Breakthrough in Decades-Old Cold Case

Officials have reported a significant development in a cold case that has lingered for nearly 50 years. The remains found in North Carolina, almost four decades ago, have now been identified as belonging to a 15-year-old girl who ran away from her home in Maryland.

Cindy Marcell Blizzard went missing in the spring of 1977, and her skeletal remains were discovered more than six months later, as noted by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI). Authorities stated that while the manner of death has not been determined, the investigation is being treated as a homicide. The remains were uncovered in a wooded area near a manufacturing site in Wilson County, which is about five hours away from where Blizzard lived.

The SBI indicated that the “circumstances around the discovery of the remains raised the likelihood of foul play,” prompting the homicide investigation.

Specifically, the skeletal remains and some clothing were found on December 29, 1977, in proximity to a Firestone tire manufacturing facility. A medical examiner assessed that the remains had likely been there for between six months to two years and were from a white female, aged between 16 and 23.

Over the years, the case went cold—largely because the forensic technology available at that time was insufficient for identifying the remains. “For years, investigators compared dental records to missing persons cases without any matches,” the SBI reported.

The case had been reopened in 2010 by a state anthropologist who had submitted the remains for DNA testing, cross-referencing with federal databases. Yet, momentum did not build until 2024 when the SBI’s Cold Case Investigative Team revisited the case using advanced forensic tools that were not available in 1977.

After qualifying for advanced DNA testing, forensic scientists managed to extract preserved genetic material from a bone sample. “A genealogy service utilized this profile to trace potential relatives, leading investigators to a 15-year-old girl who had disappeared from Monkton, Maryland, in the spring of that year,” the SBI explained.

The identification came with support from several agencies, including the FBI’s NCIC Investigation and Operational Assistance Group, the Maryland State Police Homicide Unit, and the Raleigh Police Department’s Intelligence Unit.

Currently, investigators are continuing their search for answers related to Blizzard’s death.