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More than a 1,000 victims from 9/11 are still unidentified.
A quarter of a century after terror struck New York City, local authorities are still working to give names back to those lost at the World Trade Center.
The city medical examiner’s office and police detectives have now identified an adult female victim using forensic genetic genealogy, ABC News reported.
Her family decided to keep her name private. Still, she becomes the 1,654th person officially identified from the disaster.
The method pairs detailed DNA testing with complex family tree records, a process that did not exist 25 years ago.
Science opens doors
Dr. Jason Graham, New York City’s chief medical examiner, told ABC News that the results are a breakthrough.
He noted that investigators are applying modern forensic investigative genetic genealogy to World Trade Center efforts for the first time.
Police have relied on this tool to solve cold cases nationwide, but bringing it to mass casualty identification marks a major shift.
Targeting remaining victims
Nearly 1,100 victims, representing roughly 40 percent of those killed, remain unidentified.
The medical examiner’s office confirmed that 47 DNA profiles are currently being targeted for genetic genealogy work.
“We already can see that it’s promising,” Dr. Jennifer Odien, a forensic anthropologist in the medical examiner’s office, told ABC News.
She explained that researchers are focusing heavily on DNA profiles that have failed to match existing reference samples.
Graham emphasized that city officials will keep their pledge to families regardless of how much time passes.
