Nearly 50 years after skeletal remains were discovered in a wooded area of North Carolina, investigators say they have identified them as a 15-year-old runaway who disappeared in 1977.
The remains were found on Dec. 29, 1977, in woods near a manufacturing plant in Wilson County, North Carolina. At the time, investigators believed they had been there for anywhere from six months to two years, according to a news release from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. Authorities also determined the remains were likely those of a White female between the ages of 16 and 23.
Because of the circumstances surrounding the discovery, investigators handled the case as a homicide. But they were unable to identify any suspects, and the victim’s name remained unknown. Dental records were checked, but no match was found, the bureau said. Over time, the investigation stalled and became a cold case.
The case was reopened in 2010, when a state anthropologist submitted the victim’s teeth for DNA testing. Investigators entered the resulting DNA profiles into national databases, but the search did not produce a match.
In 2024, the investigation received renewed attention from the bureau’s Cold Case Investigative Team. Special investigator Andy Murr reviewed the file and sent a bone sample to a forensic DNA laboratory, where scientists extracted genetic material and developed a complex DNA profile. That profile was then used to search for possible relatives.
The genetic leads eventually directed Murr and other investigators to Cindy Marcell Blizzard, a 15-year-old girl who had run away from her home in Monkton, Maryland, in the spring of 1977.
North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation
With the help of genetic information and work by local, state and federal agencies, investigators confirmed that the remains belonged to Blizzard. A photograph released by authorities shows her as a young woman with light hair and blue eyes. The bureau did not release additional details about her family or personal life.
The investigation into Blizzard’s death is still active. Anyone with information about Cindy Marcell Blizzard is urged to contact the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation’s Cold Case Tip Line, email the agency or reach out to the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office.
