What To Know
- Lara Spencer reflected on covering the 9/11 attacks for ABC News while six months pregnant.
- Spencer shared a throwback photo and video of herself covering the aftermath of the events in New York City.
- The Good Morning America host described the desperate search by families for missing loved ones in the days following the tragedy.
As the country commemorates the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Lara Spencer is reflecting on her own experience that day.
“25 years ago today. I was a correspondent for ABC News and 6 months pregnant with my first child,” Spencer wrote alongside a throwback photo of herself standing in front of a memorial site via Instagram on Friday, September 11. (Spencer and her ex-husband, David Haffenreffer, welcomed their son, Duff, in 2002, and their daughter, Katharine, in 2004.)
“Charlie Gibson cut into my live report from fashion week that morning to say there appeared to be a commuter plane that went off course and flew into the World Trade Center,” she recalled. “When the second plane struck the other tower We knew it was not an accident and my crew and I were immediately moved downtown.”
The Good Morning America host continued, “We made it to 23rd street and couldn’t get further bc of the sea of people rushing uptown by foot in the middle of the ave— trying to get as far away from the towers as they could. And then the first tower fell. I will never forget that scene.”
Spencer noted that her photo was taken two days after the attacks “on 14th street as families posted pictures anywhere they could hoping someone-anyone-might have some information about their loved one.” She concluded, “My heart still breaks thinking of those families-desperately holding onto hope. I will never forget.”
In another Instagram post, Spencer shared a video of herself reporting on New York residents searching for their missing loved ones shortly after the attacks. “To the families of 9-11-you are in our hearts today and everyday,” she captioned the clip. “We will never forget.”
In the throwback clip, Spencer told ABC News viewers, “This is a place where people are bringing pictures of their loved ones. They’re bringing them inside. They are hoping for some information. They are also putting them outside. As you can see, they’re putting them on anything they can. They’re putting them on signposts. Behind me, over here, you can see, this phone booth is absolutely covered with pictures of the missing and their story.”
At the time, Spencer noted that over 4,000 people were presumed missing. “Yesterday, 2,000 family and friends came here, hoping for some sort of information. Many of them told us at this point, they just want to know something. Of course, they’re holding out hope that perhaps the name will pop up on a master list from one of the hospitals, perhaps even that their loved one is still clinging to life under that pile of rubble down at Ground Zero.”
She added, “They want to know just one way or another. Even if they find out that the body has been found, that brings closure to this devastating situation.”
Spencer joined ABC News as a reporter for WABC-TV in 1995 and later joined GMA as a correspondent in 1999. She continued working for WABC-TV before becoming a full-time national correspondent for ABC News in 2001. Spencer became an official co-host on GMA in 2014.
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