EXCLUSIVE: New DNA Technology Identifies Another World Trade Center Victim
New DNA technology has identified another World Trade Center victim more than two decades after 9/11.
Sept. 16 2026, Published 6:15 a.m. ET
Another victim – the 1,654th – of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center has been identified, thanks to a cutting-edge new DNA technology, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The individual was an adult woman whose family requested that her name be withheld.
New DNA Tool Offers Hope
Dr. Jason Graham said FIGG offers new hope when repeatedly tested DNA samples have not resulted in positive identifications.
The new tool, known as forensic investigative genetic genealogy – FIGG – is a collaboration between New York City's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and the NYPD's Investigative Genetic Genealogy Squad.
It combines specialized DNA technologies with genetic research into the victim's family.
FIGG offers new hope in cases where DNA samples have been "tested and retested over time" but haven't resulted in positive IDs, said Dr. Jason Graham, the city's chief medical examiner.
The woman is the first 9/11 victim identified using FIGG, and the first new identification in almost 12 months.
Nearly 1,100 people, about 40 percent of those who died when planes crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center – the largest mass murder in American history – are still unidentified.
Technology Helps Honor 9/11 Victims
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the victim's identification a 'powerful example' of pairing cutting-edge technology with commitment to those lost.
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"The identification of this victim through forensic investigative genetic genealogy is a powerful example of what is possible when we pair cutting-edge technology with an unwavering commitment to those we lost," said NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
