NY NY - Sneha Ann Philip, 31, New York City, 10 Sep 2001

[GatorFL]

But so what? I think some are making correlations that shouldn't be correlations. She could have lived an alternative lifestyle. Or not. Her family may have approved. Or not. She may have had numerous affairs. Or not. They may have had an open marriage. Or not. She may have been conflicted about her choices. Or not. None of it argues in favor of or against her dying in the attacks, imo.

I could say that about this entire mystery. She could have been murdered on 9/10. Or not. She could have died by misadventure on 9/10. Or not. She could have died in the 9/11 attacks. Or not. She could have run off and started a new life elsewhere and sent a mysterious postcard to PostSecret........

You're being argumentative and you don't need to be. Let's face it, all we are doing here is proposing theories that won't be answered because there is no evidence to answer them and/or the family has moved on.

Fact is, Ron found all the evidence in this case which is the video of her at C21 and having his PI interview the clerk after she called in because she saw Sneha's missing flyer. After that, she's a cypher.

The only possible answer out there to be had is if a small fragment of her is identified via DNA analysis (a couple people from Ground Zero were named a couple months ago).

Like most of these mysteries it can be chalked up to shoddy police work.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

I could say that about this entire mystery. She could have been murdered on 9/10. Or not. She could have died by misadventure on 9/10. Or not. She could have died in the 9/11 attacks. Or not. She could have run off and started a new life elsewhere and sent a mysterious postcard to PostSecret........

You're being argumentative and you don't need to be. Let's face it, all we are doing here is proposing theories that won't be answered because there is no evidence to answer them and/or the family has moved on.

Fact is, Ron found all the evidence in this case which is the video of her at C21 and having his PI interview the clerk after she called in because she saw Sneha's missing flyer. After that, she's a cypher.

The only possible answer out there to be had is if a small fragment of her is identified via DNA analysis (a couple people from Ground Zero were named a couple months ago).

Like most of these mysteries it can be chalked up to shoddy police work.

Not trying to be argumentative. I just think there's been too much speculation about the role these things play when they're all just rumors, and implications of how her family would respond. I don't think it's fair to her or to her family to assume what they would or would not accept when we don't even have concrete facts about whatever lifestyle.

 

[GatorFL]

Not trying to be argumentative. I just think there's been too much speculation about the role these things play when they're all just rumors, and implications of how her family would respond. I don't think it's fair to her or to her family to assume what they would or would not accept when we don't even have concrete facts about whatever lifestyle.

Then the mods should lock the thread permanently because there would be nothing to discuss.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

Then the mods should lock the thread permanently because there would be nothing to discuss.

No I think there are very valid points being made. It's the speculation of her family from out of thin air that develops a life of its own that I find in poor taste. But perhaps that's just me.

 

[Ozoner]

No I think there are very valid points being made. It's the speculation of her family from out of thin air that develops a life of its own that I find in poor taste. But perhaps that's just me.

You need to consider the fact that she came from a Christian family from south India. Knowing what I know about the culture that her family comes from, I doubt very much whether her parents would have ever accepted any kind of alternative lifestyle that Sneha might have chosen. It would not be like a WASP family in the US that might hem and haw about a son or daughter's homosexuality but ultimately get over the shock and accept it. It would be a permanent rift. Brothers and sisters who grew up in the US might or might not have been more accepting, but people of Sneha's parents' generation who grew up in India—no way!
Her background is what pushes me in the direction of a voluntary disappearance.
ETA: If she is alive, and if she ever resurfaces, I don't think it will be until after her parents are deceased.

 

[GatorFL]

You need to consider the fact that she came from a Christian family from south India. Knowing what I know about the culture that her family comes from, I doubt very much whether her parents would have ever accepted any kind of alternative lifestyle that Sneha might have chosen. It would not be like a WASP family in the US that might hem and haw about a son or daughter's homosexuality but ultimately get over the shock and accept it. It would be a permanent rift. Brothers and sisters who grew up in the US might or might not have been more accepting, but people of Sneha's parents' generation who grew up in India—no way!
Her background is what pushes me in the direction of a voluntary disappearance.
ETA: If she is alive, and if she ever resurfaces, I don't think it will be until after her parents are deceased.

