Sister-in-law of 9/11 victim recalls final moments

Buffalo, NY (WBEN) The sister-in-law of a 9/11 victim recalls his final moments inside the World Trade Center, as we mark 25 years since the attack on Friday.

Sean Rooney was a vice president for AEON, a business located on the 98th floor of the World Trade Center. "Sean didn't go into the World Trade Center every morning. He had a territory, and he had clients he had to see. But that morning, his boss had called a meeting, so he came in. He got in," says Eckert. He and his wife Beverly lived in Stamford, CT. Shortly after 8:30, Eckert and the world learned the disaster that happened.

""Sean was in Tower Two at about 8:40 that morning, and Sean knew something happened," says Karen Eckert. "He called my sister,. He left a voicemail on her desk phone at her office. She was in a meeting and said something terrible, horrible has happened.' A plane hit the other tower, and she wasn't there. He called his sister to find out. He couldn't see where the plane was. He wanted to get more information. Then he left her a second message at 8:59, and said, "Looks like we're going to be here for a while,'" says Eckert.

Beverly Eckert's employer sent her home after learning what had happened. "She lived very close by, and the phone rang at home, and it was Sean. And Beverly goes, "Oh my gosh, Sean, you're okay, and he goes, "No, I'm not. And so they had a long conversation. It could have been like 2020, minutes. She tried. She he told her he was trapped. She he tried to go down. The plane hit the second tower at about 9:02, and it was below. Point of impact was the 79th floor, and he was above it. He couldn't find a way down. There was burning floors below him. Beverly said, "Please try to go up to the roof. In 1993, they rescued people from the roof. He said, "I already tried. It's locked. She goes, "Go try again, and he did. And he came back down. He says, "It's locked. He says, "We have to say goodbye. So they spoke of their love, and he just kept saying, "I love you. I love you. She actually, sadly, heard the towers collapse on him," says Karen Eckert.

Beverly Eckert died in the crash of Flight 2407 in February 2009.