'Missing': The mystery of Dr. Sneha Anne Philip - the woman who disappeared night before 9/11

In this episode of "Missing," we take a deeper look at Sneha's life and whether it's possible that she did not die in the attacks

ByKristin Thorne and Emily Hartmann WABC logo
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
9/11 Mystery: The Disappearance of Dr. Sneha Anne Philip
One of the listed victims of the September 11th terrorist attacks may not have been at Ground Zero at all. Kristin Thorne examines the mystery of Dr. Sneha Anne Philip.

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- The full story of the disappearance of Dr. Sneha Anne Philip has never been covered on television - until now.

The basic details of her disappearance - that she was last seen on September 10, 2001 shopping at a department store in lower Manhattan - have been reported.

However, lots of people who have read about her story studied her case, or who knew her have been skeptical about whether she died in the 9/11 attacks.

It was a question from a Redditor on a recent AMA (Ask Me Anything) that Kristin Thorne hosted that got us thinking here at "Missing" about Sneha's case.

In this episode of "Missing," we take a deeper look at Sneha's life and whether it's possible that she did not die in the 9/11 attacks as determined by only the New York courts - not by the NYPD, not by the family's private investigator and not by witnesses.

Did something happen to the 31-year-old doctor the night before the event that changed the course of history?

Is it possible that Sneha is still alive?

This conception of the series "Missing" began back in September of 2021, the first day Kristin Thorne covered the disappearance of Gabby Petito and met with her distraught parents on Long Island. The story consumed the next two months of Kristin's life.

Throughout this time, Kristin spoke routinely with Gabby's father, Joseph Petito. Most of what they spoke about, she has never reported, but one thing he made clear to her is that he wanted the media to cover other missing people. He said they deserved attention, too, and he was right.

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Kristin started to look at databases of missing people across the Tri-State area and as she scrolled through the hundreds of faces, she thought about not only those people but their families and friends and the ripple effect of pain that is caused when they disappeared.

She thought, "Maybe I can help?"

She started calling private investigators around New York City looking for cases to profile.

We first profiled the story of Leanne Marie Hausberg.

In our second story, we examined the disappearance of Chelsea Michelle Cobo.

In our third story, we investigated the disappearance of Corinna Paige Slusser.

In our fourth story, we examine the mystery of Dr. Sneha Anne Philip - the doctor who disappeared on 9/11. Watch the full episode above.

If you know anything about the disappearance of Dr. Sneha Anne Philip, call the NYPD Missing Persons Squad at 212-694-7781. All tips can be kept anonymous.

If you want to have a better viewing experience, did you know you can watch 'Missing' on your television set? Just make sure you add the ABC7NY app on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, and Android TV. To download our app, viewers can search "ABC7 New York" in the app store.

The general public is able to add a missing person to the Department of Justice's national database of missing people called NamUs. Visit https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/ and click on "Register."

CREDITS:

Kristin Thorne | Writer, Producer, Eyewitness News Investigative Reporter

Emily Hartmann | Senior Digital Producer, Videographer, and Editor

Stephen Cioffi Photographer

Josh Hartmann | Photographer

Rolando Pujol | EP Digital Content, Innovation and Strategy

Jim Gorham | Vice President, Marketing

Kim Dillon | Assistant News Director

Peter Kunz | Assistant News Director

Yoomi Chong | Creative Director, Design

Joseph Kollar | Graphic Artist

Brandon Nelson | Creative Director, Brand

Toby Hershkowitz | Marketing Producer

Robert Monek | EP Web and OTV Digital Project Manager

Brian McLaughlin | Assignment Editor

Brandon Cook | Media Manager

Alex George | Desk Assistant

Luke Richards | Senior Manager, Content Development

Marilu Galvez | President and General Manager

Debra OConnell | President, Networks Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution

SPECIAL THANKS

Townsend Davis

WABC Television New York, LLC | 2022