Twenty‑five years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, families of the nearly 3,000 victims continue to seek closure as the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) pushes forward with advanced DNA identification methods.
Personal stories of hope and healing
“(A total of) 2,977 people were killed on 9/11. Each one of them had a family. Each one of them had a story,” said Patrick Dowdell, who lost his father, firefighter Kevin Dowdell, in the attacks. Patrick recalled how, as a teenager, he and his brother James went to Ground Zero hoping to find their dad. Though they never recovered his remains, a Halligan tool bearing his initials offered a tangible reminder of his sacrifice.
Logan Miller, whose uncle Court Officer Mitchel Wallace perished while rushing to help at the World Trade Center, described the painful uncertainty that followed the tragedy. Witness accounts eventually confirmed that Wallace ran into the South Tower minutes before it collapsed. About a year and a half later, DNA testing identified his remains, providing the family with the closure they needed.
Progress in identification efforts
To date, the OCME has positively identified 1,654 victims, roughly 60% of the total. The agency remains committed to its promise to identify every victim, no matter how long it takes. Recent advances include the adoption of forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG), a technique that extends DNA matching beyond immediate relatives.
Mike Cariola, CEO and President of Bode Technology—the nation’s largest private DNA analysis laboratory and a longtime partner of the OCME—praised the breakthrough. “FIGG allows forensic scientists to go beyond the immediate family and make the ID from more distant relatives. Hopefully this is just the beginning of many more IDs,” he said.
Technology and dedication behind the work
Following the attacks, Bode Technology quickly developed procedures to extract high‑quality DNA from severely fragmented remains. Cariola noted that the work was emotionally draining but driven by a shared dedication to the mission of helping families and the city heal.
Carolyn Cariola added, “It is amazing that so many technologies were optimized and utilized as a result of the 9/11 attack. The OCME continues that work today utilizing many of the same approaches and improving upon them.”
Looking ahead
While more than 1,000 families still await confirmation, the continued use of FIGG and other cutting‑edge methods offers hope that the remaining unidentified victims will eventually be named. The OCME’s statement underscores its solemn promise: “OCME keeps its solemn promise to the families of 9/11 victims by continuing the identification effort, including the recent incorporation of the breakthrough technique of forensic investigative genetic genealogy in collaboration with the New York City Police Department.”
For families like the Dowdells and Millers, each new identification represents a step toward healing, honoring the memory of those who gave everything on that tragic day.
Original reporting: WESH Orlando — read the source article.
