Remains found nearly 50 years ago in North Carolina identified as missing Maryland teenager
The teen, Cindy Marcell Blizzard, had run away in 1977, authorities said.
Remains found nearly 50 years ago in North Carolina have been identified as those of a missing Maryland teenager, authorities announced, as investigators still seek answers on the cold case.
Skeletal remains and clothing were found in a wooded area in Wilson, North Carolina, in December 1977, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. The remains, determined to have belonged to a female teenager or young woman, had likely been there for at least six months, it said.
No match was found when comparing the dental records against missing persons cases, and the individual's identity remained unknown for decades due to limited forensic tools, the bureau said. The state reopened the case in 2010, but no match came back then, either, it said.
In 2024, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation's Cold Case Investigative Team assigned Special Investigator Andy Murr to review the case again, "this time with forensic tools that didn't exist in 1977," the bureau said in a press release on Tuesday.
Investigators were able to develop a DNA profile that could be used for forensic genetic genealogy. After submitting the profile to a genealogy service to find potential relatives, they were ultimately able to identify the remains as Cindy Marcell Blizzard, a 15-year-old girl who had run away from Monkton, Maryland, in the spring of 1977, the bureau said.
The FBI's National Crime Information Center, the Maryland Department of State Police Homicide Unit and the police department in Raleigh, North Carolina, helped confirm her identity, authorities said.
Following the initial discovery of the teen's remains, the state's chief medical examiner classified the manner of death as undetermined, though "circumstances surrounding the location and recovery of the remains raised the probability of foul play, and the investigators are treating the case as a homicide," the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said.
"Her death remains unsolved. Investigators are still looking for answers," the bureau said.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation's cold case tip line at 919-582-TIPS, email coldcases@ncsbi.gov, or contact the Wilson County Sheriff's Office at 252-237-2118.