Less than 24 hours after finding a body near Stewarts Creek in Lambsburg, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office arrested Chad James Hall for first-degree murder on Friday.

Hall, 26, of Cana, was arrested for first-degree murder in the death of 21-year-old Justin Wade Edwards, along with use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and obstruction of justice.

Edwards was reported missing in Carroll on March 6. Manning said Edwards’ body was found by a citizen walking along Stewarts Creek between 7:30 and 8 p.m. Thursday below the old Ruritan building off Chesnut Grove Road.

On Friday morning, Manning said the body could not be identified because it was so badly decomposed, saying it had been there for “possibly over a month.” An identification was made after the body was sent to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Roanoke.

“We had a 99 percent idea (the body was Edwards) but we had to prove it,” Manning said. “With the information we had, and the information of the body we sent there, our investigation came conclusive it was Justin Edwards.”

Manning credited Deputy Chuck Edwards for such a quick arrest in the case. Manning said Chuck Edwards had been investigating the missing person’s case of Justin Edwards since he was reported missing March 6.

“He had been working on it for six weeks and got valuable information from talking to people, doing interviews and keeping good records,” Manning said. “When we knew he was no longer missing and we found the body, we went back to Chuck and his investigation and it helped lead us to a charge.”

Manning said deputies believe the murder weapon was a shotgun, adding that the department has recovered a shotgun and shotgun shells. Manning said the obstruction of justice charge was made because Hall hid information from the sheriff’s department during an initial interview in the missing person case for Justin Edwards.

Manning said the murder was drug related and began with a fishing trip between Justin Edwards and Hall, who Manning said were friends.

“It was just the two of them down there and they were fishing that day. We found out it was drug related,” Manning said. “Something went wrong and it escalated and that is why we found him six weeks later. They were friends.”

Manning was pleased to see the case come to such a quick conclusion after the discovery of the body Thursday evening.

“It was just good, hard police work from everybody involved,” Manning said. “I commend Chuck Edwards for the hard work he did during the missing person’s case, plus my officers that worked very diligently from Thursday to Friday night trying to get the right information and story and the conclusion of the arrest.”

Hall is currently being held in New River Valley Regional Jail.