Sneha Anne Philip: Disappeared in the Shadow of 9/11

Summary

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The Final Hours: "Sneha Anne Philip: Disappeared in the Shadow of 9/11"

Podcast: The Final Hours with Sarah Turney and Kourtney Nichole
Host: Crime House
Episode Date: March 2, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Sarah Turney and Kourtney Nichole explore the mysterious disappearance of Dr. Sneha Anne Philip, a 31-year-old physician last seen in Manhattan the day before 9/11. With their signature blend of empathy and forensic curiosity, Sarah and Kourtney dig into Sneha’s final hours, the critical—but often overlooked—details of her case, and the devastating impact of her vanishing amidst the chaos of a national tragedy. The hosts discuss theories, family perspectives, and the investigative challenges that followed, attempting to illuminate answers for Sneha’s family and for listeners left haunted by unresolved questions.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. A Day in the Life: Setting the Scene

• The Last Sighting: Century 21 department store, September 10, 2001, at 4:56 pm, captured on stop-motion security footage. Sneha is peaceful and focused, flipping through coats (00:06).
• Uncertainty Abounds: Confirmed sighting at Century 21 versus unclear security footage at her apartment the next morning (00:54).
• The Questions: Did Sneha return home and leave to help on 9/11? Or did she go missing before the attacks? The ambiguity is “still haunting” her loved ones decades later (00:54).

2. Sneha’s Background & Personality

• An independent, outgoing, and creative spirit, Sneha balanced pre-med and creative writing at Johns Hopkins, explored the Seattle rave scene, and pursued medical school in Chicago (04:46).
• Met and married Ron Lieberman, sharing a loving, supportive relationship despite demanding residency schedules (06:15).
• Quote (Sarah): “This is a woman who appears to have done everything right... it just... I mean, it really does break my heart.” (09:32)

3. Legal and Professional Turmoil

• Sneha experienced escalating troubles at work, from tardiness to accusations of substance use, leading to her residency contract not being renewed in May 2001 (07:50).
• A chilling turning point: a male supervisor from Cabrini allegedly assaulted her. Sneha reported the incident but faced retaliation and charges herself after recanting, resulting in jail time (07:50–09:44).
• Quote (Kourtney): “Victims who come forward and do the textbook right things... are retaliated against.” (09:44)

4. Final Days & Routine Disruptions

• September 7–9: Time with family, parties, rollerblading, and preparing for her cousin’s upcoming visit (10:30–11:13).
• September 10: Court date, plea of not guilty, loving farewell to Ron as he leaves for work (11:13–12:14).
• Instant messages with her mother about future plans—including checking out a wedding venue atop the World Trade Center—highlighting optimism for the future (12:14–13:06).
• Quote (Sarah): “This is clearly a woman who had plans for the future. She was excited, she was happy...” (12:48)

5. The Timeline: The Last Verified Movements

• Errands: Dropped off dry cleaning, shopped at Century 21 (14:12).
• Purchases: Dress, pantyhose, lingerie, bed linens, three pairs of shoes—totaling $550 (14:12–14:59).
• Left the store approx. 7:20 pm, carrying two bags; did not return home by 11 pm (14:59).
• Quote (Sarah): “Who goes and buys bed sheets before they plan to disappear? I wouldn’t.” (16:06)
• Pattern: Sneha sometimes stayed out with friends/family when Ron worked late, but always eventually checked in—this time, she didn’t (16:53).

6. The Shadow of 9/11

• On the morning of September 11, Ron is initially unconcerned but grows frantic when Sneha doesn’t return amidst the attacks (18:29–19:40).
• He searches for her while the city is in chaos, puts up flyers, and tries to draw media attention by suggesting she may have perished in the attacks (20:28–22:57).
• Family fabricates a 9/11-related scenario for the media, hoping for leads (23:21–24:37).
• Quote (Sarah): “When you start being deceptive, it detracts from the facts of her story. And that’s my concern in this.” (22:57)

7. Investigative Struggles and Theories

• Ron’s amateur sleuthing yields a sighting at Century 21 and a possible companion, but security footage is inconclusive (24:37–27:11).
• PI uncovers that Sneha sometimes stayed with strangers, often in the city, but finds no evidence of her planning to disappear (27:11).
• Filmmaker’s key detail: “She would not have left her identification or bank cards.” (27:38)

8. Critical Evidence & the Unresolved Mystery

• Security footage from the apartment building lobby at 8:43 am, September 11: a woman resembling Sneha enters, then immediately exits (31:35–33:01).
• She’s not carrying her shopping bags, though some scenarios could explain their absence (33:01–33:13).
• Quote (Sarah): “The shopping bags get me in this case. I want to know where those shopping bags are.” (33:15)

