known individuals and 6394 remains are in various stages of 
testing (Table 1).


Table 2 presents a summary of victim identifications since January 
2006. There have been 23 new victim identifications and 29† 
previously unseen profiles for which there are no matching 
references. These values represent identifications from any 
modality.

Table 1. DNA Testing Summary from 1 January 2006 - 
        1 January 2010 :
                  

 

Table 2. Identification Summary:

 

Last Updated January 5, 2010.

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Medical Examiner Notice: 

As of April 1, 2009, the NYC Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has 
been able to make a new identification: 

Manuel Emilio Mejia, Age 54, Male Hispanic.

The identification was made by retesting of reference samples.

The number of WTC identification is now 1624.

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FROM THE  MEDICAL EXAMINERS’ OFFICE
31 October 2009

Dear Families,
An unfortunate incident occurred this morning at the 
Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), details of 
which we wish to share with you. 


At approximately 8AM this morning, a break-in was 
discovered  in the memorial chapel housed behind OCME.  
This chapel served as a quiet  sanctuary where 
families could spend time near the remains of their 
loved ones  and leave notes, photos, mementos, etc. 
behind.

While the incident is still under investigation and 
details  are sparse, what we do know is after the 
break-in, mementos were gathered and a  fire was 
started in the chapel.  We are unclear as to whether 
or not the  mementos were stolen or burnt but little 
remains inside the chapel.  Aside  from smoke 
damage, the chapel itself remains largely intact.

Please rest assured that we are doing our best to 
understand why this senseless crime occurred and 
who was behind it.  Out of respect for the families 
however, we want to share what information we do have 
directly  before it is reported by the press. Included 
below is the Mayor’s statement on  
this incident.

Another update will be sent when more details emerge.
Sincerely,

Nazli Parvizi                     Christy  Ferer
Commissioner                      9/11  Liaison                 
Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit    Office  of the Mayor
                  

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Identification Process
Ben Figura, NYC OCME

Several family members have inquired about progressin the
identification process. As of April 2009, 1,624 of the 2,752 
victims of the World Trade Center disaster have been identified. 
These identifications were made through traditional DNA methods 
and new technologies such as Mitochondrial DNA and SNPs. 
These new technologies are allowing the Office of the Chief 
Medical Examiner (OCME) to identify remains that could not have 
been identified in the past with traditional technologies.

However, the OCME has exhausted these technologies. When the 
OCME paused in the identification effort due to limits in technology, 
all families should have been contacted by the OCME. 

If you would like more information about the identification process 
or new DNA technologies, please call the OCME’s World Trade Center  
hotline at (212) 447-7884.

Please visit and scroll down on our News section, 
http://www.911families.org/news.html, for how to request 
information on the property and jewlery found at the 
World Trade Center site.

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Medical Examiner Notice: 


As of July 10, 2008, the NYC Office of the Chief Medical 
Examiner has announced that Sneha Anne Philip has been 
added to the list of people who died as a result of the 
collapse of the World Trade Center Towers.
                                       
Cause of Death:
                                       
Blunt Trauma
(Body not found; by order of the New York State Supreme Court, 
Appellate Division, First Department, 2221, Index 3542/03)               

Manner of Death: Homicide

The number of World Trade Center victims is now 2751 (07/10/08).

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This is a February 2003 article detailing the DNA 
Identification Process for victims of the attack of 
the World Trade Center.

February 2003