Just weeks after the 22nd anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, medical examiners gave an update on efforts to identify the remains found in the wreckage.

“It’s an odd chance I could find my peace with my dad to know if he’s out there or what really happened,” said Michelle Sanay.


What You Need To Know

  • On Wednesday, medical examiners gave an update on efforts to identify the remains found in the wreckage

  • The office says improved DNA technology has allowed forensic scientists to identify nearly 15,000 remains

  • This month, the office announced two new identifications of World Trade Center victims

Sanay’s father, Hugo Sanay, is one of 1,104 victims of Sept. 11 whose remains have never been identified. 

He was a chef on the 84th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center.

“Just having memories. I wanna know what happened,” Sanay said while crying.

Sanay says her family doesn’t have a gravesite to honor him.

She hopes to change that. Sanay attended a panel with officials from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.

“I just got all the signs and now, with the email I received concerning this meeting, I felt like I had to come,” she said.

The medical examiner is still working to identify remains of those who were killed that day. 

“For the 2,753 victims, there were 22,000 pieces of fragmentation,” said Mark Desire, assistant director of forensic biology. “We set out with the technology we had at the time and because of the fire and the jet fuel and everything that destroys DNA, we weren’t getting a lot of identifications and we weren’t able to generate DNA profiles from a lot of this material.” 

The office says improved DNA technology has allowed forensic scientists to identify nearly 15,000 remains — despite those hurdles. 

“There are quite a few families that have asked to not be notified anymore. That phone call can be quite traumatic, and they’ve already dealt with that grief,” said Jennifer Odien, a World Trade Center anthropologist. 

She is tasked with notifying families that their loved one’s remains have been identified. 

Sanay says she plans to meet with the med and offer more DNA references and information in the hope of receiving that same phone call. 

“I just remember so little right now as I get older, so I hope this experience can bring me comfort after so long. I try my best every day to be like him — loving, caring, respectful, honorable,” she said.

Unidentified remains are located in a repository underneath the 9/11 Memorial & Museum.  

This month, the office announced two new identifications of World Trade Center victims — the first new identifications since 2021.