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

[Sonny Crockett]

It’s not that easy to change your identity these days and to acquire credentials like hers in a new name. I’m not saying it’s impossible, just not likely. If she had done that successfully at the time, I think there is a chance she would’ve resurfaced for some reason in the time since. Whether by choice or by getting caught.

I completely agree with this. Post-9/11, it became especially difficult for people to change their identity. Many employers (and I would think especially doctor's offices/hospitals) do rigorous background checks & I doubt anyone would get away with this for any length of time. And, even if you did get away with this initially - these types of jobs typically re-do the background checks every several years just to make sure nothing has changed.

In fact, I have actually heard of cases where people lied about something on their initial resume - and, even though they still got hired - these lies were eventually found out after the background check was re-done at a later time.

 

[Sonny Crockett]

Finally finished listening to the "Trace Evidence" podcast in it's entirety. Excellent research & observations made here, which have given me a lot more insight into this case.

What I find especially telling is that SP did buy some bed linens & other clothes?! at a store on 9/10. However, these items were not found in RL & SP's apartment later. So, presumably they were somewhere else - possibly she brought them back to the place of the woman she was seen in the clothing store with?!

Also interesting are the additional details re: RL & SP's marriage. RL said that he would frequently come home from work & SP was not there, but that he wasn't worried about it because she would typically be staying with friends/family. This is why he wasn't too worried about her not being home the evening of 9/10, because this had happened before (possibly on a regular basis). This may not mean much, or it may mean that she was dissatisfied in the marriage & her evening absences may have been a prelude to her leaving him.

I'm not saying that Sneha ran away to start a new life—I hope she did—but people should consider the community she was from as a backdrop before they write off the possibility that she might have run away.

I still don't think it's likely that SP left her friends/family behind to start a new life without ever contacting them again - especially not even a call after 9/11 to let them know she was O.K. At the least, you would expect her to do something like that.

That being said, the podcast has made me re-evaluate this to some extent, and I do see it as a possibility, though IMHO not a probability.

However, as I mentioned before - the issue I have with the idea that she just "skipped town" is one of timing. I.e., the podcast mentioned that the last time she was "seen" was when cameras captured her leaving her apartment on 9/10 - IIRC, it was in the evening. So, if this is correct - then she was still in NYC the evening of 9/10. And, if she was planning on leaving town (with her friend that she was seen with, or alone) -she would needed to have left that evening - or very early the next morning. Sure, it's possible this is what happened.

So, discounting the possibility that she met with foul play the evening of 9/10 - I find it much more likely that she was still in NYC on 9/11 (possibly preparing to leave soon) and unfortunately got caught up in the chaos of what happened that day. It's even possible she was in one of the buildings that got hit.

I definitely hope her family finds out what happened here so they can get closure. And, if SP is still alive somewhere - I do hope she reaches out to them to at least let them know she's still alive and OK. Though, after this long, I doubt that she would.

 

[Inthedetails]

I haven't read every post, just the first few. I really think she died in a tower the morning of 9/11. I'm in Manhattan and I recall my medical-professional neighbors immediately going to the scene that day. It was shocking, to be honest, to see their first reactions as going to the site to help. (It was shocking in a good way to see their dedication when all I felt was fear and confusion.) The store where Sneha was last seen shopping is literally a few short blocks from the WTC, which tells me she was indeed in the area. I can easily see her going to the scene to help, and being so close, she might have been in one of the towers or immediate area when they went down.



jmo

edited to add: I really cannot see any trained medical person using that day to slip town. It was very hard to do so as everything shut down, first of all, and I think the dedication to their field wouldn't allow them to leave the city in need. I think she did run to the towers, not run away.

 

[JamSC]

I haven't done a deep dive into this one, so I may be missing some of the details, but...One thing that I'm confused about that I have yet to see anyone address is that if her husband/family say it was not unusual for her to stay out all night without a trace, then why would her husband report her missing the very next day before end of the day happened? If it was normal for her to be out all night, you'd think he'd not be panic to contact the police so quickly when he never had before, that I've heard about (I think there would be information out that she had been reported missing on other occasions if he had). Even if she was the type who would always be back super early in the morning, which doesn't seem likely if she was so casual about not coming home, it still wouldn't make sense to instantly think something is wrong if she was late by a few hours. Did he see the attacks and worry she had been involved due to being a doctor and near the WTC? Or did something else prompt the call to police?

