Cindy Ball. (File photo)

PARKERSBURG — Nearly 11 years to the day after Cindy Ball’s body was found in a rural portion of Wirt County, a suspect has been charged in her murder.

Gregory A. Casto, no age or address listed, was indicted on a murder charge by a special session of the Wood County Grand Jury, a release from county Prosecutor Pat Lefebure said Tuesday.

“He was taken into custody (Tuesday) without incident,” Lefebure said.

The indictment was initially sealed and must be unsealed by a court order before it can be released, he said.

Ball’s body was found by hunters in a secluded area off Sugar Camp Road in Wirt County on Oct. 24, 2014, the day after she was reported missing. She had sustained a gunshot wound to the back of the head.

Ball was last seen on Oct. 22, leaving with someone from the Overtime Sports Bar on Emerson Avenue in Parkersburg, West Virginia State Police said at the time.

The 36-year-old Vienna resident’s death has remained under active investigation by the State Police Violent Crimes Task Force, the release said. It credited “advancements in technology, additional testing, and the tireless work of law enforcement” with securing the indictment of Casto.

“This case has never been forgotten,” Lefebure said in the release. “Thanks to the perseverance of the West Virginia State Police, we are now in a position to move forward with the prosecution.”

Lefebure declined to release additional information about how Casto was identified as a suspect or his relationship to Ball, citing the investigation, which remains ongoing.

About a week after Ball’s body was found in 2014, State Police said they had multiple persons of interest and one main suspect, who was not cooperating. A State Police sergeant said they had no reason to believe the crime was “a random act of violence by a stranger.”

It is not known if Casto was a subject of the investigation at that time.

Ball’s older sister, Barbara Ball Catt, on Tuesday said she appreciated “the perseverance and commitment” of the prosecutor’s office, the State Police and the Parkersburg Police Department.”

“There were times over the past 11 years that I thought an indictment and arrest may never come,” she said. “I believe that there is truly no Earthly justice that can be handed down to the individual arrested today. But I am hopeful that the justice system delivers on the hope that he be held accountable.”

No bond amount was listed for Casto, but bond in capital cases like murder is set in circuit court, not at an initial arraignment in magistrate court.

The release announcing the indictment and arrest referred to Ball as Cindy Ball Dilo.

Catt said that was her legal last name at the time of her death but she did not use it.

The release noted an indictment is an accusation and Casto is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Staff reporter Brett Dunlap contributed to this story.