9. Legacy, Aftermath, and Ongoing Questions

• Initial police theory: Sneha was lost in the attacks, and her name was included in the victims’ memorials (34:23–34:36).
• Later, personal revelations and rumors led to her name’s temporary removal from the official 9/11 victims list due to “insufficient evidence” and unproven rumors about her personal life (35:44–36:55).
• Family’s view: Those aspects were exaggerated or misunderstood—a bias against Sneha’s lifestyle, not evidence of intent to disappear (36:55–37:54).
• Court eventually restores her 9/11 victim status in 2008 (37:54–38:09).
• Quote (Sarah): “Who cares if she slept with women, you know, if her husband was okay with it... I feel like they’re just kind of shaming her for the sake of shaming her.” (38:32)
• Quote (Kourtney): “With some of the lies that Ron told, I feel like that kind of hindered the investigation a little bit... he was really just trying to help find his wife.” (39:18)

10. Reflection and Call to Action

• The hosts emphasize the legacy of Sneha as a loved and social woman, honored as a hero, possibly lost while trying to help others (40:08–41:52).
• Detailed physical description and plea for information close the episode (41:52–42:34).

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Sarah on Last Sightings:
  “She's buying something boring, like bed linens. That feels like a mundane, everyday thing... it just points to her not wanting to leave on her own.” (16:06)

• Kourtney on Investigating Disappearances:
  “Those last moments before someone you love disappears... can stick with the families of these missing people.” (15:39)

• Sarah on Media and Family:
  “When you start being deceptive, it detracts from the facts of her story. And that’s my concern in this.” (22:57)

• Kourtney on the Shopping Bags:
  “We always hear it only takes the tiniest little detail for a case to be cracked wide open... I think these shopping bags could be that tiny little detail.” (33:32)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:06 – Surveillance footage shows Sneha’s last confirmed sighting at Century 21.
• 04:46–07:50 – Sneha’s background, personality, and relationship with Ron.
• 09:32–10:30 – Sexual harassment, retaliation, and job loss.
• 12:14–13:41 – Sneha’s last extended interaction with her family.
• 14:12–14:59 – Detailed last known movements, purchases, and timeline.
• 18:29–20:28 – Ron’s realization of Sneha’s disappearance during 9/11.
• 23:21–24:37 – Family’s media strategy and impact on investigation.
• 24:37–27:38 – Sightings, companion mystery, and PI investigation.
• 33:01–33:15 – The unresolved issue of the shopping bags.
• 35:44–36:55 – Rumors and removal from the 9/11 victim list.
• 38:32–40:08 – Discussion of bias, misrepresentation, and lasting impact.
• 41:52 – Physical description and appeal for information.

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Conclusion & Host Reflections

Sarah and Kourtney stress the importance of scrutinizing "the final hours" for overlooked details that might bring resolution. They urge listeners to see through rumor and stigma, focus on factual leads, and honor Sneha as she lived: with love, hope, and commitment. The unresolved location of her shopping bags lingers as the symbol of unfinished business—one small clue that might one day unravel the truth.

If you have any information about Sneha Anne Philip, contact the NYPD at [phone].

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“Sometimes all we’re left with is theories and speculation. But our best guesses start with the facts we know.” — Sarah Turney (40:08)

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Transcript

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[Sarah Turney]

This is Crime House. You're watching the surveillance footage from inside a New York City department store called Century 21. This particular camera is in the coat department. And the footage skips because it's stop motion. The date reads September 10, 2001. And the timestamp, 4:56pm the day before the world changed forever. On the bottom left of the screen, you see a young Indian woman come into view. She wears a dark colored maxi dress and her hair is half up in a ponytail. As she makes her way around the room, flipping through the jackets, she looks peaceful and focused. Time lapses. Three minutes. And then she disappears from the frame. This is the last confirmed sighting of Sneha and Filip.

[Courtney Nicole]

Confirmed being the operative word here. Another piece of security footage was taken at Sneha's apartment building the next day. And this one came with a whole handful of questions like did this young doctor make it home the next morning but leave to help victims of the 911 attacks? Or had she already gone missing before that day, before anyone knew the world was about to change? 25 years later, those questions seem still haunt the loved ones of Sneha and Philip. Every year, over half a million people go missing. And that's just in the United States alone. Most of those stories barely get a headline. Some don't even get a flyer or a tip line. And when cases do get media attention, we usually only get the broad strokes.

[Sarah Turney]

But for those of us who have lived these true crime cases, we know the devil's in the details. This is the Final Hours. A Crime House original Powered by Pave Studios. I'm Sarah Turney.

[Courtney Nicole]

And I'm Courtney Nicole. Every Monday, Sarah and I will be looking at the final hours of someone's disappearance. The small, seemingly mundane moments to see if there was anything hiding in plain sight.

[Sarah Turney]

Looking back at those last conversations, connections and choices is critical. And it could be the key to unlocking it all. Each episode I'll offer insight on what those close to the victim might have been going through. And Kourt will use her expertise to give more context into the crime scene, the red flags and the investigation itself. And we want to thank you all for being a part of the Crime House community. Please rate, review and follow the show and for ad free access to every episode. Subscribe to Crime House on Apple Podcasts.

[Courtney Nicole]

This time we're discussing the disappearance of Sneha and Philip. On September 10, 2001, the 31 year old physician had the day off from work. She tidied the apartment she shared with her husband. Chatted with her mom and then stepped out to run errands. But she never returned. Could a trip to a department store be the key to unraveling her story? Or did Sneha become another victim in the September 11 attacks?

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Find pros for all your home [e-mail] It's 2001. 31 year old Sneha Ann Philip is recently married, and she's been hinting to her mom that she might want kids. She has a new job that she likes, a relationship she's happy in, and she's incredibly proud of how far she and her family have come. Sneha was born in Kerala, India. When she was three years old, her father received an American visa in a lottery for doctors. After that, Sneha's parents moved to Albany, New York, where they raised her and her two brothers. From early on, Sneha showed signs of being an independent, strong young woman. She was outgoing, energetic, expressive, and friendly to everyone. But after graduating high school in 1987, Sneha left New York to find her own place in the world. While studying at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, she pursued both pre med and creative writing. She was a poetic writer and an abstract painter. But ultimately she decided to follow in her father's footsteps and become a doctor. Still, it was very on brand for her to do things her own way. So Sneha took some time off after she finished undergrad in May 1991. By 1993, she'd moved to Seattle to explore the rave scene while taking classes at the University of Washington. Finally, in the summer of 1994, she landed at med school in Chicago. Sneha's whole life changed in 1995 when she met Ron Lieberman at Chicago Medical School. He was a guitar player from Los Angeles who rocked shoulder length hair and a goatee. Their creative spirit set them apart from their medical school classmates and they started dating soon after they met. In 1999, Sneha and Ron graduated and both landed internships in New York City. By July, Sneha was working as an internal medicine resident at the Cabrini Medical center in Manhattan, while Ron started as an emergency medicine resident at the Jacoby Medical center in the Bronx. They moved into a sunny one bedroom apartment in Battery Park City, two blocks from the World Trade Center. They also had two adorable cats, Fika and Kali. Sneha was happy to be living close to her family again. Her younger brother John was just five minutes away by foot and her parents lived only an hour away by train in New York's Dutchess County. But in the city, Sneha and Ran worked crazy schedules. Still, they made time for each other. They'd watch jazz bands play in Greenwich Village and go out for sushi in Gramercy Park. On May 13, 2000, 31 year old Ron and 30 year old Sneha finally tied the knot in a gorgeous ceremony. They hosted 250 guests at an inn near Sneha's parents house. Ron had the band play a jazz song he personally wrote for Sneha called Wow, she's so Great. And he meant it. Ron adored Sneha, but despite all the wonderful things happening in her life, she started to struggle after the wedding.

[Courtney Nicole]

Sneha was incredibly talented, but some said she had trouble applying herself. She'd show up late for work. She was once asked to leave because she seemed unfocused and in a more distressing manner. She supposedly once came to work drunk. In May 2001, the director of residence at Cabrini told 31 year old Snehal they wouldn't be renewing her residency contract after that month. But Sneha didn't harp on the setback. She continued to socialize with her co workers and make the best of her time there. That is, until the evening of June 21, 2001. That night, Sneha went to a bar with a group from Cabrini. A male supervisor followed her into the bathroom, grabbed her, and forced himself on her, so she shoved him to get away. Sneha was so upset that she immediately went home. Conveniently enough, this supervisor and his wife lived on the same floor. So she entered their place without permission and told his wife what he did to her. The next morning, Sneha filed a criminal complaint as well. She then made several angry phone calls to the doctor and his wife over the next few days, even though Sneha maintained her co worker assaulted her. Four days later, she recanted that complaint. Instead, she was slapped with a bunch of charges like criminal trespass, aggravated harassment, and falsely reporting an incident. The NYPD arrested Sneha, and she spent the night in jail. Luckily, things turned a corner in July when she got a fresh start. She began her new internal medicine residency at St. Vincent's Hospital in Manhattan. But she quickly got put on modified duty for failing to meet with a substance abuse counselor. One of the conditions of her employment.

[Sarah Turney]

This is a woman who appears to have done everything right. You know, that night, she's already talking about it. The next morning, she makes a formal complaint, and then she sees retaliation. It just. I mean, it really does break my heart.

[Courtney Nicole]

I feel like we see this time and time again where, you know, victims who come forward and do the textbook right things, they are retaliated against. In my personal opinion, I do see this happen more often to women than I do men. There are a few things that you can do to reinforce your case, though. And I think one of the biggest things that personally I could recommend is keep detailed records of any contact with your assaulter. And I just want to praise Sneha for doing what she did in this specific moment. Even though it was probably really scary and probably really, really hard for her, she stood her ground, and she didn't let anyone threaten her into accepting what she experienced. And I think kind of what I want to leave it with is to know your legal rights and what someone should and should not be doing to you.

[Sarah Turney]

Luckily, Sneha's family wasn't too far away, so they could offer her some support during these challenging times. In fact, on Friday, September 7, three days before Sneha disappeared. Her mother, Ansu, came down to the city to spend the night. They ate Chinese food, walked around Battery park and watched a movie. When her mother left on Saturday morning, Sneha asked if she could visit more regularly. Little did Ansu know she would never get the chance. That evening, Saturday, September 8th, Sneha went to a party with Ran. She watched adoringly as he played guitar with his co workers until midnight the next day, Sunday, September 9, Bron and Sneha spent the afternoon rollerblading and cleaning their apartment.

