Cindy Marcell Blizzard, 15, Identified in North Carolina Cold Case
BETHESDA, Md. - Skeletal remains found in North Carolina 49 years ago have been identified as a 15-year-old girl who ran away from Maryland, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI).
What we know:
The body was found along with clothing on Dec. 29, 1977, in a wooded area near a Firestone plant in Wilson County, North Carolina.
Investigators determined that the remains belonged to a white female who was estimated to be between the ages of 16 and 23. They determined that her body had been there for six months to two years.
The chief medical examiner's office classified her death as undetermined. However, the location and recovery of the remains indicated the possibility of foul play, leading investigators to treat the case as a homicide.
Investigators spent years comparing her dental records to missing persons cases, but they were unable to find a match and the case went cold.
In 2010, the case was reopened by a state anthropologist who submitted the victim's teeth for DNA testing. The DNA profile was entered into two national crime and missing persons databases. However, no matches were found.
Break in the cold case
Dig deeper:
In 2024, SBI's Cold Case Investigative Team reviewed the case again with forensic tools that did not exist in 1977.
A special investigator determined that the case qualified for advanced DNA testing and the medical examiner's office sent a bone sample to a forensic lab. The lab extracted genetic material and built a profile by comparing hundreds of thousands of genetic markers. A genealogy service then used the profile to trace potential relatives.
The profile pointed toward a 15-year-old girl who had run away from Monkton, Maryland, in the spring of 1977. Officials confirmed her identity as Cindy Marcell Blizzard, who was missing for more than 49 years.
Her death is still unsolved and under investigation. Anyone with information is urged to contact SBI's Cold Case Tip Line at 919-582-TIPS, email coldcases@ncsbi.gov, or contact the Wilson County Sheriff's Office at 252-237-2118.
The Source: Information in this article is from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation.