EXCLUSIVE: Mystery of 9/11's 'Falling Man' Photo Continues 25 Years On
9/11's 'Falling Man' photo has remained a mystery 25 years later, with questions about his identity open.
Sept. 9 2026, Published 6:15 a.m. ET
This disturbing yet arresting photo from 9/11 shows a solitary man plummeting to his death from the heights of the World Trade Center's burning North Tower.
The photo, taken by Richard Drew of the Associated Press moments after the impact of one of the jetliners, highlighted the terror of the moment and the courage it took that man to escape the carnage created by the cruel terrorists. RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Mystery of 9/11's 'Falling Man' Endures
Richard Drew's 9/11 photo captured the unidentified 'Falling Man' plunging from the North Tower.
But the identity of the "Falling Man," as he came to be known, became an ongoing mystery that has never been definitively solved.
The Toronto Globe and Mail unleashed reporter Peter Cheney to unlock his hidden identity, but when he determined it was Norberto Hernandez, a pastry chef at the penthouse restaurant Windows on the World, Hernandez's wife and daughter angrily denied it was him.
In 2003, writer Tom Junod dug into the story after Hernandez's widow implored him to "clear her husband's name."
In his resulting article for Esquire magazine, he determined the man was Jonathan Briley, a 43-year-old sound engineer at the restaurant whose brother Alex was a member of the popular group the Village People.
Briley's Sister Reflects on Haunting Image
Marcy Borders said alcohol helped numb memories of being trapped in the World Trade Center.
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Junod identified Briley by his orange undershirt and black high-top shoes and seemed to receive confirmation from Briley's sister, Gwendolyn.
She said, "I looked at the figure and I saw it was a man – tall, slim. I said, 'If I didn't know any better, that could be Jonathan.'"
And while Gwendolyn hasn't absolutely confirmed the man was her brother, she said: "He was someone's son, someone's husband, someone's friend.
"We don't do him an injustice by looking at his picture. We honor him by it."
