Officials in New York City have confirmed the identification of three additional victims of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, thanks to advances in DNA analysis.
The remains were identified as those of Ryan D. Fitzgerald, a 26-year-old currency trader; Barbara A. Keating, a 72-year-old retired nonprofit executive; and a third woman whose identity has been withheld at her family’s request.
According to the city’s medical examiner, the breakthrough came from enhanced DNA testing applied to tiny fragments recovered from the World Trade Center site more than two decades ago in the aftermath of the al-Qaeda hijackings.
“Each new identification testifies to the promise of science and sustained outreach to families despite the passage of time,” New York chief medical examiner Dr. Jason Graham said in a statement.
“We continue this work as our way of honoring the lost.”
Three more victims of the 9/11 WTC attacks have been identified: Ryan Fitzgerald, Barbara Keating & an unnamed woman. They are the 1651st, 1652nd & 1653rd IDs made through advanced DNA testing of remains recovered in 2001/2002. About 40% or 1,100 of the 2,753 victims remain… pic.twitter.com/SRcckNwYjf
— Steven Bognar (@Bogs4NY) August 7, 2025
Barbara Keating’s son, Paul, told The New York Post that the medical examiner’s office for “still working their ass off” to bring closure to the victims and their families.
“And I don’t know how to react to that. It’s just an amazing feat, gesture – it’s more than that because they’ve been doing it as their life for 24 years,” Paul Keating, 61, told The Post.
“We’re talking about moving six blocks of Manhattan to Staten Island and going through it milligram by milligram for 24 years.
”I mean, isn’t that amazing to you. No one’s ever done something like that for me, my family ever and I couldn’t thank them enough.”
Almost 3,000 people were killed when terrorists flew passenger planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania.
In the years since, the city’s medical examiner’s office has worked to match human remains to those who died, with new identifications still being made as recently as last year.
Advances in forensic science have allowed specialists to revisit and test bone and tissue fragments that were badly damaged by fire, weather, and other environmental conditions.
“We hope the families receiving answers from the Office of Chief Medical Examiner can take solace in the city’s tireless dedication to this mission,” said New York Mayor Eric Adams in a statement.
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