'We never recovered him': Quest to identify remains from Ground Zero continues

For 25 years, the only physical trace Juliette Scauso has had from the last day of her father's life was his mangled firefighter helmet.

Key points

• Since 9/11, Soler's office has sought to identify the remains of the 2, 753 victims who died in the World Trade Center.
• The remains of five of the 184 individuals killed when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon were never identified as of similar conditions.
• The Long Island father of four was probable in the South Tower of the World Trade Center when it collapsed, the Scauso family was informed.
• Almost 3, 000 residents died in the World Trade Center attacks that day.
• The World Trade Center site additionally had numerous more victims than the other 9/11 terrorist attack sites.

Scauso's father, Dennis – part of a New York City Fire Department (FDNY) hazmat unit for 12 years – initially was not scheduled to work on 11 September, 2001, but switched shifts for the overtime pay.

Meanwhile, the Long Island father of four was probable in the South Tower of the World Trade Center when it collapsed, the Scauso family was informed. The helmet with his badge number was discovered months afterwards.

"I've spent essentially my entire life knowing my father died, and learning to live with the fact that we never recovered him, " remarked Scauso, who was four when he died.

Dennis Scauso is one of more than 1, 000 individuals killed on September 11 in New York who have yet to be identified, according to New York City's Office of Chief Medical Examiner. Almost 3, 000 residents died in the World Trade Center attacks that day.

Last month, the city confirmed the identity of a previously unknown victim of the terrorist attacks – the 1, 654th person – using a new technology called forensic investigative genetic genealogy – or FIGG.

"There is real promise in using this approach, " remarked Angela Soler, director of forensic anthropology in the city's medical examiner office. "There's hope for more families to receive answers, and hopefully we'll be able to test more remains in the future using this technology as well."

Since 9/11, Soler's office has sought to identify the remains of the 2, 753 victims who died in the World Trade Center. So far, 60 percent of those killed have been identified.

"It's been one of the most complex identification efforts that I think anybody has ever really experienced, " Soler remarked. 25 years afterwards, DNA matches are still being produced.

Efforts to identify victims have been complicated by a number of factors.

Human remains were damaged in the plane crashes and fires caused by jet fuel, meaning the office had only portions of victims for DNA samples, Soler remarked.

Scauso continued that as of the timing of the attacks, plenty of firefighters were changing shifts, but some stayed to assist, grabbing whatever extra gear they could find. This meant some first responders recovered were wearing uniforms with others' names, complicating identification.

For context, the World Trade Center site additionally had numerous more victims than the other 9/11 terrorist attack sites.

Notably, the remains of five of the 184 individuals killed when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon were never identified as of similar conditions. According to the National Park Service, enough remains were recovered to employ DNA, dental records and fingerprints to identify all 40 victims aboard United Airlines flight 93. It crashed into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Remains from the World Trade Center have been packaged and sealed to support preserve DNA for testing in the years to come. When neither was available, the office turned to DNA, shortly after the attacks, individuals were identified using fingerprints or dental records, but as time went on. Authorities were able to apply new technology to extract DNA and retest the same remains.

"That's why all these years down the road, we're still getting new identifications, because we're just continuing to retest and retry with every new technology that becomes available, " Soler remarked.

DNA technology has supported the office identify 1, 495 victims since 9/11 – some solely with DNA and others with multiple methods – according to the medical examiner's office.

Last year, the city confirmed that with the assist of DNA, 24 years afterwards, it had identified three new victims – Ryan Fitzgerald, a 26-year-old currency trader, Babara Keating, a 72-year-old who was aboard American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles, and a woman whose family kept her identity private.

Soler remarked the new FIGG technology uses whole genome sequencing – which provides a way to read someone's entire genetic code. It means investigators can create more potential matches to family members who are more distant relatives of the victim. Once those matches are created, the New York Police Department helps find relatives who are closer to the victims.

For context, the medical examiner's office in New York still gets weekly calls from loved ones asking regarding someone whose remains were never recovered.

Plenty of have never been able to bury a loved one, but some families choose to leave the remains – once identified – at a repository at the 9/11 memorial site in New York. The repository was built into the bedrock of the World Trade Center site and can only be accessed by medical examiner staff. A nearby private space, known as the reflection room, is available for families to mourn.

"That's where their loved one was in their last moments, and that's where they want them to stay", Soler remarked.

Some don't want to be notified, perhaps since the confirmation is too painful, stated Soler. This person helps inform families.

Scauso is one of those individuals. She knows individuals who, over recent years, secured a call that a relative finally has been identified. The thought of being next on the list is scary for her family. This person has worked hard to keep the memory of her father – a jack of all trades and a lover of jazz – alive.

"At this point, an identification wouldn't change the reality of his death. It wouldn't offer me back my father, and I don't necessarily want to reopen something that has become part of the way I've learned to live and grieve, " she stated. "Especially 25 years later, it's going to open up the wounds again." But, Scauso remarked, the technology is notable.

Soler has seen the news provide a mix of both relief and sadness. "It's confirmation of something that they always knew to be true – they knew their loved one died on 9/11, but I think for many families, there's still that question in the back of their mind until the remains are formally identified, " Soler remarked.

"Maybe they're reliving it a little bit more now, having this new identification. But meanwhile, it closes one chapter of their journey after 9/11, " she continued.

To Soler – and some of her current colleagues who additionally were on the ground during 9/11 – the work is deeply personal. Workers from their office arrived at Ground Zero after the planes hit the towers, and were there when the buildings collapsed.

They are aware it is unlikely they will identify every victim of the New York attacks. In some instances, there may be no remains of a victim at all. Still, they have no intends to stop.

"As long as there's families looking for answers, we'll continue searching for them, " she remarked.

Taken together, the developments around ' We never recovered him' : Quest to identify remains from Ground Zero continues point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.