Investigators in North Carolina say they have solved a key mystery in a nearly 49-year-old cold case, confirming that human remains discovered in 1977 belonged to Cindy Marcell Blizzard, a 15-year-old runaway who vanished from Maryland.
Blizzard disappeared in the spring of 1977, and her skeletal remains were found more than six months later, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, known as the SBI.
While officials said the manner of death has not been determined, investigators are treating the case as a homicide. The remains were recovered in a wooded area near a manufacturing facility in Wilson County, North Carolina, about five hours south of Blizzard’s home.
The SBI said the “circumstances surrounding the location and recovery of the remains raised the probability of foul play,” prompting investigators to handle the death as a homicide inquiry.
Authorities said the remains, along with clothing, were discovered on Dec. 29, 1977, near a Firestone plant that manufactures vehicle tires.
At the time, a medical examiner concluded the remains had likely been at the site for anywhere from six months to two years and belonged to a white female estimated to be between 16 and 23 years old.
For decades, the case remained unsolved, with authorities saying forensic science had not yet advanced enough to make a positive identification.
“For years, investigators compared dental records against missing persons cases without finding a match,” the SBI said.
The case was reopened in 2010 by a state anthropologist, who submitted the remains for DNA testing and cross-referenced the results with federal databases, officials said.
However, the investigation did not gain momentum until 2024, when the SBI’s Cold Case Investigative Team reviewed the case again using forensic tools that did not exist in 1977.
When the case qualified for advanced DNA testing, forensic scientists extracted preserved genetic material from a bone sample, according to the authorities.
“A genealogy service used the profile to trace potential relatives, pointing investigators toward a 15-year-old girl who had run away from Monkton, Maryland, in the spring of 1977,” the SBI said.
The identification was made with assistance from the FBI’s NCIC Investigation and Operational Assistance Group, the Maryland Department of State Police Homicide Unit and the Raleigh Police Department’s Intel Unit, authorities said.
Investigators continue to search for answers surrounding Blizzard’s death.