Edit: I'm not new to the site, I read here all the time, I'm just new to posting here.

 

[Sonny Crockett]

I haven't done a deep dive into this one, so I may be missing some of the details, but...One thing that I'm confused about that I have yet to see anyone address is that if her husband/family say it was not unusual for her to stay out all night without a trace, then why would her husband report her missing the very next day before end of the day happened? If it was normal for her to be out all night, you'd think he'd not be panic to contact the police so quickly when he never had before, that I've heard about (I think there would be information out that she had been reported missing on other occasions if he had). Even if she was the type who would always be back super early in the morning, which doesn't seem likely if she was so casual about not coming home, it still wouldn't make sense to instantly think something is wrong if she was late by a few hours. Did he see the attacks and worry she had been involved due to being a doctor and near the WTC? Or did something else prompt the call to police?

Re: the above, under normal circumstances it's very possible SP's husband would not have called the authorities to report her missing given that she wasn't gone that long & that she did sometimes not come home at night. However, given the 9/11 attacks he was certainly especially concerned, as were many others that day who were worried about the safety of their loved ones due to the attacks. And, yes - IMHO he probably suspected she was in the vicinity of the WTC, which would have made him even more worried than usual.

 

[Copper]

I haven't done a deep dive into this one, so I may be missing some of the details, but...One thing that I'm confused about that I have yet to see anyone address is that if her husband/family say it was not unusual for her to stay out all night without a trace, then why would her husband report her missing the very next day before end of the day happened? If it was normal for her to be out all night, you'd think he'd not be panic to contact the police so quickly when he never had before, that I've heard about (I think there would be information out that she had been reported missing on other occasions if he had). Even if she was the type who would always be back super early in the morning, which doesn't seem likely if she was so casual about not coming home, it still wouldn't make sense to instantly think something is wrong if she was late by a few hours. Did he see the attacks and worry she had been involved due to being a doctor and near the WTC? Or did something else prompt the call to police?

Edit: I'm not new to the site, I read here all the time, I'm just new to posting here.

It is my understanding that he called the police because when he returned home later in the day of the attacks, there was no evidence that Sneha had ever come home. She had been out all night when he left for work that morning. Okay. But then she had been gone all day as well when he returned. Attacks or not, that was out of character for her.

 

[Copper]

Delete please.

 

[TootsieFootsie]

'Missing on 9/11': A New Podcast Dives Into the Mysterious Disappearance of Sneha Philip

 

[Ozoner]

I completely agree with this. Post-9/11, it became especially difficult for people to change their identity. Many employers (and I would think especially doctor's offices/hospitals) do rigorous background checks & I doubt anyone would get away with this for any length of time. And, even if you did get away with this initially - these types of jobs typically re-do the background checks every several years just to make sure nothing has changed.

In fact, I have actually heard of cases where people lied about something on their initial resume - and, even though they still got hired - these lies were eventually found out after the background check was re-done at a later time.

It doesn't seem like she wanted to be a doctor, though. She was more interested in being an artist. If she did run off, it is a virtual certainty that she did not pursue a career in medicine.

 

[CreatureIDontKnow]

Coming up on 20 years, pretty hard to believe. I hope her family has found peace.

 

[Fukiyama]

Coming up on 20 years, pretty hard to believe. I hope her family has found peace.

They insisted she died at the World Trade Center, so.

 

[Ozoner]

They insisted she died at the World Trade Center, so.

I'm not sure they actually believe that. It was a good way for them to save face. I have a feeling that Sneha may resurface after her parents have passed on.

 

[CreatureIDontKnow]

They insisted she died at the World Trade Center, so.

Right, but that doesn't mean that A) they truly believe that with all freedom from doubt and B) even if they do, that doesn't mean they've found peace unfortunately.

Perhaps I should have said that I hope the years have eased some of their suffering.

