dpNew forensic technology helped identify remains found in Wilson County in 1977 as those of a 15-year-old girl who went missing from Maryland.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation announced Tuesday the remains have been identified as Cindy Marcell Blizzard, who ran away from Monkton, Maryland, in the spring of 1977.
She had been missing for more than 49 years.
According to the SBI, skeletal remains and clothing were found in a wooded area near the Firestone plant in Wilson on Dec. 29, 1977. The Wilson County Sheriff’s Office and the SBI began investigating.
The North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the remains belonged to a white female between the ages of 16 and 23 and had likely been in the woods for six months to two years. The medical examiner was unable to determine a cause of death.
Investigators believed the location of the remains pointed to possible foul play, and they began treating the case as a homicide.
For years, investigators compared dental records with missing persons cases but were unable to find a match. According to the SBI, the forensic tools available at the time were not enough to identify the remains, and the case went cold.
In 2024, SBI Cold Case Special Investigator Andy Murr began reviewing the case using forensic tools that did not exist in 1977. The SBI said investigators sent a bone sample for advanced DNA testing, allowing them to use genetic genealogy to search for potential relatives. That search eventually pointed investigators toward Blizzard.
With help from law enforcement agencies in North Carolina and Maryland, along with the FBI, investigators confirmed her identity. Blizzard’s death remains unsolved, and investigators are still looking for answers.
Anyone with information about Cindy Marcell Blizzard’s case is asked to call the SBI Cold Case Tip Line at 919-582-TIPS, email [email protected] or contact the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office at 252-237-2118.
