Advanced DNA testing identifies another victim of 9/11

July 26 (UPI) -- New York City's chief medical examiner said improved DNA testing has allowed authorities to definitively identify another victim of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The testing identified Scott Michael Johnson, who died at the World Trade Center in New York City nearly 17 years ago, Chief Medical Examiner Barbara Simpson said.

Johnson, 26, was identified after his DNA was re-tested using a new and improved technique, Sampson added. He is the 1,642nd person conclusively identified from the terror attacks on Lower Manhattan.

The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people in New York City.

Johnson is also the first victim positively identified since last summer. He had worked as a security analyst at investment banking company Keefe, Bruyette and Woods on the 89th floor of the World Trade Center south tower.

"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," Sampson said. "This identification is the result of the tireless dedication of our staff to this ongoing mission."

More than 1,100 victims remain unidentified.