Who Was Cindy Marcell Blizzard? DNA Cracks 49-Year Mystery of Missing Maryland Teen
Nearly 49 years after skeletal remains were discovered in a wooded area in northeast North Carolina, investigators have finally identified the victim as Cindy Marcell Blizzard, a 15-year-old girl who had run away from Monkton, Maryland, in the spring of 1977, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) announced in a statement on Tuesday, September 8.
Nearly 49 years after skeletal remains were discovered in a wooded area in northeast North Carolina, investigators have finally identified the victim as Cindy Marcell Blizzard, a 15-year-old girl who had run away from Monkton, Maryland, in the spring of 1977, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) announced in a statement on Tuesday, September 8.
The remains and clothing were originally found on December 29, 1977, near the former Firestone plant in Wilson. At the time, authorities were unable to identify them.
Remains Classified As Undetermined, Treated As Homicide
The medical examiner determined that the remains belonged to a white female between the ages of 16 and 23, who had likely been in the wooded area for six months to two years, according to the CBS News.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner initially classified the manner of death as undetermined. However, the SBI said in its statement that circumstances surrounding the location and recovery of the remains raised the probability of foul play, prompting investigators to treat the case as a homicide. Florida: Man Uses Leaf Blower on Infant, Indicted After Child Dies.
Decades Of Failed Attempts To Identify The Victim
For years, investigators compared dental records against existing missing persons cases but found no match.
In 2010, a state anthropologist reopened the case and submitted the victim's teeth for DNA testing, entering the resulting profile into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs). The effort yielded no results, and the case went cold for nearly 50 years. Florida Shocker: Man Holds 7-Year-Old Brother at Knife-Point in Hillsborough County, Shot Dead by Police During Rescue; Terrifying Bodycam Video Surfaces.
Advanced DNA Testing Finally Cracks The Case
In 2024, the SBI's Cold Case Investigative Team assigned Special Investigator Andy Murr to review the case again, this time using forensic tools that did not exist in 1977.
Murr determined that the remains qualified for advanced DNA testing. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner sent a bone sample to a forensic DNA lab, which extracted DNA and built a SNP profile, a technique that can link skeletal remains or bone tissue to a source, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
A genealogy service then used the SNP profile to trace potential relatives, ultimately leading investigators to determine that the remains belonged to Blizzard, who had been missing for more than 49 years.
Investigation Remains Open
Blizzard's death remains unsolved, and investigators are continuing to search for answers.
Anyone with information about the 1977 case involving Cindy Marcell Blizzard is asked to call the N.C. SBI Cold Case Tip Line at 919-582-TIPS, email coldcases@ncsbi.gov, or contact the Wilson County Sheriff's Office at 252-237-2118.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 09, 2026 03:52 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