Her father died a couple years ago.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

You need to consider the fact that she came from a Christian family from south India. Knowing what I know about the culture that her family comes from, I doubt very much whether her parents would have ever accepted any kind of alternative lifestyle that Sneha might have chosen. It would not be like a WASP family in the US that might hem and haw about a son or daughter's homosexuality but ultimately get over the shock and accept it. It would be a permanent rift. Brothers and sisters who grew up in the US might or might not have been more accepting, but people of Sneha's parents' generation who grew up in India—no way!
Her background is what pushes me in the direction of a voluntary disappearance.
ETA: If she is alive, and if she ever resurfaces, I don't think it will be until after her parents are deceased.

You're making assumptions here. I'm intimately familiar with the culture of south India and I'm saying that you could very easily be wrong.

 

[branmuffin]

I think that Sneha was the woman in the video of the lobby of her building, so I don't think she made it into the WTC.
Sneha could have died in the ensuing collapse, but I lean towards a voluntary disappearance (with help).

I've watched this thread sporadically for a couple of years. If Sneha was still alive the morning of Sept 11, I would hazard a guess that she, like hundred of millions of people around the world, were in disbelief as to what was happening. The complete horror of the sheer level of destruction. I doubt that during such a life altering event, she'd snap her fingers and say, :Hey, what a great day to disappear and start a new life" then just melt away into the crowds.

So bare bones, there are three scenarios regarding her disappearance.

1. She is a victim of the attack on the WTC
2. She met with foul play on Sept 10
3. She voluntarily disappeared

Number 3 is a no go for me. Even if she wasn't interested in continuing her career in medicine (and we don't know that for sure, since many of her behaviors suggest deep unhappiness or depression) she still had enough empathy to train as a medical doctor initially.

Number 2 is a possibility since she had a cavalier attitude regarding spending nights with complete strangers. Her husband also seemed cavalier about her risky behavior. I doubt they slept in the same bed. Now if she had a habit of taking off and sleeping with random men, I would put more stock in her meeting with foul play because the odds of that happening are greater. I'm not suggesting women aren't capable of murder but odds are against it. Also, if she went to gay and lesbian bars how much of that did she relay to her husband? How does he know she went to them? Was this information just coming from the husband or did other members of her family and her friends verify this information?

Number 1 seems more likely to me. Unfortunately, I don't know if I necessarily believe her mother when she mentioned Sneha was planning on visiting Windows on the World that morning. It seems like wishful thinking to me; she'd rather believe her daughter perished in a terrorist act than think she'd run away from her family. I'm sure there were random tourists that died that day, or shoppers or couriers or any number of people who didn't actually work there. We will never know. Not everyone leaves a calendar of events of their day.

 

[DHT1339]

I've watched this thread sporadically for a couple of years. If Sneha was still alive the morning of Sept 11, I would hazard a guess that she, like hundred of millions of people around the world, were in disbelief as to what was happening. The complete horror of the sheer level of destruction. I doubt that during such a life altering event, she'd snap her fingers and say, :Hey, what a great day to disappear and start a new life" then just melt away into the crowds.

So bare bones, there are three scenarios regarding her disappearance.

1. She is a victim of the attack on the WTC
2. She met with foul play on Sept 10
3. She voluntarily disappeared

Number 3 is a no go for me. Even if she wasn't interested in continuing her career in medicine (and we don't know that for sure, since many of her behaviors suggest deep unhappiness or depression) she still had enough empathy to train as a medical doctor initially.

Number 2 is a possibility since she had a cavalier attitude regarding spending nights with complete strangers. Her husband also seemed cavalier about her risky behavior. I doubt they slept in the same bed. Now if she had a habit of taking off and sleeping with random men, I would put more stock in her meeting with foul play because the odds of that happening are greater. I'm not suggesting women aren't capable of murder but odds are against it. Also, if she went to gay and lesbian bars how much of that did she relay to her husband? How does he know she went to them? Was this information just coming from the husband or did other members of her family and her friends verify this information?

Number 1 seems more likely to me. Unfortunately, I don't know if I necessarily believe her mother when she mentioned Sneha was planning on visiting Windows on the World that morning. It seems like wishful thinking to me; she'd rather believe her daughter perished in a terrorist act than think she'd run away from her family. I'm sure there were random tourists that died that day, or shoppers or couriers or any number of people who didn't actually work there. We will never know. Not everyone leaves a calendar of events of their day.

if you don't believe that she was at WOTW the morning of 9/11 then how do you think she'd end up at the WTC site? if she wasn't at WOTW then there's only two possible explanations of why she'd be there when the attacks took place

