New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced Monday that a victim of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks has been identified nearly 25 years after the event. The victim, an adult woman, was identified through a new application of forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG), marking the first time this specific technique has been used to identify a victim from the World Trade Center site.
The identification comes as the city prepares for the 25th anniversary of the attacks, which resulted in the deaths of 2,753 people in New York City. According to city officials, this individual is the 1,654th victim to be identified through the ongoing analysis of remains recovered from the site. The previous identification of a World Trade Center victim occurred in August 2025.
The FIGG process used in this case combines specialized DNA technologies with genealogical research to generate leads for identification. These leads are subsequently verified by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner using standard DNA testing and other forensic protocols. At the request of the family, officials are withholding the identity of the woman.
For the public and the scientific community, the successful use of FIGG in this context establishes a precedent for how emerging DNA technologies can be applied to long-term identification efforts involving degraded remains. A person following this news would notice that despite the passage of 25 years, the identification process remains active, transitioning from traditional DNA matching to more complex genealogical analysis. The cost of these specialized forensic services is managed by the city's medical examiner's office as part of its permanent commitment to the identification project.
The knock-on effects include a potential increase in identifications as the technique is applied to other unidentified remains from the site. This could lead to a series of notifications for families who have waited since 2001 for forensic closure. What happens next depends on the laboratory's capacity to process remaining samples using the FIGG method; however, the mayor stated that the city remains committed to the identification process as the 25th anniversary of the attacks approaches in September 2026.