Inside a New Jersey town that lost several residents to 9/11 terror | 60 Minutes Archive
In a Nutshell
Summit, New Jersey lost dozens of residents in the 9/11 attacks, with the Ranki family searching hospitals and morgues for Todd Ranki, a bond trader on the 104th floor of the South Tower. His final call to his wife described the first plane hitting before the second plane struck his building, leaving him among 66 missing Sandler O'Neill employees. The community held candlelight vigils while families continued searching lists of the dead and injured, though hope faded as the death toll rose and no trace of the missing was found.
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The devastation from the September 11, 2001 attacks extended beyond the rubble of the World Trade Center to the heart of hundreds of communities in the suburbs of New York, where families mourned the loss of loved ones who were still missing. Summit, New Jersey, a town of 21,000 people, had approximately 3,000 residents—20% of the adult population—working as bond traders, investment bankers, stock brokers, and clerks in the Twin Towers and surrounding buildings. Town leaders estimated that as many as 50 people from Summit may be unaccounted for.
Summit is described as one of the most comfortable and seemingly sheltered communities in America, where everyone knows their neighbors. One reason people live there is the easy commute: 35 minutes by train to the World Trade Center. Officials were keeping close watch of parking lots outside the Summit train station where some commuters who left on Tuesday morning had yet to pick up their cars—a grim sign that they may never return.
Across from the train station, approximately 3,000 residents filled the village green at a candlelight prayer service trying to comprehend the incomprehensible. Richard Rosen attended the service with his wife and two children. He described how the attacks had "snuffed out the lives of people who coached their kids soccer, who walked their kids to school, went out to have a beer with their friends," noting it "really gets right to the heart of this community."
Michael Mahern, one of the many parents who worked in the financial district, stated: "It could have been me. I used to work in the World Trade Center. It could have been me. It could very well be my children crying and my children being brought food and my children being worried about and being prayed over." Anne Grieski's seven-year-old son drew a picture of a plane crashing into the World Trade Center the night of the attack, indicating his awareness of the event despite not being told directly.
During the service, the minister called out the names of dozens of people still missing, including David Brady, Edward Calderon, Jim Connors, Tom Glazer, Bob Lawrence, and Todd Ranki. Todd Ranki, a father of three young children, worked as a bond salesman at Sandler O'Neal in World Trade Center tower number two on the 104th floor.
Debbie Ranki, Todd's wife, described their final phone call. Todd called around 8:50 AM and asked, "Good morning. How are the kids? How are you?" Then he said, "Oh my god, we've been hit. Something is the matter. Something happened." Debbie, who had the news on television, saw the fire and told Todd, "Listen to me. You got to get out of there." Shortly after that phone call, the second plane smashed into tower number two.
Two of Todd Ranki's co-workers at Sandler O'Neal were killed, 20 managed to escape, and 66 were still missing. Debbie maintained hope that Todd was out there and couldn't tell her where he was. One of Debbie's neighbors and friends in Summit was Michael Redudsky, a producer at 60 Minutes. She asked for his help in finding her husband.
On Wednesday morning, the family—twelve people in all—set out with 60 Minutes to search across the city. Todd's three sisters led the search party. The family stated they had to "walk the streets and learning what they're doing in the city" rather than sitting at home. The men in the family noted the women had "tunnel vision on finding Todd Ranky" and would continue until exhausted, saying they "gave it their best shot."
With thousands of people missing, the family had no single list of all the dead, injured, and missing. They began visiting hospitals including NYU, Beth Israel, and Cabrini. They also looked for other people who worked with Todd, reasoning that if a co-worker was in a hospital, Todd might be there unidentified. The injured were taken to 130 hospitals in the New York area.
By late afternoon at St. Vincent's Hospital, they finally found the master list with names of all the injured. Hospital staff confirmed they had no name matching Todd Ranky on the list and that it was updated hourly. This meant Todd Ranky had not been found alive. It was too much for Debbie to bear after walking and checking lists without finding his name.
The toughest aspect for the family was looking at Todd's children—his seven-year-old son and nine and eleven-year-old daughters. Each night when the family returned, the children asked, "Did you find him?" The family responded "No," but assured the children they were going back the next day to continue searching.
While the women took Debbie home, the men continued searching. Their first stop was Chelsea Piers, a sports complex where the ice rink was being used as a temporary morgue. They did not find Todd's body. One family member described the search as looking for "the needle in the hay stack," stating "My head tells me I'm not going to find the needle, but my heart's telling me to keep digging in the hay."
Early Thursday morning, the Ranky family drove back into New York City. By this time, the death toll stood at 94, and hope was fading for the more than 4,000 people still listed as missing. Along with thousands of others, the Rankys went to the armory where for the first time there was a list that included the dead as well as identifiable body parts. One family member described looking for his brother on the list as "the most disgusting thing I've ever done in my life," comparing it to "looking at the list of the dead from the war."
Todd Ranky was not on any list of the dead or injured at any hospital. The family planned to continue calling hospitals, asking people to put his picture out, watching the news for updates on found individuals, and coming into New York every day looking for answers. They described themselves as "a strong group" who would "get through this."
On Friday night back in Summit, New Jersey, family members and neighbors put up a flagpole on the Rankys' front lawn. Todd Jr. raised the American flag, and then the children lowered it to half staff.
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