Scientists still identifying 9/11 victims' remains | 60 Minutes Archives
In a Nutshell
New York’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner continues to identify 9/11 victims 22-plus years later using ever-improving DNA technology, having so far identified 60 % of the 2,753 victims while 1,101 remain unknown. Recent successes—such as the 2023 match for insurance executive John Nan—rely on cryogenic grinding, chemical amplification, and exhaustive re-testing of tiny bone fragments against family reference samples collected in 2001. Families receive in-person notifications and decide whether to accept remains, leave them in the medical examiner’s repository, or decline further updates, reflecting the ongoing promise that every fragment will be pursued until no family is left waiting.
These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
It seems hard to remember when America was united. But recently, we were reminded of such a time, the morning of September 11th, 2001, when all Americans pledged to persevere together. Nearly a quarter century ago, the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner made a promise to identify the remains of the lost souls of 9/11. Not many are aware, but that work has never stopped. Today, more than 1,000 families still wait for word, and you're about to meet two for whom the promise was kept.
The most recent identification came this past December when Ellen Nan was decorating her Christmas tree. Two police officers came to her door with news of her husband, John, who had been missing 22 years. John was her husband. She met him when she was 24 years old and had moved to New York. He was an incredible person described by people who knew him as a real gentleman, very old school, old soul, wonderful father. He was very happy when they had their young son and spent a lot of time with him. He was a great friend to a lot of people.
John Nan was a 44-year-old insurance executive bound for his office on the 105th floor of the South Tower as the terrorist attack began. The first building was hit. John was in the second building, the South Tower. He had an opportunity to call her. He said, "Hi, honey. It's me. Uh, if you hear anything on the news, don't worry. I'm okay." It was the other building.
Sign in to read the full notes
Get access to AI-generated notes, topic timestamps, and more.