Buried in Mystery

A court-ordered exhumation holds the hope of resolving a longtime Granbury mystery in the case of famed outlaw Jesse James.  The exhumation comes at the request of two of James' reputed descendants.  DNA testing is planned on the remains to be exhumed from Granbury Cemetery.  

Hood County Judge Linda Steen ordered the exhumation earlier this year.  That order came despite DNA testing of remains exhumed in 1995 from what historians and relatives have identified as Jesse James' grave in Kearney, Missouri.

Some believe James faked his apparent death in Missouri to elude authorities as he moved to Texas under the assumed name of J. Frank Dalton.  Dalton died in 1951. (from Mortuary Management, July/August, 2000).