Decades-old cold case solved
Investigators identify skeletal remains of runaway teen found in 1977 using genetic genealogy.
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Key Points
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The remains and clothing were found at a specific location: a wooded area near the Firestone plant at 3001 Firestone Parkway in Wilson.
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When the case was reopened in 2010, a state anthropologist submitted the victim’s teeth for DNA testing and entered the resulting profile into CODIS and NamUs, but neither database produced a match.
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The advanced testing produced a SNP profile containing hundreds of thousands of genetic markers, which enabled a genealogy service to trace potential relatives and ultimately point investigators toward Cindy Blizzard.
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Investigators are asking anyone with information to contact the SBI Cold Case Tip Line at 919-582-TIPS, email coldcases@ncsbi.gov, or call the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office at 252-237-2118.
Skeletal remains discovered in a wooded area near a North Carolina tire factory in December 1977 have been identified as Cindy Marcell Blizzard, a 15-year-old who ran away from her home in Monkton, Maryland, that spring. The MoCo Show reports the identification came nearly 50 years later through advanced DNA testing and genetic genealogy performed by the SBI's Cold Case Investigative Team in 2024. The case remains unsolved, with no determined cause of death.
A Cold Case Reopened After Decades
The remains and clothing were found on December 29, 1977, in a wooded area near the Firestone plant at 3001 Firestone Parkway in Wilson. Initial investigators believed the victim was a female between 16 and 23 years old who had been dead for six months to two years. 13WHAM reports the medical examiner could not determine cause of death, but investigators suspected foul play. The case went unsolved for decades until the SBI reopened it in 2010.
DNA Testing Finally Cracks the Mystery
Early efforts to identify the victim failed. When the case reopened in 2010, a state anthropologist submitted the victim's teeth for DNA testing and entered the profile into CODIS and NamUs databases. Neither matched. In 2024, the SBI used advanced SNP DNA testing, which created a profile containing hundreds of thousands of genetic markers. US Magazine explains this advanced testing enabled a genealogy service to trace potential relatives and point investigators toward Cindy Blizzard.
Investigators Seek Public Help in Unsolved Homicide
Though Blizzard has been identified, her death remains a mystery. Investigators from North Carolina, Maryland, and the FBI collaborated on the identification. The State reports the case is still treated as a homicide investigation. Anyone with information about Blizzard's death can contact the SBI Cold Case Tip Line at 919-582-TIPS, email coldcases@ncsbi.gov, or call the Wilson County Sheriff's Office at 252-237-2118.
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