MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Skeletal remains found nearly 50 years ago in Middle Tennessee have been identified as a missing Memphis woman who was last seen in 1974.

Nineteen-year-old Annie Carolyn Jenkins of Memphis was identified by volunteers with the DNA Doe Project. They made contact with a relative of Jenkins last month, according to the Maury County Sheriff’s Office.

Jenkins had been visiting with relatives in Chicago in the fall of 1974 when she left on a flight bound for Tennessee. This was the last known contact with her family, the sheriff’s office said.

Her remains were recovered near Interstate 65 in Maury County in February 1975. The area is south of Nashville, about four hours’ drive east of Memphis.

According to the DNA Doe Project, Jenkins’ body was discovered by hunters in a wooded area two miles from Joe Brown Road. Also found near the body were bones from a puppy.

Authorities speculate Jenkins had been in an automobile accident or run over by a car during the autumn of 1974, six to nine months before being found.

A relative told authorities that Jenkins was not officially reported missing, but the family never stopped searching for her.

Her remains had been stored at the University of Tennessee Department of Anthropology since 1975.

The case has been investigated and DNA samples taken many times over the years, and was revived in 2012 by retired Maury County Lt. Jerry Williams.

The Maury County Sheriff’s Office said this remains an open homicide investigation.