News You Can Use: September 9, 2026

After a Quarter Century, World Trade Center Identifications Continue
 
September 11^th changed countless lives. Many Massachusetts families and neighborhoods faced unimaginable loss that continues today as not only part of our nation's history, but also that of many communities here in the Commonwealth.  
 
Here's some insight from our colleagues at the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association about delayed identifications, which still occur, and how that affects survivors and families today. Whether you served a family impacted by 9/11 or not, you will want to reflect on this important information and the important role of the funeral service professional in understanding the impact of grief on the bereaved.
  
On August 24, 2026, the remains of a woman killed during the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center 25 years ago were identified. She was “the 1,654th victim identified overall through the ongoing analysis of remains recovered from the attacks,” according to the New York City Mayor’s Office. It is likely she will not be the last.
 
The work to identify remains, first started in the days after terrorists flew two planes into the twin towers on September 11, 2001, continues.
 
“A quarter century after the day that forever changed our world, we are keeping the promise to identify those who died at the World Trade Center in 2001 and return them to their loved ones,” said Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason K. Graham.
 
The progress and the process used to identify remains has not been static. Throughout the 25 years since 9/11, new technologies have led to new discoveries, bringing answers to families torn apart by the deaths that day and the lack of remains to inter.
 
Technology helps some families get long-awaited answers
The latest development in the quest to identify remains is FIGG, or forensic investigative genetic genealogy, in which DNA technology is paired with genealogical investigative protocols to find matches. The genealogical databases are made up, in part, of those who volunteer their genetic makeup. The data shared between the two can begin to build out a family tree, which in turn can help to identify anonymous victims of crimes.
 
The August 2026 identification was made with the assistance of FIGG. It was the first positive identification since three victims’ remains were identified in August 2025.
 
The sheer enormity of the task facing investigators working on the remains of unidentified 9/11 victims means that progress is slow and often painstaking, and there are logistical hurdles in their way at every step.
 
"These remains went through every possible thing that could destroy DNA, from jet fuel to diesel fuel, mold, bacteria, sunlight, all kinds of chemicals that were in the building," Mark Desire, assistant director of forensic biology for the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner, told the 60 Minutes news program. "Everything was present at ground zero, making this not only the largest forensic investigation in the history of the United States, but the most difficult."
 
1,099 victims still unidentified
Because of that difficulty, 1,099 of the more than 2,700 victims of the World Trade Center attacks remain unidentified. While that work continues, the remains of the victims, collected over years after the attacks, lie in a repository operated by the OCME and located in the National September 11 Memorial complex at the site where the twin towers stood.
 
Access to the 2,500-square-foot facility is strictly limited. A private reflection room for families of victims is part of the complex. The highly sophisticated identification process is conducted off-site. Those conducting the investigations are dealing mostly with bone fragments now, and families are notified when new identifications are made. Some families have been notified numerous times that remains, no matter how small, have been matched.
 
The identification process presents challenges for funeral directors when families may seek to inter whatever remains are returned.
 
Funeral directors must recognize that renewed grief can follow
Funeral directors should approach any calls with an understanding that conversations with the victim’s family are likely to be heavy with the weight of 25 years of wondering, said New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association Executive Director and CEO George R. Kelder Jr., CFSP.
 
“They may be overwhelmed,” Kelder said of the families. “They may not even know what they want yet. Our role is to slow things down and let them talk.”
 
Then, Kelder said, help in the ways that funeral directors are trained to do.
 
“We explain the funeral and disposition options. We help with the practical things. If there are questions about identification or forensic matters, we make sure they're getting those answers from the people whose job it is to provide them,” Kelder said. “We shouldn't speculate, and we shouldn't pretend to know something we don't know. But I think our biggest responsibility is simply to be there, to be present.”
After all, Kelder said, the interaction between a 9/11 family and a funeral director is “vastly different.”
 
“Most of us in this profession meet a family shortly after a death. There is a beginning to the grief, and we're there to help them through those first days,” Kelder said. “This is different because the grief has been going on for 25 years. Think about that. Twenty-five years of birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, children growing up, grandchildren being born all with that unanswered question sitting there. And then suddenly somebody tells you, ‘We've identified your loved one.’ That's going to bring a lot of emotions.”
 
Workers at the New York OCME have made it a priority to deal with those emotions with as much empathy as they can muster. The repository at the memorial contains thousands of fragments of human remains. For some, that may merely seem scientific. For families, it’s a place that holds someone they love, to be treated with reverence.
 
That’s why families still come, sometimes to sit in silence, sometimes to hear news about victims. But because the identification process is ongoing, it is, in many cases, not a final resting place.
 
“I think 9/11 changed the way a lot of us think about death,” Kelder said. “We learned that sometimes death doesn't come with an ending. There isn't necessarily a body. There isn't necessarily a funeral. There isn't necessarily a place where the family can go and say goodbye. And I think that's why these identifications still matter 25 years later.”
 
Standing by these families, even 25 years later, remains a priority, Kelder said, because even years after the attacks, they still are saying goodbye.
 
“We can't fix what happened on September 11. None of us can. But we can help a family through what comes next,” Kelder said. “And maybe that's the most important thing to remember. Twenty-five years may have passed, but to a family that has been waiting for an answer, this isn't 25 years ago. It's happening now.”
 
We extend our thanks to the New Jersey Funeral Directors Association for their permission to reprint this article. 
 
Calendar
 
September 16
2026 MFDA Funeral Service Appreciation Night
Renaissance in Framingham
Waitlist only.
 
October 8
OSHA Training Session
2 p.m. via Zoom | Register
 
October 14
Northeast Funeral Women's Collaborative, Sturbridge.
Watch for details.
 
October 22
OSHA Training Session
2 p.m. via Zoom | Register
 
November 12
Professional Embalmers Session with Dominick Astorino, Massachusetts Medical Society Conference Center at Waltham Woods in Waltham. Watch for registration information!
 
December 10
OSHA Training Session
2 p.m. via Zoom | Register
 
 
MAVRIC Support and Assistance Resources
 
REMINDER: RVRS Campaign Directed at Enrolling Offline Medical Certifiers: Funeral homes can assist with RVRS’s efforts to get offline certifiers enrolled in MAVRIC by providing the offline certifier and facility information using this RVRS Non-electronic Certifier Notification Form.
 
Phone support: Monday-Friday during business hours at 617-740-2667.
 
Frequently Asked Questions: MAVRIC FAQs for All Users
 
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Record troubles:
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Help for Funeral Home Users Enrolling in MAVRIC: 
Getting Started with MAVRIC for general information. The Enrollment Guide will walk you through the process. To enroll, click here.
 
Updated Quick Start Guides:
 
We've downloaded the MAVRIC Quick Start Guides for your quick access:
 
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Funeral Director Non-Electronic Attestation QSG
 
Funeral Director Personal Amendment QSG
 
Frequently Asked Questions: MAVRIC General FAQs