SURRY COUNTY, N.C. — A man has been arrested in a 1980 murder of a 14-year-old Forsyth County teen.
The Surry County Sheriff’s Office arrested Robert James Adkins, 62, of Fisher Valley Road in Dobson in connection with the murder of Ronda Mechelle Blaylock. Adkins is charged with First Degree Murder and First Degree Forcible Rape.
WFMY News 2 returned to the spot in Rural Hall where Blaylock was last seen.
Many remember hearing about Blaylock's murder when the news first broke. Although some say they didn't know her, they're happy to hear law enforcement have finally caught the man they believe is responsible.
"I just hope they have the right one," said Willy Andrews, who lives right down the street from where Blaylock went to school.
Nearly 40 years have passed since Blaylock's body was found in a heavily wooded area in Pilot Mountain.
"There's so many people getting killed and they never found out who it is. It's automatic wrong," he said.
Sheriff's Offices from Surry County, Stokes County and Forsyth County all assisted in the investigation.
They also received help from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, State Cold Case Unit and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
A news conference will be held Wed. Aug. 7 where more details are expected to be released about the arrest.
RONDA BLAYLOCK REPORTED MISSING
Investigators said Blaylock who was from Forysth County and a freshman at Atkins High School was last seen in the Rural Hall area on August 26, 1980, the day she was reported missing.
BLAYLOCK NEVER MADE IT HOME
Investigators said Blaylock and a friend were walking home from school when they accepted a ride from a man in a blue Chevrolet pickup truck. They said, her friend was dropped off safely but Blaylock never made it home.
BLACKLOCK'S BODY DISCOVERED
Three days later after she was reported missing, her body was discovered on August 29, 1980, in Surry County. Her partially clothed body was found in a heavily wooded area near Secrist Loop Road in Pilot Mountain.
SUSPECT DESCRIPTION
Investigators later developed a suspect who they said went by the names of "Jimmy" or "Butch." The man was in his late teens or early 20s at the time of the murder. He drove a 1970's or 1980's model blue Chevy pickup truck. They said the right passenger side mirror was missing and its front and rear tires were mismatched. It also had a white camper on the back.
RONDA BLAYLOCK HOMICIDE TASK FORCE
A special task force was developed in 2015 to reopen the cold case. That's after investigators received new leads in the unsolved murder. At the time, Surry County Sheriff Graham Atkinson said a phone call from Ronda's mother, inquiring about the case, and some other developments prompted the task force.
"We are here to bring this case to a conclusion," Atkinson said. "And, if the suspect sees this and is within the sound of our voice, make no mistake -- we are coming for you."
A Facebook page was also created to gain tips about the cold case murder.
AFTER ADKINS' ARREST
Surry County Sheriff Steve Hiatt said, “This case is finally being brought to a close through the collective work of many current and retired agents and officers from Surry County Sheriff’s Office, N.C. State Bureau of Investigations, N.C. State Crime Lab, N.C. State Bureau Cold Case Unit, Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office, S.C. Law Enforcement Division and Stokes County Sheriff’s Office."
Adkins is being held in the Surry County Detention Center without bond.