Skeletal remains found in the woods near a North Carolina tire factory nearly 50 years ago have been identified as a 15-year-old Maryland girl who vanished in 1977.
The remains discovered by the Firestone plant in Wilson on December 29, 1977, belong to Cindy Marcell Blizzard, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation announced on Tuesday, September 8.
Blizzard disappeared from Monkton, Maryland, in the spring that same year, according to authorities, who said she had run away from home. A photo of Blizzard shared by investigators shows the teen with light wavy hair and blue eyes.
Though a medical examiner couldn’t determine exactly how Blizzard died, investigators suspect she was killed and are continuing to investigate her death.
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“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 in a news release.
After Blizzard’s remains were discovered along with a set of clothes near the Firestone facility, the medical examiner initially determined her body had been undetected for around six months to two years, authorities said.
Her death became a cold case after the available forensic technology couldn’t identify Blizzard by her dental records, according to authorities.
When an anthropologist revisited the case in 2010, they had Blizzard’s teeth analyzed, authorities said. A DNA profile developed and was submitted to the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, as well as the National Missing and Unidentified Persons system, but no leads emerged.
As forensic technology became more advanced over the years, Andy Murr, a cold case investigator with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, took another look at the case in 2024.
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While working with a medical examiner, Murr “determined the case qualified for advanced DNA testing,” the agency said.
As part of advanced testing, a bone sample was provided to a forensic laboratory, which developed a specific DNA profile based on extracted genetic material, according to 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,” authorities said.
Authorities were then able to positively identify the remains as Blizzard.
“Her death remains unsolved,” authorities said.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is encouraging anyone with information about Blizzard’s case to call the agency’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.”
Wilson is about a 50-mile drive east from Raleigh.