The Freedom Tower

The remains of another 9/11 victim has been positively identified as that of a Scarsdale man.
The victim was identified by the New York Medical Examiner as that of Edward Ryan. Ryan’s remains were found in a Consolidated Edison manhole at Ground Zero last fall. Ryan was a vice president of Carr Futures. Ryan was one of 1,100 people who died at the World Trade Center but their bodies were never found.
The chief medical examiner last year sent a letter to the families of the more than 1,100 victims whose remains have not been found, telling them that advanced DNA technology may help identify their loved ones.

“I cannot say how many [we will match] or how long it will take,” chief medical examiner Charles Hirsch wrote in the letter to the families. “This is ongoing. We may have paused in our work, but we didn’t stop trying.”

He added: “We will never quit.”

The letter was a milestone because previously, the medical examiner told families that — though he would keep trying — chances were scientifically slim that future identifications would be made.

In what has become the largest DNA project in history, 20,730 human fragments found on or near the World Trade Center have been catalogued, and a database of DNA profiles of the victims has been created through DNA left on their toothbrushes, combs and other personal effects.

As of last year, 10,933 fragments were linked to victims, while 9,797 awaited identification, according to Ellen Borakove, public affairs director for the city medical examiner. There were 2,749 victims killed in New York in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.