Forensic teams look back at 20-year mission to identify World Trade Center remains
ABC News
A team of New York City forensic scientists reflect on the two decades of work done to identify thousands of remains at Ground Zero.
In the two decades since the Sept. 11 attacks, forensic scientists have been hard at work trying to identify the 2,753 people who were killed at the World Trade Center -- but the road hasn't been easy. As of this week, the Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) in New York City has identified 1,647 victims, mostly using DNA from the human remains found at the site of the attack. But still, 40% of the Ground Zero victims haven't been identified. Mark Desire, assistant director of the OCME Department of Forensic Biology and manager of the World Trade Center DNA Identification Team, told reporters during a video call Wednesday that the investigation has been challenging, but after all this time, the team's mission remains the same: to help the families of the victims find some closure. Thankfully, new technology could help speed up the identification process.More Related News