LOST FOR 17 YEARS
Hi-tech test of bone fragment puts name to WTC finance whiz
Scott Johnson, a securities analyst, was killed on 9/11. Only his wallet was found after towers fell (below), but new techniques in DNA testing led to a positive ID from a tiny piece of bone.
When the World Trade Center collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001, all that was found of Scott Johnson – a fearless world traveler who worked as a securities analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods – was his wallet.
Now, nearly 17 years later, his remains have been identified, authorities said Wednesday.
Through a new testing method that can recover DNA from degraded samples, the medical examiner was able to link a bone fragment recovered at Ground Zero in 2001 to Johnson.
His parents, Thomas and Margaret Johnson, were told last week after they returned from a European vacation.
“It was kind of a blow to the gut,” said Margaret, 71. “Obviously, it brought up all those sad days we endured. The only thing we've had of his all these years was his wallet.”
Yet the shock was followed by appreciation – for a city agency that has spent close to two decades bringing closure to families of 9/11 victims.
“My husband and I were very appreciative of the efforts of the medical examiner's office for keeping a promise they made to all of us that they would keep searching … keep looking for the remains of our loved ones.”
Johnson, 26, is the 1,642nd victim to be identified since hijacked jumbo jets slammed into the twin towers.
The last new identification was nearly a year ago, but the family didn't want to be identified.
“That took my breath away,” Margaret said. “Somehow I assumed that they were happening all the time and I just didn't see them, that people were dealing with it privately. It surprised me that so few had been made.”
More than 1,100 remains have yet to be identified, officials said.
“In 2001, we made a commitment to the families of victims that we would do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to identify their loved ones,” Chief Medical Examiner Barbara Sampson said. “This identification is the result of the tireless dedication of our staff to this ongoing mission.”
The bone fragment that was linked to Johnson was tested a number of times, but advances in technology and new techniques discovered by the medical examiner's lab helped make the identification possible, explained Mark Desire, the assistant director of the city medical examiner's Department of Forensic Biology.
“We have to break these bone samples down to small pieces to get access to the cells,” Desire said. “Through the years, that process has gotten better and better. We are also using new digestion chemicals to remove the DNA from the fragment.”