NC ASHA DEGREE: Missing from Shelby, NC - 14 Feb 2000 - Age 9

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Asha Jaquilla Degree (born August 5, 1990; first name pronounced AY-shuh[1]) went missing at the age of nine from Shelby, North Carolina, United States. In the early morning hours of February 14, 2000, for reasons unknown, she packed her bookbag, left her family home north of the city and began walking along nearby North Carolina Highway 18 despite heavy rain and wind. Several passing motorists saw her; when one turned around at a point 1.3 miles (2.1 km) from her home and began to approach her, she left the roadside and ran into a wooded area. In the morning, her parents discovered her absence. No one has seen her since.[2]

An intensive search that began that day led to the location of some of her personal effects near where she was last seen. A year and a half later, her bookbag, still packed, was unearthed from a construction site along Highway 18 north of Shelby in Morganton. At the point where she ran into the woods, a billboard now stands appealing for help finding her. Her family hosts an annual walk from their home to the billboard to draw attention to the case.

While the circumstances of Degree's disappearance at first seemed to suggest she was running away from home, investigators could not find a clear reason she might have done so, and she was younger than most children who do so. They have speculated that she might have been abducted instead. The case has drawn national media attention. In 2015, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) joined state and county authorities in a reopened investigation, offering a reward for information that could help solve the case.

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Disappearance of Asha Degree - Wikipedia

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www.crimewatchers.net

Why was ASHA DEGREE seen walking on a highway at 4AM? Missing from Shelby, NC since 14 Feb 2000 - Age 9

Asha was last seen by her family sleeping in her bed at approximately 2:30 a.m. At 4:00 a.m., she was seen by motorists walking along North Carolina Highway 18 in Shelby, North Carolina. More than a year later, Asha's book bag was discovered...
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www.wsoctv.com

Attorney: Dead person may hold key to ‘circumstances of Asha Degree’s disappearance’

“It’s very possible that the person who’s no longer here has the answer as to what happened to Asha.”
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Attorney: Dead person may hold key to ‘circumstances of Asha Degree’s disappearance’​

Authorities spent more than 24 hours searching two properties in Cleveland County, and Channel 9 learned it was in connection with the disappearance of 9-year-old Asha Degree.

On Friday, the attorney for the man who owns those properties says court documents “will link a person to the circumstances of Asha’s disappearance that is no longer living.”


The owner of the property where the search took place was identified as 80-year-old Roy Lee Dedmon.

Dedmon’s attorney, David Teddy, said in a statement on Friday that Dedmon “has been interviewed by law enforcement authorities and has denied any involvement in the disappearance of Asha Degree.”

Teddy spoke during a news conference Friday evening and told reporters that he had viewed the search warrant for Dedmon’s property, and he wanted to address what he called false rumors that were being spread in the community.

No criminal charges have been filed as of Friday, and nobody has been arrested. The FBI confirmed that no remains have been found.

Teddy said he believes the search warrant for the Cherryville Road property will be made public next week.

“I don’t know when that’s going to happen, but I think it’s likely to happen, and when you read the affidavit, it may be more clear to you why there was a search at 621 Cherryville Road and some other locations,” Teddy said.

Teddy added: “I think there will also be information in that search warrant that, sadly, will link a person to the circumstances of Asha’s disappearance that is no longer living.”

“Not saying that the person that was named in the search warrant had anything to do with their disappearance ... but it’s very possible that the person who’s no longer here has the answer as to what happened to Asha,” Teddy said.

The attorney also said that he gave Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman “information concerning Roy Dedmon that is consistent with Roy’s denial of having knowledge about what happened to Asha Degree.”
 
www.wbtv.com

Cleveland County investigators think missing girl Asha Degree was killed, warrants reveal

A girl who went missing from Cleveland County in 2000 is now believed to have been killed, according to court documents released Monday.
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Cleveland County investigators think missing girl Asha Degree was killed, warrants reveal​

A girl who went missing from Cleveland County in 2000 is now believed to have been killed, according to search warrant documents released Monday.

A series of search warrant applications were made public on Monday, Sept. 16, in connection with searches recently carried out by the sheriff’s office, FBI, and state investigations bureau. Law enforcement executed search warrants at multiple properties, including a home and property in Shelby, an assisted living facility in Vale, and a home in Charlotte.

The locations are owned and lived in by members of the Dedmon family. The search warrants were requested after DNA samples linked Degree with woman AnnaLee Dedmon Ramirez, and a man named Russell Underhill, according to the documents.



Two of the items in the backpack reportedly returned evidentiary results, linking DNA to Dedmon Ramirez and Underhill. Dedmon Ramirez was 13 years old at the time Degree went missing.

