NEW YORK — The remains of a Long Island man killed at the World Trade Center on September 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 was a 44-year-old executive at Aon Risk Services, an insurance company 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 as they continue the difficult task of identifying victims’ remains.
“It is certainly emotional for me, and I am sure for many others, to hear many years later that DNA has been found,” she wrote in an email. “It’s a true tribute to the city of New York and the teams that have worked behind the scenes all these years to honor the mantra ‘Never Forget.’ My son and I are extremely grateful for this tremendous effort. ”
Niven is the 1,650th victim identified in the deadliest act of terrorism on US soil, when hijackers crashed planes into the Twin Towers, killing 2,753 people.
“While the pain of the tremendous losses on September 11 never leaves us, the possibility of new identifications can provide comfort to the families of the victims,” New York Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. “I am grateful for the continued work of the Office of Chief Medical Examiner that honors the memory of John Ballantine Niven and all those we have lost.”
The medical examiner’s office has used advanced DNA analysis in recent years to identify victims’ remains.
Ahead of the anniversary of the attacks last September, the agency identified the remains of a man and a woman, although their names have not been made public at the request of their families.
“We will forever remember our heroes who died on September 11 and we appreciate the continued efforts of forensic experts to help identify victims,” Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino said in a separate statement. “We are hopeful that this amazing technological advancement will bring peace to Mr. Niven’s family and that he can rest in peace forever.”
The remains of about 40 percent of the victims of the World Trade Center attack have yet to be identified, as few full bodies were recovered when the massive towers collapsed.
But as DNA testing has evolved, so have efforts to link more than 21,900 remains to individual victims. In some cases, scientists have returned to the same pieces ten or more times, hoping that new technology will provide answers.
The September 11 attacks killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, at the Pentagon and near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.