Cold Case Files: Identity of remains found in Wilson uncovered 49 years later

WILSON COUNTY, N.C. (WNCT) — The skeletal remains and clothing of Cindy Marcell Blizzard were found in a wooded area near the Firestone Plant in Wilson on December 29, 1977. Investigators would remain unaware that the remains belonged to Blizzard until over 49 years later. The Wilson County Sheriff's Office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation determined that foul play was the most likely cause of death. However, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner classified the manner of death as undetermined. A medical examiner reported that the remains were of a white female between the ages of 16 and 23 years old. The remains had likely been in the woods for six months to two years. The case eventually went cold. The case reopened in 2010 by a state anthropologist. The victim's teeth were submitted for DNA testing and the results were submitted into CODIS and NamUs. There was no match. In 2024, NCSBI's Cold Case Special Investigator, Andy Murr, was assigned to review the case. A bone sample was sent to a forensic DNA lab. A genealogy service used the DNA profile to trace possible relatives. The investigation led Murr to a 15-year-old girl who had run away from Monkton, Maryland in 1977. Investigators were able to confirm that Cindy Marcell Blizzard was the victim's identity with help from the FBI's NCIC Investigation and Operational Assistance Group, Maryland Department of State Police Homicide Unit and Raleigh Police Department's Intel Unit. Blizzard's cause of death is still unsolved. If anyone has information, they are asked to contact the 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.