According to the documents, a DNA sample of a hair stem taken from Degree’s undershirt appeared to match Dedmon Ramirez’s DNA.

There were two other Dedmon sisters who were ages 15 and 16 years old in February 2000.

Investigators now believe Degree is a “victim of homicide, with her body concealed,” authorities wrote in the search warrant application. Because of the Dedmon sisters’ ages at that time, investigators believe “adult assistance” from their father, Roy Dedmon, and their mother, Connie Dedmon, “would have been necessary in the execution and/or concealment of the crime.”



Several search warrants were carried out for the Dedmon parents, Dedmon Ramirez, and multiple properties associated with them.

Roy Dedmon’s home at 621 Cherryville Road is about 3.7 miles from Degree’s last known location near Highway 18 and Wallace Grove Drive, officials said. His home and property were searched by law enforcement on Tuesday, Sept. 10, and Wednesday, Sept. 11.

Law enforcement confirmed Friday that the search was connected with Degree’s disappearance.

Roy Dedmon’s home was first searched by a drone in February.

Another of the searched properties included an assisted living home known as North Brook Rest Home located in Vale (Lincoln County). The assisted living facility is owned by Roy and Connie Dedmon.

Russell Underhill -- the man whose DNA may be a match with DNA found on Degree’s belongings -- lived in “at least two facilities” operated by Roy and Connie Dedmon at the time Degree disappeared. He resided at the North Brook Rest Home between 2002 and 2004.

Underhill died in 2004.

It was not entirely clear how Underhill was related to or connected with the Dedmons. Underhill “knew and associated with” Roy Dedmon, investigators found. Roy Dedmon was listed as Underhill’s emergency contact, according to medical records.

Dedmon Ramirez’s home in Charlotte was also searched, documents showed.



Several items were seized from Roy Dedmon’s home on Cherryville Road.

There are reportedly 29 vehicles registered in Dedmon’s name. Three green vehicles and one red truck were seen at his property in Shelby.

At least one of those older green vehicles was seized from the property last week. The vehicle resembled a car wanted in connection with Degree’s disappearance. Authorities believe Degree got into a 1970s-era green vehicle on the night she went missing.

In 2016, the FBI said they were looking for a 1970s-era green Ford Thunderbird or Lincoln Mark IV. The vehicle taken last week from the Cleveland County property was identified as an AMC Rambler.

Authorities also took a variety of computers, laptops, cellphones, and records from Roy Dedmon’s home. There was also a human tooth in a plastic bag that was retrieved, according to the search warrant documents.

Roy Dedmon also had a DNA sample taken from him during that time.

Connie Dedmon, Roy’s wife, does not currently live at the home on Cherryville Road, officials said. Authorities also searched her home and removed two computers, flash and hard drives, a tablet, and various CDs and SD cards.

From Dedmon Ramirez’s home, authorities only reported seizing a Blackberry cellphone.



Roy Dedmon’s home on Cherryville road is fewer than four miles, and about six minutes, away from where Degree was last seen by a witness.

According to the released search warrants, investigators found that Roy Dedmon used to send one of his daughters to “transport patients in an unreliable vehicle to/from Broughton Hospital in Morganton,” around the time Degree disappeared. “Highway 18 is the most logical route to travel to and from Northbrook Rest Home and/or Brighton Hospital,” investigators said.

Roy Dedmon reportedly send his daughter who was 16-17 years old at the time, and not Dedmon Ramirez.
 
www.wsoctv.com

Investigators believe Asha Degree was killed and concealed, new warrants reveal

Investigators said for the first time that they believe Asha Degree was killed and concealed.
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Investigators believe Asha Degree was killed and concealed, new warrants reveal​

Seventeen months after Asha was reported missing, investigators found two sealed black plastic garbage bags along Highway 18 near Morganton. Inside those bags were Asha’s bookbag and clothing, investigators said.

According to the search warrant affidavit, two items gave investigators “evidentiary results” with DNA samples that were narrowed down to two people.

The warrant affidavit says one sample belonged to a man who died in 2004. That man reportedly lived at a property owned by Roy and Connie Dedmon.

The affidavit says a hair stem was found on Asha’s undershirt that matched to one of the Dedmon’s daughters, according to the affidavit.

The Dedmon had three daughters who were all teenagers at the time of Asha’s disappearance. The DNA sample matched one daughter who was 13 on Feb. 14, 2000.

Investigators said that based on the evidence and the fact that no communications have been made from Asha since her disappearance, they believe Asha “is a victim of homicide, with her body concealed.”

