Man seeks help returning 9/11 family photograph found in World Trade Center debris

Twenty-five years after finding a photo of a mother and baby in debris on his Lower Manhattan balcony, Al Cini is asking the public to help identify the family and return the keepsake. He believes the image may be tied to Fuji Bank’s South Tower offices, but the origin has not been confirmed.

Why it matters: - The photograph may be one of the few personal items recovered from the World Trade Center debris and preserved for possible return to a surviving family. - A possible link to Fuji Bank’s South Tower offices could narrow the search to former employees, relatives or others connected to that office space.

What happened: - Al Cini found the framed photograph of a mother holding a baby on his Lower Manhattan balcony several days after he was allowed back into his apartment in September 2001. - Cini also recovered documents from Fuji Bank among the debris. - Cini is now asking the public and the media to help identify the people in the photo and reunite the image with their family. - The renewed search drew attention after Cini’s sister, Alison Martino, posted the story on her Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page.

The details: - Cini lived a few blocks from the World Trade Center and worked in NBC’s technology department at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in September 2001. - After the attack, his balcony was covered with debris that included the photograph and Fuji Bank papers. - Fuji Bank occupied floors 79 through 82 in the South Tower. - Those floors were within the area struck by the right wing of United Airlines Flight 175. - The connection to Fuji Bank remains unconfirmed, but Cini believes the shared recovery location may help identify the family. - Cini initially offered the materials to the FBI and kept the photograph محفوظ? - For 25 years, the photograph has remained framed in Cini’s home while he waited for a chance to return it. - Cini said, “For 25 years, I’ve looked at this photograph and wondered who this mother and child are, and whether someone out there has been missing this piece of their family’s story.” - Cini also said, “My only goal is to put it back in the hands of the people it belongs to.” - Cini is available for media interviews about finding and preserving the photograph. - Anyone with a lead can contact reunite911family@gmail.com. - Brian Mayes of Nashville Publicity Group is the listed media contact at +1 615-771-2040. - The release also lists Nashville Publicity Group’s social media page and the group’s X account.

Between the lines: - The story has resurfaced because personal artifacts from 9/11 still carry emotional weight and can connect survivors, families and responders across decades. - The photo’s survival, along with bank documents, gives the search a possible geographic and organizational clue without proving where the image came from.

What's next: - Cini is hoping renewed public attention leads someone to recognize the mother or child. - Any credible lead could help identify the family and complete the return of the photograph.

The bottom line: - A long-held 9/11-era photograph is back in the public eye, and one man wants help giving it home.