Investigators say they have solved a key mystery in a nearly 49-year-old North Carolina cold case, confirming that human remains discovered decades ago 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.
Officials said her manner of death has not been determined, though the case is being handled as a homicide. The remains were recovered in a wooded area near a manufacturing facility in Wilson County, 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 treat the death as a homicide.
Authorities have identified human remains found nearly 49 years ago as those of Maryland runaway teen Cindy Marcell Blizzard. (North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation )
According to officials, skeletal remains and clothing were found Dec. 29, 1977, near a Firestone plant that produces vehicle tires.
A medical examiner determined the remains had likely been there for six months to two years and belonged to a white female between 16 and 23 years old.
In the decades that followed, the case went cold as forensic technology was not advanced enough to identify the remains, authorities said.
“For years, investigators compared dental records against missing persons cases without finding a match,” the SBI said.
FILE — A road runs through a wooded area in Asheville, North Carolina. Investigators are pursuing a homicide probe in the case of a missing teen whose remains were found in a wooded area. (George Rose/Getty Images)
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.
FILE — A young doctor conducts research in a laboratory. Forensic teams in North Carolina have identified the skeletal remains found nearly 49 years ago in Wilson County. (iStock)
Investigators continue to search for answers surrounding Blizzard’s death.