The warrant describes Roy and Connie Dedmon as “suspects,” and says that investigators believe their help “would have been necessary in the execution and/or concealment of the crime.” The warrant references the ages of the Dedmons’ daughters at the time of Asha’s disappearance.

An attorney for Roy Dedmon, David Teddy, told reporters on Friday that his client didn’t have anything to do with Asha’s disappearance, but he alluded to the search warrant possibly revealing “circumstances of Asha Degree’s disappearance.”
 
So what the heck is the theory here? One of the young daughters was driving and had an accident with Asha? Helped covered up by their parents?

According to the released search warrants, investigators found that Roy Dedmon used to send one of his daughters to “transport patients in an unreliable vehicle to/from Broughton Hospital in Morganton,” around the time Degree disappeared. “Highway 18 is the most logical route to travel to and from Northbrook Rest Home and/or Brighton Hospital,” investigators said.

Roy Dedmon reportedly send his daughter who was 16-17 years old at the time, and not Dedmon Ramirez.
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DNA technology used in Asha Degree case still new in criminal investigations​

Queen City News continues to follow the story of a new crack in the 24-year-old cold case of missing 9-year-old Asha Degree.

Detectives had the evidence all along, but DNA technology and family tree databases where people upload DNA have come a long way in the last five years, and those are what helped open up the case.



“The fact that they even had anything that they could use is a miracle, and the fact that they held onto it for this length of time is really amazing and, in my opinion, they’ve done a great job,” said Leslie Kaufman, a forensic genealogist and owner of First Genes.

Forensic genealogy is the scientific way of saying Kaufman helps law enforcement take DNA from crime scenes or unidentified persons cases to build family trees using DNA databases to answer who may have been involved.

“Because of the advancement in genealogy and the advancement in DNA, they can do today what they could not do five years ago,” said Kaufman.


Investigators say they used genealogical data to narrow down the DNA samples and also got a DNA hit from a former resident of the Dedmons’ nursing home, who has since passed away.


Kaufman says it’s important to note that the DNA databases where people upload their results ask people if they want to opt in to have law enforcement be able to have access to their information, so she says people have a choice.
 
I’m feeling more hopeful that they find out what’s going on now! I didn’t know the science of DNA continues to advance!
 
www.wbtv.com

Asha Degree prayer walk to mark 25 years since girl’s Cleveland County disappearance

Community event happening Saturday, Feb. 7
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Asha Degree prayer walk to mark 25 years since girl’s Cleveland County disappearance​

A prayer walk was scheduled for Saturday in recognition of Asha Degree -- a girl who went missing from Cleveland County, North Carolina a quarter of a century ago.

Family, law enforcement, and community members are still waiting for answers in the February 2000 disappearance of then-9-year-old Degree. The girl -- who would be in her 30s today -- has not been seen or heard from for nearly 25 years.

The community was invited to participate in a prayer walk for Degree at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7. The event will take place at Mulls Memorial Baptist Church in Shelby.

The prayer walk is an annual event that’s held around the date Degree went missing, officials said.
 
www.wsoctv.com

‘I have hope’: Asha Degree’s family continues search 25 years after disappearance

Her family members believe she is still alive, they said.
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‘I have hope’: Asha Degree’s family continues search 25 years after disappearance​

Asha Degree’s family, loved ones and supporters gathered on Saturday afternoon to walk the same path the missing girl did 25 years ago.


Her family members said they still hold on to hope that Asha Degree will come home.

“I believe she is still alive and until somebody can prove me wrong, I’m still going to believe that, because I have hope,” Iquilla Degree, Asha’s mother, said.
 
www.wcnc.com

FBI releases new video in Asha Degree case

The disappearance of the 9-year-old from Shelby 24 years ago "haunts" retired FBI agent Richard Shaffer, who said he carried her photo with him for years.
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FBI releases new video in Asha Degree case​

Ahead of the 25th anniversary of the disappearance of 9-year-old Ashe Degree from Cleveland County, investigators have released a new video promising ongoing investigative efforts.

"It makes it hit home," Jordan Bowen, the lieutenant overseeing the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office investigative division, says in the video about being the same age as Degree. "I was one year older than Asha at the time of her disappearance."

Bowen is featured in a new video released by the Charlotte field office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday.

"We've got investigators that are working within the agency.... who were around when this case kicked off day one," he says.



Another video shared by the FBI's Charlotte field office Wednesday shared more about the case, this time featuring Cleveland County Investigator Tim Adams.



Even a quarter century later, Bowen says investigators are determined to bring closure to Degree's family.