[Courtney Nicole]

But the following day is Monday, September 10, 2001, the day before America and the world will change forever. That morning, Sneha has to appear in court for the ongoing harassment case with her former co worker. Ron. Ever the faithful husband goes with her. Around 10.30am Sneha pleads not guilty to the charges of assault, harassment, trespassing and falsely reporting an incident. Thankfully, this appearance is brief. Sneha and Ran walk the mile home with enough time to eat a quick breakfast together. Sneha isn't scheduled to work again until Thursday, September 13, but Ron has a 1pm shift that afternoon. The so at 11:30am he gives Sneha a kiss goodbye, then heads out the door. But he forgets his keys. So he goes back and gives Sneha another kiss after he grabs them. It's the last one he'll ever give her, though he doesn't know it yet. Also, they seem to have such like a loving relationship. All the activities they do together like that is so sad.

[Sarah Turney]

Yeah, I think it's clear that these two people loved each other. The apartment's still a mess, so Sneha plans to spend some of the day cleaning. Her cousin Anu is coming over for dinner on Wednesday night and she wants it to look nice. Afterward, she logs onto her computer, dials onto the Internet at 2:30pm and sends her mom Ansu an instant message. She gushes about how the rest of her weekend went, how much fun they had at the party on Saturday night. They chat for over an hour as Neha shares her plans for the rest of the week. She tells her mom that a friend of hers is getting married at Windows on the World, a venue on the top floor of the World Trade Center's North Tower in the spring. Sneha says she wants to check the location out in the next few days. This is clearly a woman who had plans for the future. She was excited, she was happy, and she was looking forward to things that she had planned.

[Courtney Nicole]

When someone is speaking about the future in this way, I feel like it's a clear indicator that they're not planning to just disappear. They're planning on continuing to live, you know, the rest of their lives normally.

[Sarah Turney]

Yeah, I mean, it's clear that her life wasn't perfect. Right. She had these ongoing legal battles, but she seemed adamant to fight them. Right. She goes into court, she pleads not guilty, like she's, she's ready to fight this and she's not, you know, crawling into some hole and never coming back out again. She's out, she's enjoying, you know, time with her husband, with her family, with her friends. I think this is a woman who, you know, is ready to continue her life.

[Courtney Nicole]

Unfortunately, though, in hindsight, looking back, we all kind of know what's about to happen. So after that conversation, around 4pm Sneha signs off to run some errands. She slips on a short sleeved brown dress, pulls her black hair into a half ponytail, slides on her sandals and walks out the door. She must not think she's going to need much because she leaves her driver's license, passport, glasses and most of her credit cards at home. She only takes Ron's American Express card with her.

[Sarah Turney]

Her doorman says he saw her leave the complex around 5:15pm however, this timing has been questioned seeing as the surveillance video footage will clock her at the store before 5pm either way, she drops off some clothes at a local dry cleaner, then heads to the department store, Century 21. It's only a 12 minute walk from her apartment just a couple blocks away on the other side of the Twin Towers. This location is six stories high. The coat department is on the fifth floor. Sneha doesn't grab anything there, but she browses. Maybe she's getting ideas for a present since she recently told Ron she wanted a new coat from Century 21 for her birthday next month on October 7. Next, Neha heads down to the third floor to pick out lingerie and then goes down to the basement to look at bed linens. At 6:05pm she checks out. She uses Ron's American Express card to pay for a dress, pantyhose, lingerie and bed sheets. Then she does a little more shopping at the Shoe Annex on the ground floor. Sneha uses Ron's Amex there again to buy three pairs of shoes. It ends up being a pretty big shopping trip. Around 7:20pm Sneha steps outside the store, likely exiting on Broadway and it's raining on and off and she's carrying two shopping bags with $550 worth of merchandise. But four more hours pass, and Sneha doesn't return home by the time the doorman finishes his shift at 11pm

[Courtney Nicole]

I feel like it's this moment right here that is what this whole podcast is about. The meaning behind this podcast, you know, somebody's last moments before they disappear. And, you know, to me, I feel like those last moments before someone that you love disappears. I feel like families and people generally tend to cling to that. What they said, what they didn't say, what they wish that they could have said. You know, it's something that can. Can stick with, with the families of these missing people.

[Sarah Turney]

You know, I do think that there's some things we can gleam from this shopping trip too, right? I mean, she's buying lingerie. You know, it sounds like she's kind of excited for something, but she's also buying something boring, like bed linens. You know, that. That feels very much like a mundane, everyday thing that you kind of have to do while you're shopping. Which, again, I think just points to her not wanting to leave on her own. Like, who goes and buys bed sheets before they plan to disappear? I wouldn't.

