Following the discovery in New York of a man feared dead after September 11, another ‘victim’ of the attacks has been found alive and well.
The last time a relative saw homeless Albert Vaughan was near the World Trade Centre site about a month before the attacks.
“Tell everyone I am alive and in good health,” the 45-year-old said by telephone from the Rockland Psychiatric Centre in Orangeburg, where he has been a patient.
He said he had no recollection of the morning of September 11 and did not seem aware that his family had feared he was dead.
The family of George Sims, a 46-year-old from New Jersey, also discovered he was alive recently, it was revealed yesterday.
The father-of-one, who suffers amnesia and schizophrenia, was believed to have been selling goods close to the twin towers on September 11.
He was later found at a New York health centre, but has so far been unable to recognise his family.
The case illustrates why an exact death toll for September 11 may never be known.
The city medical examiner’s office said a revised list of the missing and dead is expected to reflect at least five similar cases when it is released next week.