What Remains of 9/11 Hijackers Is Unwanted

Work continues to ID fragments, but what to do with them?

By Laurel Jorgensen, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 4, 2009 6:43 PM CST

(Newser) – More than seven years after the September 11 attacks, meticulous work continues to identify the charred remains of those killed that day—including the hijackers. Less than 24 pounds of flesh and bone fragments linked to the terrorists are stored in undisclosed locations in New York and Virginia, Newsweek reports. But with no family members or foreign governments claiming what’s left of the terrorists, it’s unclear what the US government intends to do with the remains.

The FBI and the New York Medical Examiner’s office have no policy that dictates what should be done. The brother of one victim suggests “stomping on them,” while New York Gov. David Paterson says to “finish burning them.” The relative of another victim says the hijackers' families should receive the remains if they do come forward: “We are all entitled to burial according to our religion or conviction.”

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Margaret McCalla of Brooklyn pauses to remember her cousin, firefighter William Henry, at Ground Zero on the anniversary of the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks in New York, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008. (AP Photo/Chad Rachman, Pool)

A staircase from the World Trade Center at Ground Zero is moved to its final resting place in New York, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2008. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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They didn't want to bury them, and they certainly won't put them in the same memorial as the victims. Everyone is waiting because no one quite knows what to do.
- Howard Baum, former deputy of New York's Department of Forensic Biology

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What Remains of 9/11 Hijackers Is Unwanted