Lost iconic 9/11 flag believed to have been found in Washington state
EVERETT, Wash. -- A U.S. flag that turned up in Washington state in 2014 is believed to be the flag that was raised by firefighters above the site of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.
The finding comes after a two-year investigation by the Everett Police Department, with assistance from forensic experts. The flag will be donated to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum.
Exactly how the flag wound up in Everett, a city about 30 miles north of Seattle, is a mystery. The flag disappeared from ground zero during the site cleanup. The police investigation began in November 2014, when a man dropped off a flag at an Everett fire station.
Former Everett Police Detective Jim Massingale told The Daily Herald “the flag is likely the same flag.”
The detectives’ investigation included DNA analysis, photographic comparisons and eyewitness identification.
“At first I doubted that that could possibly be true, it’s definitely such a big deal that it’s hard to imagine the Everett Police Department on the West Coast could be involved at all with having custody of the flag,” said Detective Steve Paxton to CBS affiliate KIRO.
KIRO reported that some members of the Everett Police Department are on their way to New York City to deliver that flag in person in time for a ceremony Thursday.
The flag will be unveiled at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, where it will remain.