Palm Springs Woman Killed on 9/11 Identified Nearly 24 Years Later

Nearly 24 years after the September 11 attacks, a Palm Springs woman who perished that day has been positively identified through advanced DNA testing. Authorities confirmed that 72-year-old Barbara Keating, a longtime volunteer at St. Teresa’s Catholic Church, was among those killed when American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center.

Keating had been visiting Boston when a family emergency prompted her to change her travel plans and catch an earlier flight home. Parish secretary Mary Arthen recalls the moment church staff realized Keating had been on the hijacked plane. "When she hadn't called, and then we heard all this, he got worried. He said, Wait a minute. I think that was her flight. So we had to go back and look. He realized that it that the flight, her flight that hit the first tower.”

Known for her devotion to helping others, Keating was instrumental in organizing religious education classes at the church. In the days following the attacks, St. Teresa’s held a mass in her honor, a tradition that has continued every year on September 11th. This year, church members are planning another memorial, honoring Keating alongside all victims of the attacks. “She was so devoted,” Arthen reflected. “It still feels close to home, even after all these years.”