Edwards' case was never solved, his body never found and his life forgotten by all but family and friends.
But in 2007, Edwards' name was resurrected in an article published by the Concordia Sentinel. Later, after the Syracuse College of Law Cold Case Justice Initiative advocated a new look at the murder, the FBI added his case to a long list of other unsolved Civil Rights era murders that it promised the nation it would attempt to resolve.
Since 2007, the Sentinel has identified 10 individuals with information about this decades-old case. The group includes three retired FBI agents, two key witnesses, a forensic pathologist, a suspect and others who knew Edwards, saw Edwards and talked to Edwards around the time of his disappearance.
But the bureau never contacted any of them during its current probe.
Now five of these individuals are dead and Edwards' sister, optimistic three years ago that justice would be served, isn't so sure anymore. She and others say the FBI is showing little initiative in its own campaign to solve these decades old murders.