Last September, investigators recovered new evidence from several search scenes around Cleveland County. Evidence collected included an older green vehicle similar in appearance to the one wanted in connection with Degree's disappearance. Days later, investigators confirmed the scenes were related to Asha's case and that new evidence pointed to her being a "victim of homicide," with her death concealed.

While it is not the break in the case many were hoping to hear, it is a break that, Shaffer hopes, is the start of more answers for the Degree family.

"They definitely need to have some closure for their little girl," Shaffer said.
 
www.wbtv.com

Asha Degree missing from Cleveland County for 25 years: Where case stands

9-year-old girl disappeared on Feb. 14, 2000.
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Asha Degree missing from Cleveland County for 25 years: Where case stands​

February 2025 marks 25 years since Asha Degree, known as Shelby’s Sweetheart, disappeared on Valentine’s Day.

The search for Degree -- who was just 9 years old at the time she went missing from her North Carolina home -- has remained active through the years.

The FBI, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office searched multiple properties in the county in September 2024 -- 24 years after Degree’s disappearance. It was around that time that law enforcement announced for the first time that they believed the young girl was killed.

FULL TIMELINE AT LINK
 
www.wcnc.com

'The theory is I did it': New text messages revealed in Asha Degree search warrants

The warrants uncovered text messages that could point to a suspect in the disappearance of Asha Degree 25 years ago.
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'The theory is I did it': New text messages revealed in Asha Degree search warrants​

New search warrants were released Tuesday in the search for Asha Degree, the 9-year-old Shelby, North Carolina, girl who went missing on Valentine's Day night 25 years ago.

The warrants show that law enforcement took the cellphone of Lizzie Foster, the daughter of a Cleveland County man whose property was searched by federal agents last September. Foster was 16 at the time of Degree's disappearance, according to the warrants.

In September, a search warrant revealed that investigators believed Degree was a "victim of homicide" and that her body was "concealed." The FBI, along with state and local investigators, searched a Cleveland County property for several days searching for evidence at a property on Cherryville Road in Shelby. That's where investigators recovered a car similar in make and model to one sought during the initial search for Degree in 2000.


On Sept. 18, 2014, Thad Mellentine went to the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office and spoke with detectives about the case. Mellentine told detectives that when he was in his 20s in the mid-2000s, he occasionally frequented bars and parties with Sarah and Lizzie Dedmon. Mellentine recalled one party when Lizzie was "sobbing and balling" and made several statements that she "killed Asha Degree."

Mellentine claimed that Lizzie's sister heard her comments and got angry, tell her to "shut the f*** up" while grabbing her head. Mellentine said the behavior caught him off guard because Sarah was always "calm and nice" in their interactions.

Investigators obtained search warrants for Lizzie Foster's phone. The results came back on Oct. 27, including several "messages of interest" linked to the case from Foster, her sisters, Annalee Dedmon and Sarah Caple.

"This is a nightmare," Caple texted to Lizzie Foster. "I'm like shaking and can't walk now, either."

There's also a text message from Foster's ex-husband, who said he was "sorry" for what their family was going through. Annalee Demond also told her sister Lizzie, "you don't need to be talking to anyone," urging her to break off any communication about the case without an attorney present.

"I'm just so worried," Foster texted her ex-husband. "So so worried. I mean, it's a nightmare that's going to keep getting worse. I can see nothing good happening anytime soon. And I'm an optimist."

She later told him, "There is no way this is going to be okay."

Foster again texted Caple on Sept. 12, saying investigators believed she could be the suspect.

"I just talked to David Teddy," she wrote. "The theory is I did it. Accident. Covered it up."

www.wsoctv.com

‘I caused this’: Warrants reveal text messages after recent search in Asha Degree case

The new warrants show texts between family members of a man whose properties were searched in September 2024.
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‘I caused this’: Warrants reveal text messages after recent search in Asha Degree case​

Channel 9 obtained new warrants in the Asha Degree case revealing text messages that were sent right after a recent search at a Cleveland County home. The warrants also detailed a polygraph test that was taken in connection with the investigation.

These are the key texts between the Dedmon’s family members. Channel 9 is not publishing the names of the people involved since they haven’t been identified as suspects or charged with a crime.

One wrote, “The theory is I did it. Accident. Covered it up.”

The message back was, “They think it’s our shirt. It’s not her shirt. Her mom says it wasn’t hers.” They added: “I don’t remember that shirt. I’m scared though. Dad is probably going to be a huge suspect.”

In another text message exchange, one of the family members said: “I feel so horrible ... So so horrible ... Idk what to do. I caused this.”

A relative responded, “No you didn’t!”
 
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