[Courtney Nicole]

Yeah, me either. And to me, the one thing that kind of really, you know, popped out to me when I was, you know, researching the details of this case is, you know, she was just being a girl. She's doing what every girl likes to do, you know, at least for me. I can't speak for everyone, but I like to go shopping. And she's shopping at one of her favorite stores.

[Sarah Turney]

Nothing about this seems out of the ordinary for me, but there was something

[Courtney Nicole]

about Sneha that will come to light later on. It seems she had a tendency to stay out all night, which caused some rockiness in her marriage. Though her patterns were usually routine, where she went in the evening when she came home the next day. But this time, everything was different.

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[Sarah Turney]

Par les tout francais, hablass espanol par l'. Etaliano.

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[Sarah Turney]

It's Monday, September 10, 2001. Ron gets home from work at 11:30pm the apartment is empty except for their cats, Vega and Kali. He isn't surprised, just a little disappointed. It's not unusual for Sneha to spend the night out, especially when Ran works late. Sometimes she feels uncomfortable at home by herself and sleeps at her brother John's were her cousin Anu's place nearby, so he assumes that's what she did tonight. But Sneha is supposed to call when she spends the night out, though she often forgets. Ron's already had several conversations with her about it, and it has become a point of contention in their marriage. But Sneha doesn't have a cell phone and Ran's not worried enough yet to call her family, so he goes to bed. At 6am on Tuesday morning, September 11, 2001, Ron wakes up to his alarm clock and Sneha hasn't made it home yet. Still, he doesn't panic when she stays out. She usually comes home between 7 and 9am, which isn't for at least another half hour. Instead, Ron heads to the subway to make it in time for his 8am meeting. He expects Neha will just call his cell when she gets home.

[Courtney Nicole]

But when Ron's meeting ends at 9am he finds his co workers gathered around a television set watching the news. A plane has just crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade center, two blocks away from Ron's apartment. Ron calls their landline. He leaves Sneha a message on their answering machine, but she should be home by now. At 9:59am the South Tower collapses. At 10:00am Ron tries calling her again. Still no answer. By the time the north tower falls at 10:28am, Ron is seriously worried. The whole world has been turned on its head and he hasn't spoken to his wife in 24 hours. Finally, Ron calls Snehaha's cousin and brother Neither of them have heard from her and her mother hasn't spoken to her since their instant messages the day before.

[Sarah Turney]

At 3pm, Ron can no longer bottle his anxiety. He gets permission from his supervisor to leave and look for Sneha. Ron hitches a ride back to his neighborhood with one of the ambulances headed to the twin towers. The 15 mile ride takes six hours. By the time Ron makes it to Tribeca, the neighborhood just north of the World Trade center, it's nine o'.

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[Sarah Turney]

He still has half a mile to his apartment, but the area between is blocked off. So Ron sweet talks his way across the police line and finally reaches their debris covered apartment complex. The building has no power and the doors are chained shut. So he shines a flashlight into an apartment to get a tenant's attention. And it works. The neighbor agrees to knock on Ron's apartment door and check on Sneha. But he comes back and says she didn't answer. With no clue what to do next, Ron walks the couple blocks to ground Zero and volunteers in the relief effort before spending the night at a friend's. Early the next morning, he heads home and is able to get into his place. He finds one of the windows left open so soot has piled into the apartment. Vega and Kali are fine, but Sneha is still nowhere to be found. Ron tries calling everyone in her phonebook. Nobody has seen her, but everyone wants to find her.

[Courtney Nicole]

On Tuesday, September 12, Sneha's friends, family and colleagues help Ron tape up flyers all over New York. They visit restaurants, bars, hospitals, morgues, mental health centers, even some of Sneha's favorite clubs. But there's no leads at this point. Ron doesn't believe Sneha disappeared in the attack. But he takes flyers to the Lexington Avenue Armory anyway, which is used as a 911 help center for victims and their families. When he sees television cameras there, he gets an idea. If he can get Sneha's picture broadcasted, the whole country will see it. Maybe someone will call in a clue. But when Ron tells the station that nobody has heard From Sneha since September 10, they lose interest. They want bonafide 911 stories, but Ron is willing to do anything to find his wife. So he calls Sneha's brother John and suggests he come to the armory and talk to reporters about Sneha instead. But he should leave off any detail that makes her story sound unrelated to 9 11. Not a full blown lie, just a little omission.

[Sarah Turney]

This one's hard for me. Like I understand the Desperation. He's in a sea of people trying to find their loved ones. And I do really understand why someone might do something like that. And while he doesn't personally feel like it's related to 9 11, it's still a possibility. It's just hard because I think when you start being deceptive, it detracts from the facts of her story. And that's my concern in this.

[Courtney Nicole]

Yeah, especially in this case when, you know, there's a mass tragedy taking place at the exact same time. Mass casualties, mass disappearances. You know, cases like Sneha's can really get pushed under the radar until everything starts to calm down. And as we know, in, you know, the 911 tragedy, it did take a while for things to calm down. And unfortunately, I feel like that played a huge factor in, you know, the urgency in Sneha's disappearance.

