WILSON COUNTY, N.C. — A decades-old mystery surrounding unidentified human remains found in a wooded area of North Carolina has taken a major turn after investigators identified them as a 15-year-old girl who disappeared from Maryland in 1977.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation announced the breakthrough nearly 49 years after skeletal remains and clothing were discovered near a Firestone manufacturing facility in Wilson County.
The remains belonged to Cindy Marcell Blizzard, who authorities said had run away from Monkton, Maryland, in the spring of 1977.
The discovery came more than six months after Blizzard disappeared. At the time, investigators did not have the technology needed to establish her identity.
Although the manner of death remains undetermined, authorities are now treating the case as a homicide investigation because of the circumstances surrounding where and how the remains were found.
Skeletal Remains Found Near Firestone Plant
According to investigators, the skeletal remains and clothing were discovered on December 29, 1977, in a wooded area near a Firestone plant that manufactured vehicle tires.
A medical examiner examined the remains and estimated that they had likely been at the location for six months to two years.
The remains were initially believed to belong to a white female between 16 and 23 years old. That estimate did not immediately lead investigators to Blizzard, who was only 15 when she disappeared.
For years, investigators attempted to identify the woman through traditional forensic methods.
The SBI said investigators compared dental records with missing-person cases, but those efforts did not produce a match.
As forensic science advanced, however, investigators gained new opportunities to revisit the mystery.
Cold Case Reopened as DNA Technology Advances
The investigation was reopened in 2010 by a state anthropologist who submitted the remains for DNA testing and cross-referenced the results with federal databases.
Despite those efforts, the case did not produce a definitive identification for years. A major change came in 2024, when the SBI’s Cold Case Investigative Team took another look at the case.
Investigators were able to use forensic tools that were not available when the remains were originally discovered. When the case qualified for advanced DNA testing, forensic scientists extracted preserved genetic material from a bone sample.
That genetic profile ultimately provided investigators with a new path toward identifying the unknown girl.
Genealogy Helps Solve 49-Year Mystery
A genealogy service used the DNA profile to trace potential relatives, eventually pointing investigators toward Cindy Marcell Blizzard, the Maryland teenager who had run away in 1977.
The identification was made with assistance from several law enforcement agencies, including 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.
The breakthrough means Blizzard’s family and investigators now have an answer to one of the most basic questions surrounding the case: who the unidentified remains belonged to.
But the identification has also brought new questions.
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Authorities still need to determine what happened to Blizzard after she left Maryland and how she ended up nearly five hours away in Wilson County, North Carolina.
Investigators Still Searching for Answers
While the identification closes one major chapter of the cold case, the circumstances surrounding Blizzard’s death remain unresolved.
Officials have not determined the exact manner of death, and investigators have not announced who may have been responsible.
The SBI said the circumstances surrounding the location and recovery of the remains raised the probability of foul play, which is why investigators are treating the case as a homicide.
For nearly half a century, the young girl’s identity remained unknown. Now, advanced DNA testing and genetic genealogy have finally given investigators a name and a connection to a missing-person case from 1977.
The investigation remains active as authorities continue searching for information that could explain what happened to Cindy Marcell Blizzard and who was responsible for her death.
Do you think advances in DNA technology can help solve more decades-old cold cases? Share your thoughts in the comments.