9/11 Victim's Letter Jacket Goes Missing During Restaurant Remodel

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- More than 3,000 people died at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon as a result of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

A new $26 million visitor center opened to the public on Thursday in Shanksville, Pa. It honors the victims of United Airlines Flight 93.

Video, artifacts and photos tell the story of the people who wrestled with four hijackers for control of the airplane on Sept. 11, 2001. Forty four people died in the crash, including the suspected hijackers.

One of 44 killed that day was Minnesota native Tom Burnett. He was one of the passengers who stormed the cockpit of Flight 93 disrupting the terrorists plan to crash it into the U.S. Capitol.

One way Tom's family has honored his memory was by donating some of his belongings to the Bloomington Historical Society and his local high school. One item in particular, his letter jacket, was on loan to a local Applebee's restaurant to be put on display.

Tom's family wanted to donate the jacket to a new display at Bloomington Jefferson High School. When they went to get it from Applebee's they learned it went missing during the restaurant's remodel.

"It's sort of a mystery. Hopefully someone returns it. Maybe it was a mistake," May Burnett Jurgens, Tom's younger sister, said. "Somebody wanted a letter jacket, didn't know it belonged to our family or to the high school."

Police are trying to help the family track down the jacket, but say it will be difficult because they're not sure when the jacket was moved at the restaurant.

Two other Minnesotans were killed on Sept. 11, 2001. Gary Koecheler and Gordy Aamoth Jr. were both in the Twin Towers when they fell.