Marcy Borders, Dust-Covered Subject of Iconic 9/11 Photo, Dies From Cancer.

Marcy Borders


For years, an image of office worker Marcy Borders, covered in ash and debris, served as a graphic picture of the devastation that took place at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Borders had been working as a legal assistant at Bank of America in the south tower, for barely a month, when the attack on the buildings took place. She ran down 81 flights of stairs and into a nearby office building, seeking refuge. It was there that AFP photographer Stan Honda took the picture that earned Borders the moniker of the “Dust Lady.”

In the years following the attack, Borders, a mother of two, struggled with depression and substance abuse. She lost her job with Bank of America after repeatedly not responding to transfer requests from the company. In 2011 she entered rehab.

Borders spent the last few years of her life in a modest apartment in Bayonne, New Jersey, rarely venturing outside.

9/11 Survivor Marcy Borders – The Dust Lady from Mike McGregor on Vimeo.

“I still live in fear. I can’t think about being there, in those targets, the bridges, the tunnels, the (sub­way) stations,” she told AFP in a March 2012 interview.

She also appeared to be unaware of the range of mental health and other support services available to 9/11 survivors.

Borders was diagnosed with stomach cancer in August 2014, right when she had just started to re-enter the working world. She gave several interviews suggesting that chemical exposure from the 9/11 attacks caused her illness.

Her family announced her death, via Facebook, on Monday Night. “I can’t believe my sister is gone,” her brother, Michael Borders wrote.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio expressed condolences over Borders’ death, on Tuesday.


Marcy Borders admitted that she tried to avoid looking at that iconic photograph.

“I try to take myself from being a victim to being a survivor now. I don’t want to be a victim anymore,” she said.

Rest in Peace, Marcy Borders.