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Cold Case Cracked: Runaway Teen Identified After 49 Years
9 Sep
Summary
- Skeletal remains found in 1977 identified as a 15-year-old runaway.
- DNA testing and genetic profiling led to the identification after decades.
- The investigation into Cindy Blizzard's death remains ongoing.
Skeletal remains discovered in a North Carolina wooded area in December 1977 have been identified as 15-year-old Cindy Marcell Blizzard. Blizzard had run away from her home in Monkton, Maryland, in the spring of 1977. The remains were found near a manufacturing plant in Wilson County and were estimated to have been there for six months to two years.
Initially, investigators treated the case as a homicide but were unable to identify the remains due to a lack of matches using dental records. The case went cold for decades until 2010 when DNA testing was initiated. Further DNA advancements in 2024 allowed a special investigator from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation's Cold Case Investigative Team to build a complex genetic profile.
This genetic information ultimately pointed investigators to Blizzard and allowed for confirmation of her identity through collaboration with local, state, and federal agencies. A photo released by investigators shows Blizzard as a young woman with light hair and blue eyes. The investigation into her death is ongoing, and authorities are seeking information from the public.
