Remains found in wooded area identified as woman who died over 100 years ago in 1907

(Gray News) - The remains of a Delaware woman who died in 1907 have been identified nearly 15 years after they were found in a wooded area.

New Castle County Police identified the remains as belonging to Hannah Graham Kleitz, 29, who died from a medical illness, according to a press release.

The investigation began on June 5, 2011, when police were called to a wooded area after receiving reports of human remains and a skull.

A forensic analysis of the skeletal remains indicated that the victim was a female, possibly between the ages of 25 and 50.

Eight years after the discovery of the remains, the New Castle County Police cold case unit reviewed the investigation.

Investigators also pursued further DNA analysis involving forensic investigative genetic genealogy. They contacted people throughout the country who volunteered their ancestral information and DNA profiles.

Then, in January 2026, a potential family member reached out to police and said the mausoleum and grave of a relative at Riverview Cemetery were unlawfully removed in 2002.

With the extended family’s blessing, an exhumation was performed, and a DNA comparison led to Kleitz’s identity.

On Aug. 27, members of Kleitz’s extended family and those involved in the investigation gathered at Riverview Cemetery to return Kleitz’s remains to her mausoleum.