Remains sifted out of the ground zero rubble during the original recovery efforts following the September 11 attacks have been identified as those of a 26-year-old New Jersey man . Matthew David Yarnell , dubbed a 'merry prankster ' in an obituary that appeared in the New York Times , became the 1,640th victim identified from among the debris thanks to DNA testing , NBC New York reports . Yarnell was vice president of technology at Fiduciary Trust International . He was in a meeting on the 97th floor in the south tower when United Airlines Flight 175 struck . Family remember the Carnegie Mellon graduate as a funny man . 'He liked to have fun , ' his mother Michele Yarnell told the Times not long after the tragedy . Scroll down for video . Identified : The remains of Matthew David Yarnell have been identified from the original debris found at ground zero following the September 11 attacks . The death toll stemming from the attacks at the World Trade Center stands at 2,753 . Of those , 1,113 victims have not been identified through a DNA match to items provided by families — toothbrushes , combs , clothing or swabs from relatives . Yarnell was working on the 97th floor of the south tower when UA Flight 175 struck . With ever-advancing technology yielding results that were impossible a dozen years ago , the unique genetic code gleaned from the bits of bone is the only hope for families waiting for anything tangible to officially confirm what they already know : Their loved one is dead . In some cases , scientists have gone back to the same bone fragment 10 or 15 times , using new technology to attempt to extract DNA diminished by fire , sunlight , bacteria and even the jet fuel that poured through the towers . The painstaking process involves pulverizing the bone fragments , adding a special chemical to the powder and then spinning it all in a centrifuge to break open the bone cells so DNA can be extracted . Then comes the last , critical step — looking to match it to an item with the victim 's DNA provided by families — part of the medical examiner 's collection of 17,000 contributions . Family members have long endorsed the ongoing identification process , even as some protested last year 's move of the remains to the museum site , which they fear could be prone to flooding . 'Do n't put them in the basement , ' Rosemary Cain , who lost her firefighter son at the trade center , said at a protest against the move . 'Give them respect so 3,000 souls can rest in peace . ' Other families supported the move , saying the repository is a fitting site for the remains . 'It will show the world the way we treat our dead , ' Lee Ielpi , who lost his son in the attacks . 'Let 's get them back to the site . ' New technology : With new technology yielding results impossible a dozen years ago , forensic scientists are still trying to match the bone with DNA from those who died on Sept. 11 , 2001 , and have never been identified . A person demonstrates how to use a device used for milling and extracting DNA , at the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in New York . Yarnell became victim number 1,640 identified from the debris . Over 1,100 remain unidentified . The question is : How long and at what cost will the forensic team keep working to identify these last 9/11 remains ? The team 's annual salary budget is $ 230,000 , plus costs for follow-up work by other scientists and staff . Desire said that as new technology becomes available , the efforts to identify the fragments will continue indefinitely . Charles Strozier , founding director of the Center on Terrorism at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice , said that work must continue 'because our relationship to the Sept. 11 disaster hinges on being able to identify and pay respects to those who died . ' For Desire , it 's not just a grim scientific task — it 's personal . He was under the still-standing towers minutes after the two hijacked planes hit them , having rushed down with the then-chief medical examiner , Dr. Charles Hirsch . As the towers toppled , the men were struck and bloodied by falling glass and debris . 'It 's a service and an honor , working on something that has transformed American history , ' he said . The death toll stemming from the attacks at the World Trade Center stands at 2,753 . Of those , 1,113 victims have not been identified through a DNA match to items provided by families — toothbrushes , combs , clothing or swabs from relatives . Impossible to forget : There have been no identifications of 1,113 missing people and 7,703 of the samples of human remains can not be identified .
Matthew David Yarnell was at a meeting at the Trust International on the 97th floor when United Airlines flight 175 struck below . The unidentified native 's remains were recovered from those recovered from the original ground zero wreckage . Yarnell becomes the 1,640th victim positively identified from the rubble . That another 1,113 victims remains still unidentified .