1. she was returning home and was in the general vicinity of the WTC site when the first plane hit or not too long after

or

2. she is the woman seen in the apparent surveillance footage taken from the apartment building that shows someone entering the building and then exiting a few minutes later, 2-3 minutes prior to the first plane hitting according to the time shown on the CCTV

i don't think she ever ended up at the WTC on 9/11. in my opinion, she either ran off to start a new life or whatever you want to call it on 9/10 or she was murdered on 9/10 or in the early morning hours of 9/11. either one seems plausible to me. running off and starting a new life because of her personal issues or murdered because of the lifestyle she was living where it apparently wasn't uncommon for her to be out all night without returning home

but i always think of her brother when it comes to this case. why did he lie right off the bat about her being at the WTC? <modsnip>

 

[Ozoner]

I've watched this thread sporadically for a couple of years. If Sneha was still alive the morning of Sept 11, I would hazard a guess that she, like hundred of millions of people around the world, were in disbelief as to what was happening. The complete horror of the sheer level of destruction. I doubt that during such a life altering event, she'd snap her fingers and say, :Hey, what a great day to disappear and start a new life" then just melt away into the crowds.

So bare bones, there are three scenarios regarding her disappearance.

1. She is a victim of the attack on the WTC
2. She met with foul play on Sept 10
3. She voluntarily disappeared

Number 3 is a no go for me. Even if she wasn't interested in continuing her career in medicine (and we don't know that for sure, since many of her behaviors suggest deep unhappiness or depression) she still had enough empathy to train as a medical doctor initially.

Number 2 is a possibility since she had a cavalier attitude regarding spending nights with complete strangers. Her husband also seemed cavalier about her risky behavior. I doubt they slept in the same bed. Now if she had a habit of taking off and sleeping with random men, I would put more stock in her meeting with foul play because the odds of that happening are greater. I'm not suggesting women aren't capable of murder but odds are against it. Also, if she went to gay and lesbian bars how much of that did she relay to her husband? How does he know she went to them? Was this information just coming from the husband or did other members of her family and her friends verify this information?

Number 1 seems more likely to me. Unfortunately, I don't know if I necessarily believe her mother when she mentioned Sneha was planning on visiting Windows on the World that morning. It seems like wishful thinking to me; she'd rather believe her daughter perished in a terrorist act than think she'd run away from her family. I'm sure there were random tourists that died that day, or shoppers or couriers or any number of people who didn't actually work there. We will never know. Not everyone leaves a calendar of events of their day.

She needn't have snapped her fingers. The plan might've been in the works for a while.

 

[GatorFL]

if you don't believe that she was at WOTW the morning of 9/11 then how do you think she'd end up at the WTC site? if she wasn't at WOTW then there's only two possible explanations of why she'd be there when the attacks took place

1. she was returning home and was in the general vicinity of the WTC site when the first plane hit or not too long after

or

2. she is the woman seen in the apparent surveillance footage taken from the apartment building that shows someone entering the building and then exiting a few minutes later, 2-3 minutes prior to the first plane hitting according to the time shown on the CCTV

i don't think she ever ended up at the WTC on 9/11. in my opinion, she either ran off to start a new life or whatever you want to call it on 9/10 or she was murdered on 9/10 or in the early morning hours of 9/11. either one seems plausible to me. running off and starting a new life because of her personal issues or murdered because of the lifestyle she was living where it apparently wasn't uncommon for her to be out all night without returning home

but i always think of her brother when it comes to this case. why did he lie right off the bat about her being at the WTC? of course there's also the rumor that he caught her and his GF in bed, but who knows if that's true

Disagree. I could come up with many more reasons for her to be at WTC. Here's a few plausible scenarios:

1. She was having a relationship with someone with an office at WTC. After shopping, she went to that person's office and left the bags there. They went out, spent the night together and that morning she was in WTC to retrieve her bags and the plane hit.
2. She was going to check out WOTW and was in the elevator when the plane struck. Nobody knows about the elevator victims because they were essentially cremated.
3. She was at Wild Blue having breakfast when the plane struck and died in the collapse.
4. She was shacked up at the Marriott and when the tower collapsed was either pinned in wreckage OR she did not feel a sense of urgency to evacuate and died when the Marriott collapsed.

I don't think it was her in the lobby video. That video seems to be lost. Nobody has seen it publicly, anywhere. Also, Ron said it wasn't her. A sleuther on another site recently visited the area and said WTC is a 12 minute walk from 225 Rector.

 

[GatorFL]

She needn't have snapped her fingers. The plan might've been in the works for a while.

The PI found zero evidence she had been planning to start a new life.

