Palm Springs Woman's Remains Identified as 9/11 Victim Nearly 25 Years Later

New York City officials confirmed Tuesday the identification of Barbara Keating of Palm Springs as a victim of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, marking the 1,652nd person identified through DNA analysis of remains recovered from the World Trade Center.

Mayor Eric Adams and Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Jason Graham announced Keating's identification alongside two other victims, bringing the total identified to 1,653 of the 2,753 people who died in the attacks.

Keating died aboard American Airlines Flight 11, which crashed into the North Tower on September 11, 2001. Her remains were first recovered in 2001 but were only recently identified through advanced DNA testing conducted by the city's medical examiner office.

Keating typically spent summers in Massachusetts, where she was originally from, before returning home at the end of September each year. In 2001, she moved up her flight due to a family emergency, placing her on the doomed aircraft.

Keating was active in her local community, regularly volunteering at Saint Theresa Catholic Church in Palm Springs. Following her death, residents of her Canyon Sands neighborhood planted a lemon tree in her memory.

The identification comes nearly 25 years after the attacks, with approximately 1,100 victims—about 40 percent of those who died—still unidentified. The medical examiner's office continues using advanced DNA analysis and family outreach to identify remains.

"The pain of losing a loved one in the September 11th terror attacks echoes across the decades, but with these three new identifications, we take a step forward in comforting the family members still aching from that day," Adams said in a statement.

The city's Office of Chief Medical Examiner has identified 22 additional human remains associated with previously identified individuals in 2024, separate from the three new victim identifications announced Tuesday.