[Sarah Turney]

I completely understand that desperation. And I think he's doing it in good faith. Right. He wants to find his wife. My concern is like, how do you explain that to the detectives? Later on, on the evening of September 12, 2001, John approaches a reporter and does what he needs to get Sneha's story heard. He tells a heartbreaking, though false, story about their final interaction live on abc. John claims he was on the phone with Sneha, who was inside the World Trade center while it was burning. She refused to leave because people were injured and needed help. That was the last he heard from her. This lie gets results. ABC runs Neha's picture in the news segment, but no leads are uncovered. No witnesses are found. Later, John starts to worry that he hurt the investigation by leading detectives astray.

[Courtney Nicole]

On September 14th at 11pm, Ron files a missing persons report with the NYPD. This kicks off their quote, unquote, official investigation. But when Ran talks to them, they tell him Sneha likely died in the World Trade center because of her proximity. So Ran does his own digging. He finds his first clue in Sneha's messages to her mom from the 10th. Around 4pm, Sneha said she was leaving the apartment to run errands. Ron calls American Express to see if any transactions were made on his cart around this time, which is how he learns about Sneha's purchases at century 21. The downtown century 21 near the world Trade center is now closed for obvious reasons. So Ron and a group of friends split up to distribute flyers at the chain's other locations, just in case any employees or regular shoppers have relocated to other stores. It's a smart idea because later that week, Ron receives a phone call. Sonia Mora, a sales clerk from the shoe department in Lower Manhattan, has been taking shifts in Brooklyn and saw one of the flyers. Sonja immediately recognized Sneha as one of her regular shoppers. She'd been working on September 10th and recalled SNEHA coming in that day looking for shoes. But she says Sneha wasn't alone. She was with a friend, a small woman in her early 30s who had dark skin. Sonia thought she looked like she could have been Indian. But there weren't any cameras in the shoe department to capture her picture. Even though Ron isn't a police officer and doesn't have a warrant, son, Century 21 offers to help. They grant Ron access to their security footage for two weeks. He spends about five hours a day alone in a windowless room, reviewing tapes from every department in the Lower Manhattan store. Finally, Ron sees his beloved wife browsing the coat department timestamped at 4:57. But she is alone there. Nobody ever identifies Snehaja's mystery friend. But one of the other cameras did catch two people leaving together 13 minutes later at 17:09. And they could have fit Sneha and her friends descriptions. The problem is the footage is so blurry. Meanwhile, Sneha's family hires their own PI to help with the investigation. Former FBI agent Ken Galland. Ken searches the bars and hotels Sneha liked to hang out at near Century 21. He interviews employees, speaks to Snehaha's friends, family and co workers. Brings photos of Snehaha to the different fairy dogs to see if anyone saw her flee or get lured away. That's when Ken learns that Sneha didn't always spend her nights out with friends and family. Sometimes she crashed with strangers or people she'd met out at the bar. So Ken has her computer examined for correspondences. Maybe there's even a secret lover Ron didn't know about. But Ken finds no such person. Besides, it seems unlikely that she would have left without her identification or bank cards. And I think that's one of the biggest things that, you know, I'd personally like to focus on with this case. You hear so many times that, you know, those last moments, you can tell when somebody is starting to maybe start to prepare for a new life, so to speak. In this case, I don't think she was doing that. Not in the slightest. But there are kind of ways that you might be able to tell, looking back, when somebody could be preparing to start a new life. Most often than not, they kind of get rid of or sell their most prized possessions, things closest to them that they normally would never live without. Another sign could be maybe they suddenly quit their job that they've been at for a really long time, a good portion of their life. Or, you know, maybe looking back at certain conversations with their loved ones. It can be maybe like a very subtle goodbye, so to speak, without outwardly giving away that they're, you know, planning to do something drastic. Again, these are just, you know, certain things that you can kind of pick up on after the fact. But in this case, I really don't think Sneha was planning to disappear.

[Sarah Turney]

No, I don't think so either. And again, like, I feel like their love is so apparent in all of Ron's actions, too, to, you know, try to figure this out. I mean, he is going above and beyond. And while I wish we could say, like, every husband or every partner did that, you know, we don't always see that. When I was looking at my sister's case, I was also trying to just get any information I could. Right. I wish I had more video, but, you know, I looked through things like our old home videos, trying to gleam for any clue, any shred of evidence I could. So I think overall, I just, like, I can relate to Ron so much and just trying to, like, find anything I could and glimmer any new clue or lead from whatever information I had. It's just so sad.

[Courtney Nicole]

Well, eventually, Ron's own investigation sparks more urgency with police. The lead NYPD detective on Sneha's case sees Ron putting up flyers, and after that, he makes it more of a priority, and he finds a couple of big clues. Apparently, there's a record of someone calling Ron's cell phone from his and Sneha's landline around 4am Even though he was home alone. Ron has no memory of making this call himself, but he explains it away by saying he could have checked his voice messages half awake, maybe hoping he'd heard from Sneha. But there's something even more compelling. Another piece of security footage, this time taken from Sneha and Ron's apartment building lobby, which indicates she may have made it home after all.

