Ground zero 'victim' turns up alive

A man believed to have been killed in the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre has been found, confused but alive, in a New York psychiatric centre, according to his family.

George Sims, from Newark, New Jersey, appeared on official lists of victims after his family reported him missing. No remains were identified, but his family assumed the worst until the centre telephoned them earlier this month. Staff requested a faxed photograph of Mr Sims and confirmed that their patient, diagnosed with amnesia and schizophrenia, was the man in the picture.

"He's alive, but he's not in the best of health," his mother, Anna Sims, told the Newark Star-Ledger. "When I saw him, he did not know me."

Family members told the newspaper that they believed Mr Sims had been "selling things" in the vicinity of the twin towers when the airliners hit.

They reported him missing on October 7; they gave no reason for their delay. His mental condition before the attacks is unclear.

Mrs Sims said she was hopeful that one day her son would recognise her. "If God brought him this far back to me, he will come back the rest of the way. I am just grateful he is alive. God worked a miracle."