 

[Fukiyama]

Certainly whatever they believe in their heart of hearts is one thing, but they did get the outcome they wanted.

 

[ekardh]

I think the odds are that Sneha perished during the NYC attacks. It's easy to say with the benefit of hindsight that 9/11 gave her the perfect cover to start a new life but no one at the time knew the kind of global impact that event was going to have, and it doesn't sound like Sneha was really in the position to orchestrate such a scheme, while evading detection for two decades. As a physician, her first instinct might have been to help those in need, and unfortunately in doing so she became one of the 1,000+ victims still unidentified.

It still begs the question where Sneha was on the night of 10th? If the stories of her having lesbian affairs are true, it's possible she spent the night with someone who has yet to come forward. It could be that person wanted to keep their sexuality a secret, or they are afraid of pressure from Sneha's family.

Of course, foul play cannot be ruled out, and 9/11 might have been convenient timing for her killer(s).

 

[Ozoner]

I think the odds are that Sneha perished during the NYC attacks. It's easy to say with the benefit of hindsight that 9/11 gave her the perfect cover to start a new life but no one at the time knew the kind of global impact that event was going to have, and it doesn't sound like Sneha was really in the position to orchestrate such a scheme, while evading detection for two decades. As a physician, her first instinct might have been to help those in need, and unfortunately in doing so she became one of the 1,000+ victims still unidentified.

It still begs the question where Sneha was on the night of 10th? If the stories of her having lesbian affairs are true, it's possible she spent the night with someone who has yet to come forward. It could be that person wanted to keep their sexuality a secret, or they are afraid of pressure from Sneha's family.

Of course, foul play cannot be ruled out, and 9/11 might have been convenient timing for her killer(s).

My biggest issue with that theory is that none of the medical personnel went into the buildings. My understanding is that they were directed to a designated triage stations a safe distance from the towers.. It's possible that she was the exception, but there's no evidence for that scenario.
If she was outside the towers and died during the collapse, she should have shown up in the background of someone's photos. Lots of people were snapping pictures.

 

[ekardh]

My biggest issue with that theory is that none of the medical personnel went into the buildings. My understanding is that they were directed to a designated triage stations a safe distance from the towers.. It's possible that she was the exception, but there's no evidence for that scenario.
If she was outside the towers and died during the collapse, she should have shown up in the background of someone's photos. Lots of people were snapping pictures.

She might taken to helping people of her own accord?

Also, I doubt that every person who perished that day was caught on camera. We're talking tens of thousands of people and this was before the age of smartphones.

For me, she was either caught up in the NYC attacks, or she was already dead by the 10th Sept. I don't think the voluntary disappearance holds much water.

 

[Sonny Crockett]

Agree 100% with the above post. 2001 was 20 years ago, and at that time smart-phones didn't exist. I don't even know if cell-phones at the time had cameras; if they did, the cameras definitely weren't as sophisticated as they are now. And, for what it's worth - 20 years ago I didn't even have a cell phone, and I know I wasn't the only one.

Also, in the mass chaos that occurred on 9/11 I don't think a lot of people would have been going around snapping pictures anyway, because they would have been more concerned with survival, getting in touch with loved ones, etc.

IIRC there are videos of the destruction & the horrific scenes of people jumping off the buildings, etc. - but these were taken by people who had video cameras at the scene.

 

[digitective]

It has never been proven that it was Sneha on the security camera.. One problem if it was her, why didn't she have the items with her that she bought the night before..

I’m not sure if I think it was Sneha on the security footage, but it’s possible that the things she bought at the store (sheets, lingerie, 3 pairs of shoes) were gifts for whoever she was with on the night of the 10th. Or maybe she left them at that person’s house for whatever reason (e.g. forgot them, didn’t feel like lugging them with her and planned to get them later).

 

[digitective]

Did her husband know who her friends were...such as the lady that she was shopping with? Most husbands know their wifes friends and have at least met them once or more times.

The only evidence of her shopping with the lady is one store employee’s story. Some people in the thread seem to think she and the lady were caught on camera, but they weren’t. Only Sneha alone was caught on camera at the Century 21 store.