New York City identifies second 9/11 victim via genetic genealogy

New York City officials have announced the identification of a second victim of the September 11 World Trade Center attacks using advanced investigative genetic genealogy (IGG). The victim, a woman killed during the collapse of the Twin Towers, will not be publicly named due to her family’s request.

This marks the second successful identification made by the city medical examiner’s office using this emerging technique, following a previous breakthrough in August. The process involves the NYPD’s specialized genetic genealogy squad, which compares genetic profiles with publicly available ancestry databases to reconstruct family lineages.

Identifying victims at Ground Zero remains a significant challenge due to harsh conditions that make extracting viable DNA difficult. Currently, 1,098 victims from the attacks remain unidentified. However, the medical examiner’s office has collected 47 new genetic samples that are capable of undergoing genealogical review.