 

[branmuffin]

if you don't believe that she was at WOTW the morning of 9/11 then how do you think she'd end up at the WTC site? if she wasn't at WOTW then there's only two possible explanations of why she'd be there when the attacks took place

1. she was returning home and was in the general vicinity of the WTC site when the first plane hit or not too long after

or

2. she is the woman seen in the apparent surveillance footage taken from the apartment building that shows someone entering the building and then exiting a few minutes later, 2-3 minutes prior to the first plane hitting according to the time shown on the CCTV

i don't think she ever ended up at the WTC on 9/11. in my opinion, she either ran off to start a new life or whatever you want to call it on 9/10 or she was murdered on 9/10 or in the early morning hours of 9/11. either one seems plausible to me. running off and starting a new life because of her personal issues or murdered because of the lifestyle she was living where it apparently wasn't uncommon for her to be out all night without returning home

but i always think of her brother when it comes to this case. why did he lie right off the bat about her being at the WTC? <modsnip>

I think you misunderstood. I think it is quite plausible Sneha ended up near or in the vacinity of the WTC. I said I didn't believe her mother's account. I think it was a fiction to bolster her desire for her daughter to die in a terrorist act rather than die as a murder victim due to her risky behavior or a conscious act to flee.

That could have been Sneha on the CCTV minutes before the first collision, and the clock was off. She could have spent the night at the Marriott with some unknown person. She could have been hit by falling debris on her way back home. We'll never know. But considering how close her apartment was to the WTC, the fact that she may have been coming home from an unknown location around the time of the attack and the fact she was a doctor, I'm comfortable with the premise she was a victim of 9/11.

If she wasn't a victim of 9/11 then I think she was still a victim of foul play, not necessarily by an unknown person. But that's way down my list in terms of percentages.

It's difficult to argue with someone regarding unknown facts; everyone here are just raising plausible scenarios without all the facts. They each have their own gaps of knowledge.

 

[Tower]

I don’t know if a fairly recent podcast about this case is fair game to link here, so I won’t risk violating the TOS. But the family has consistently said she could have rushed in to help at the WTC which is essentially impossible, as incoming access was cut off immediately to all except first responders with uniforms and equipment. Those who were there say that a small woman just running headlong into the chaos would not have been given a pass just because she was yelling she’s a doctor. Plus no witnesses saw anyone like that. And if she had done that, her remains would have been found, because she would have been more peripheral to the high-heat areas.

All guests at WOTW restaurants are known and accounted for via investigations. But I think it is plausible she could have been somewhere else inside the WTC because of her secretive lifestyle.

This is a fascinating mystery because there are holes in all possible explanations. That’s what keeps me interested.

These are all my opinions because I do not know if well-researched opinion from a podcast is a reasonable source. So, jmo

 

[GatorFL]

I don’t know if a fairly recent podcast about this case is fair game to link here, so I won’t risk violating the TOS. But the family has consistently said she could have rushed in to help at the WTC which is essentially impossible, as incoming access was cut off immediately to all except first responders with uniforms and equipment. Those who were there say that a small woman just running headlong into the chaos would not have been given a pass just because she was yelling she’s a doctor. Plus no witnesses saw anyone like that. And if she had done that, her remains would have been found, because she would have been more peripheral to the high-heat areas.

All guests at WOTW restaurants are known and accounted for via investigations. But I think it is plausible she could have been somewhere else inside the WTC because of her secretive lifestyle.

This is a fascinating mystery because there are holes in all possible explanations. That’s what keeps me interested.

These are all my opinions because I do not know if well-researched opinion from a podcast is a reasonable source. So, jmo

I don't know that all WOTW guests were accounted for, one of the presumed dead was supposed to be at the conference pilfering free food, but nobody knows for sure.

If it is the podcast I am thinking of, I'm sorry you listened to it if you listened to it all. I was not a fan, I listened to an episode and a half and I couldn't handle any more. The "bonus" episodes sounded like complete garbage.

 

[DHT1339]

Disagree. I could come up with many more reasons for her to be at WTC. Here's a few plausible scenarios:

1. She was having a relationship with someone with an office at WTC. After shopping, she went to that person's office and left the bags there. They went out, spent the night together and that morning she was in WTC to retrieve her bags and the plane hit.
2. She was going to check out WOTW and was in the elevator when the plane struck. Nobody knows about the elevator victims because they were essentially cremated.
3. She was at Wild Blue having breakfast when the plane struck and died in the collapse.
4. She was shacked up at the Marriott and when the tower collapsed was either pinned in wreckage OR she did not feel a sense of urgency to evacuate and died when the Marriott collapsed.

