9/11 victim John Ballantine Niven identified through advanced DNA analysis
The remains of a Long Island man killed at the World Trade Center on 9/11 have been identified more than two decades after the 2001 attacks, the New York City medical examiner’s office announced Thursday.
The remains of a Long Island man killed at the World Trade Center on 9/11 have been identified more than two decades after the 2001 attacks, the New York City medical examiner’s office announced Thursday.
John Ballantine Niven, 44, was an executive at Aon Risk Services, an insurance firm on the 105th floor of tower two of the trade center complex, according to obituaries at the time. He and his young family split time between Manhattan and Oyster Bay, where he grew up.
Ellen Niven, his wife, said Thursday that she and their son Jack, who was just 18 months old when his father died, are grateful for the "extraordinary efforts" of city officials continuing the difficult task of identifying victims' remains.
"It is certainly emotional for me, and I'm sure many others, to hear many years later that DNA has been found," she wrote in an email. "It's a real tribute to the City of New York and the teams working behind the scenes all these years to honor that mantra 'Never Forget.' My son and I are so appreciative of this tremendous endeavor."
Niven is the 1,650th victim identified from the deadliest act of terrorism on American soil, when hijackers crashed airplanes into the Twin Towers, killing 2,753 people.
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