A Maryland girl who disappeared nearly 50 years ago has been identified as the victim in a long-unsolved North Carolina cold case.
Skeletal remains and clothing were discovered on December 29, 1977, in a wooded area near the Firestone plant in Wilson, North Carolina. Investigators determined the remains belonged to a female approximately 16 to 23 years old who had likely been there for six months to two years. Although her manner of death was classified as undetermined, investigators have treated the case as a homicide because of the circumstances surrounding the discovery.
For decades, attempts to identify the victim through dental records and later DNA databases were unsuccessful. The case was reopened again in 2024, when the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation’s Cold Case Investigative Team began reviewing it using newer forensic technology.
Investigators obtained DNA from a bone sample and developed a SNP profile that could be used for forensic genetic genealogy. Genealogical research eventually pointed investigators toward Cindy Marcell Blizzard, a 15-year-old girl who had run away from Monkton, Maryland, in the spring of 1977.
With assistance from the FBI, Maryland State Police and Raleigh Police Department, investigators confirmed that the remains belonged to Blizzard, who had been missing for more than 49 years.
While Blizzard has now been identified, investigators have not determined who was responsible for her death. The case remains unsolved, and authorities are asking anyone with information about Blizzard or the circumstances surrounding her death to contact the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation or Wilson County Sheriff’s Office.