I don't think it was her in the lobby video. That video seems to be lost. Nobody has seen it publicly, anywhere. Also, Ron said it wasn't her. A sleuther on another site recently visited the area and said WTC is a 12 minute walk from 225 Rector.

pretty sure ron was very certain that it was sneha in the CCTV footage

and yeah she could have been staying at the marriott. didn't think of that one

I don’t know if a fairly recent podcast about this case is fair game to link here, so I won’t risk violating the TOS. But the family has consistently said she could have rushed in to help at the WTC which is essentially impossible, as incoming access was cut off immediately to all except first responders with uniforms and equipment. Those who were there say that a small woman just running headlong into the chaos would not have been given a pass just because she was yelling she’s a doctor. Plus no witnesses saw anyone like that. And if she had done that, her remains would have been found, because she would have been more peripheral to the high-heat areas.

All guests at WOTW restaurants are known and accounted for via investigations. But I think it is plausible she could have been somewhere else inside the WTC because of her secretive lifestyle.

This is a fascinating mystery because there are holes in all possible explanations. That’s what keeps me interested.

These are all my opinions because I do not know if well-researched opinion from a podcast is a reasonable source. So, jmo

she would have had to have been at the WTC site or very close by after the first plane hit or else she wouldn't have been able to just go and help out. like you mentioned, NYPD/FDNY restricted access to first responders at some point after the first plane hit and before the second one did. but i disagree that her remains for sure would have been found had she actually been there. there are many victims who were there and will probably never be identified. i believe they just identified a few more victims sometime in 2021 but only released the names of a couple. if sneha had been one of them i'm pretty sure the family would have had her name released

 

[GatorFL]

pretty sure ron was very certain that it was sneha in the CCTV footage

and yeah she could have been staying at the marriott. didn't think of that one


she would have had to have been at the WTC site or very close by after the first plane hit or else she wouldn't have been able to just go and help out. like you mentioned, NYPD/FDNY restricted access to first responders at some point after the first plane hit and before the second one did. but i disagree that her remains for sure would have been found had she actually been there. there are many victims who were there and will probably never be identified. i believe they just identified a few more victims sometime in 2021 but only released the names of a couple. if sneha had been one of them i'm pretty sure the family would have had her name released

You're definitely wrong about Ron thinking it was her. He didn't. The detective did think it was her though. Google is your friend on this.

Yes, two people were ID'ed in late 2021 via new DNA tech.

 

[Tower]

I don't know that all WOTW guests were accounted for, one of the presumed dead was supposed to be at the conference pilfering free food, but nobody knows for sure.

If it is the podcast I am thinking of, I'm sorry you listened to it if you listened to it all. I was not a fan, I listened to an episode and a half and I couldn't handle any more. The "bonus" episodes sounded like complete garbage.

I have no source, but there are sources quoted on on Wikipedia. Yes, I agree the conference is reported to have had a possible usurper, but Sneha was not speculated to sneak into that conference buffet. Her family proposed she may have been eating breakfast at the restaurant and those folks are believed to be accounted for. I think there’s plenty of room for uncertainty with 9/11, though, so she may have known a friend who took her to the conference’s buffet. All speculation with no way to confirm. Moo, I don’t think this mystery will ever be solved, but it sure is fascinating.

 

[GatorFL]

I have no source, but there are sources quoted on on Wikipedia. Yes, I agree the conference is reported to have had a possible usurper, but Sneha was not speculated to sneak into that conference buffet. Her family proposed she may have been eating breakfast at the restaurant and those folks are believed to be accounted for. I think there’s plenty of room for uncertainty with 9/11, though, so she may have known a friend who took her to the conference’s buffet. All speculation with no way to confirm. Moo, I don’t think this mystery will ever be solved, but it sure is fascinating.

Wild Blue was a popular breakfast spot as well. If she was in WTC for breakfast she could have been there and not at the conference breakfast.

Short of a DNA solve confirming she died at the WTC, I agree this will be unsolved. Even with a DNA solve, lots will never be known.

 

[DHT1339]

You're definitely wrong about Ron thinking it was her. He didn't. The detective did think it was her though. Google is your friend on this.

Yes, two people were ID'ed in late 2021 via new DNA tech.

ah you're right, it was the detective who believes it's her based on the woman's body shape, wardrobe, etc