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[Courtney Nicole]

foreign.

[Sarah Turney]

It's the fall of 2001 when a really compelling piece of evidence comes to light. Security footage that was taken at Sneha's apartment building the day after she was last seen. On the morning of September 11, a woman who resembled Sneha in so many ways entered her lobby at 8:43am just three minutes before the first hijacked airplane collided with the North Tower. She waited near the elevator for a minute or two, then turned around and went right back out the front door. The angle of the sun bleached out the image too much to confirm the woman's identity, but the silhouette and haircut looked just like Sneha's. She had similar mannerisms and wore a dress just like the one Sneha wore shopping the day before. And as a physician, it would make sense for Sneha to react as a first responder. Which is why, in the absence of other leads, Ron and his in laws start to move away from the original theory that whatever kept Sneha away from home happened on the 10th. Instead, they think maybe she was lost in the 911 attacks after all. They think Sneha went shopping on September 10th, bumped into the friend who the sales clerk saw her with, they went out for drinks, and since Ron was working late and she had the next day off, maybe Sneha spent the night at this friend's house. Then she went home the next morning, but never made it upstairs because she was in the lobby when the first plane struck and As a doctor, she instinctually ran towards the towers to help.

[Courtney Nicole]

There are some flaws in this theory, though. The woman on the security footage wasn't carrying shopping bags. But plenty of scenarios explain that away. Like she could have just forgotten the bags where she slept.

[Sarah Turney]

I'm not gonna lie, Court.

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[Sarah Turney]

The shopping bags get me in this case. I want to know where those shopping bags are. I do think it would be key to finding, you know, to finding out what happened to her if she left them somewhere, if maybe she was like, you know, mugged on the street. Think finding those shopping bags might answer at least a few questions in this case.

[Courtney Nicole]

Yeah, I agree. And, you know, we always hear it only takes the tiniest little detail for a case to be cracked wide open and, you know, potentially be solved. And I think these shopping bags could be that tiny little detail that could turn this investigation upside down.

[Sarah Turney]

We can kind of think who this person is, but we don't know for sure. And it just has to be so frustrating for this family to have this, you know, sun bleached image that they can't really say is her, but they think might be her. You know, the man, mannerisms, the silhouette, these are the things that I think keeps families wandering forever.

[Courtney Nicole]

I agree. It's like a little glimmer of hope that they have in their pocket, but unfortunately, there's just nothing that can be done about it.

[Sarah Turney]

And this could answer so much like in my sister's case, right. If we had this surveillance from the day that she went missing, I think we'd have a lot more answers.

[Courtney Nicole]

So the story of Sneha responding to the attacks is the way I think most of us would like to remember her dying a hero. And the police seemed to agree. On October 30, 2001, they concluded their investigation.

[Sarah Turney]

On September 11, 2002, the one year anniversary of the attacks, Ron and the Phillips attend a memorial in Poughkeepsie. Sneha's name is read aloud in a tribute to local victims. Three days later, on September 14, 2002, Sneha's parents hold a private ceremony at a church near their house in Dutchess County. They bury an urn filled with ashes from ground zero. A few months later, they put up a plaque in a grove at Dutchess Community College to comfort her mother, Ansou, who works there. It reads, Dr. Sneha and Philip, October 7, 1969 to September 11, 2001. Over the next few years, Ron and the Phillips regularly attend 9, 11 memorials with a community of others who've lost loved ones in the the tragedy on September 25, 2003, Ron files a petition in surrogate court for a judicial declaration of death. He wants the date set to September 11, 2001. Two months later, a professional court appointed guardian named Ellen Winner is called to serve as Sneha's advocate for probate matters to make sure everything is being handled in Sneha's best interest.

[Courtney Nicole]

Even though investigators concluded that Sneha was a victim of 9 11, there were still a few loose ends. And when Ellen starts digging deeper into Sneha's case, she discovers more. She supposedly learns that after the sexual harassment incident, on the night out with her co workers, Sneha's family noticed her relying more on alcohol. Sneha sometimes spent the whole night with new people she met at queer bars and apparently at one point, Sneha's brother walked in on her having sex with his girlfriend. As we know, on the day Sneha disappeared. So September 10, 2001, she went to court where she pleaded not guilty to the charge of filing a false complaint against her co worker and Ron went with her. While they were there, a witness said they saw them get into a fight, supposedly because Ron was upset about Sneha's use of drugs and alcohol and her bisexuality. And it's because of these things, Sneha's name is formally removed from the medical examiner's official 911 victims list. They say there's insufficient evidence. And on June 29, 2006, per Ellen's recommendation, a judge ruled Sneha's official date of death September 10, 2004, three years after her disappearance. Per state law.

[Sarah Turney]

Sneha's family has a different perspective on those past events, though they claim the real reason Cabrini let Sneha go wasn't because of alcohol. That was a cover. They say the hospital supposedly demonstrated race and gender bias against Neha and she was a whistleblower. According to the family, they wanted to get rid of her. Sneha's brother John denies saying he caught his sister and girlfriend hooking up and says he has no idea where the police got that idea. Ron also denies fighting with Sneha at the courthouse that day. Ron claims that Sneha spending the night with other women was always platonic. She liked to go see live music and have a drink, but preferred lesbian bars so men wouldn't hit on her, especially after being groped by a co worker and being retaliated against. According to Sneha's family, she wasn't having extramarital affairs or hiding her sexuality. And her problems at work got blown out of proportion. So Ron appeals the judge's ruling. And on January 31, 2008, Sneha's date of death is set back to September 11, 2001. She's also re added to the New York City medical Examiner's list of 911 victims. Victim number 2,751.

[Courtney Nicole]

Over 9,000 missing persons were reported in New York City on September 11, 2001. As of this recording, death certificates for almost 2,753 victims who died at the World Trade center have been issued. Remains for over 1,100 of them have still not been identified. Our best evidence points to Sneha being one of those people.

[Sarah Turney]

This whole thing with court just drives me insane. I'm not gonna lie, you know, to be honest. Like, who cares if she slept with women, you know, if her husband was okay with it, if you will. I feel like they're just kind of shaming her for the sake of shaming her in court. Like, none of this makes sense to me, and I don't think really any of it's relevant to her going missing if everything was still fine at home. And maybe I'm a little bit sensitive to this. You know what I mean? Like, some of the first headlines I ever saw when my sister went missing was like, wild runaway. You know, did she really run away or did something happen? And I just don't think it's fair to play that game. It's one thing to focus on facts, and it's something completely different when we are painting a person in a different light than who they really were.

[Courtney Nicole]

Yeah. And I feel like even in today's day and age, people can get so consumed and focused on somebody who disappeared. Their personal life and what they were and weren't doing and what they might view as, you know, not acceptable or not up to standards. If I could have their police revisit this case, I would really want them to kind of take that out and kind of give this case, you know, a look with fresh eyes and kind of separate it from the tragedy of 9 11, because I feel like that really overshadowed everything. And then, you know, unfortunately, with some of the lies that. That Ron told, I feel like that kind of hindered the investigation a little bit. Not. Not intentionally. And I'm not blaming him. You know, he was really just trying to help find his wife, and props to him for that. But, you know, if they could revisit this case, I. I would really wish that they would take out, you know, what she was doing in her personal life and kind of separate it from that tragedy.

[Sarah Turney]

And I'm gonna go back to those shopping bags. I'm not ready to let those go, Court. I'm not ready to let those go. I. I would love to know if maybe they cross referenced, I don't know, items sold to a pawn shop or, like, later recovered. You know, if she was buying three pairs of shoes, you know, could they have been sold? I just. I cannot let the shopping bags go. And I want to know if, again, if there's anything they could find in other reports that point exactly towards those items that she bought and where those items ended up. With so little to work off of, though, sometimes all we're left with is theories and speculation. But our best guesses start with the facts we know. Sneha went to court on the morning of September 10, 2001. The case wasn't pleasant, but she had her adoring, supportive husband with her. And afterwards, they ate breakfast together in their lovely apartment. He kissed her twice before he went off to work. Sneha spent the rest of her day preparing for the future. She watered her flowers, meditated, and talked to her mom. Around 5pm she changed into a cute, comfortable dress, grabbed a single credit card and walked out the door. She browsed for what seemed to be a birthday present that her husband could buy her from a store she liked. Then she checked out with a dress, pantyhose, lingerie, bed linens, and three pairs of shoes. Only she left the department store and was never seen again. Her family doesn't know how long after she truly disappeared. Sneha was a social person with many friends, and it was hard to keep track of her. But her family remembers her for all her virtues, and they honor her the way she most likely went as a hero.

[Courtney Nicole]

If Dr. Sneha Ann Philip is alive as of this recording, she'll be about 56 years old. She has dark brown eyes and straight black hair. She's Indian and stands 5 foot 6 inches tall. She was about 115 pounds at the time of her disappearance. Sneha has a mole on her left cheek, pierced ears, and she wears contact lenses. If you have any information about Sneha and Philip, you can contact the New York Police Department at 212-334-0635.

[Sarah Turney]

Thank you for listening to the Final Hours. If you have any other details about Snap Neha and Phillips case, please share it with us on social media. We want to hear from you your thoughts. Condolences and feedback are what make this community so special.

[Courtney Nicole]

At Crime House, we value your support. Share your thoughts on social media and remember to rate, review and follow the Final Hours to help others discover the

[Sarah Turney]

show and to enhance your listening experience. Subscribe to Crime House plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode of the Final Hours ad free, along with early access and exciting bonus content.

[Courtney Nicole]

The Final Hours is hosted by Sarah Turney and me, Courtney Nicole, and is a Crime House original. Powered by Pave Studios, this episode was brought to life by the Final Hours team Max Cutler, Ron Shapiro, Alex Benedon, Lori Marinelli, Natalie Pertzofsky, Sarah Camp, Dana Brazil Sulavey and Sheila Patterson. Thank you so much for listening.