One of America’s most notorious missing child cold cases is on the verge of being solved, with cops believing the youngster was killed by a suspect whose identity they know.
Nine year-old Asha Degree vanished from her home in Shelby, North Carolina, in the early hours of February 14 2000 – and was never seen again.
The youngster, a well-behaved and well-adjusted little girl who came from a good family, packed her book bag and sneaked out of her house for reasons unknown.
She left her home during a storm and was seen by passing motorists shortly after, but vanished into a wooded area when they stopped to help her.
Tragically, Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office now believe they’ve solved the mystery and say Asha was murdered, with her body subsequently hidden.
Asha Degree, who was nine when she disappeared, is believed to have been killed and her body concealed by a family and an associate
Several items were seized from one of the addresses last week, including an older green vehicle that resembled a car wanted in connection with Degree’s disappearance
Last week, cops executed search warrants at multiple properties including an address 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, with the warrants requested after DNA samples linked Asha with a AnnaLee Dedmon Ramirez, who was 13 at the time, and a Russell Underhill.
Authorities say that Degree’s backpack was discovered a year after disappearing ‘wrapped in two sealed black plastic garbage bags’ along Highway 18
Degree’s backpack was discovered a year after disappearing ‘wrapped in two sealed black plastic garbage bags’ along Highway 18.
Two of the items in the backpack have now returned results that linked DNA from Dedmon Ramirez and Underhill.
According to the documents, a sample of a hair stem taken from Degree’s undershirt appeared to match Dedmon Ramirez’s DNA.
At the time of her passing, officials said there were two other Dedmon sisters who were aged 15 and 16.
Investigators now believe that Asha was a victim of homicide, and that due to the young age of the sisters’ there was ‘adult assistance’ in her death.
They said that father Roy Dedmon and their mother Connie Dedmon ‘would have been necessary in the execution and/or concealment of the crime’.
Roy Dedmon’s home, which is located just a few miles from Degree’s last known location, was searched last week by law enforcement.
Several items were seized from the address including an older green vehicle that resembled a car wanted in connection with Degree’s disappearance.
Authorities believe that Degree had entered a 1970’s-era green vehicle on the night she disappeared, similar to one that was seen being towed last week.
In 2016 the FBI said they had been looking for a 70s era green Ford Thunderbird or Lincoln Mark IV. The vehicle last week was an AMC Rambler.
A variety of computers, laptops, cellphones and records were also recovered from the home, as well as a human tooth – according to search documents.
The case had baffled investigators who have been probing the case for two decades. Locals are seen here in 2000 looking for the Degree
Law enforcement executed search warrants at multiple properties including an address in Shelby, an assisted living facility in Vale, and a home in Charlotte
A variety of computers, laptops, cellphones and records were also recovered from the home, as well as a human tooth – according to search documents
Another property included an assisted living home which is owned by Roy and Connie Dedmon.
Russell Underhill, the second DNA match, had lived in at least two facilities owned by the couple at the time Degree disappeared, according to officials. He died in 2004.
The connection between Underhill and the family remains unclear but investigators say he ‘knew and associated with Roy Dedmon’.
While AnnaLee Dedmon Ramirez’s home in Charlotte was also raided by officials, they reported seizing a Blackberry phone.
Investigators have since discovered that Roy Dedmon had used his daughters to ‘transport patients in an unreliable vehicle’ to and from Broughton Hospital in nearby Morganton.
Investigators say that at the time of Asha disappearing, Highway 18 was the ‘most logical route to travel’.
They say that Roy Dedmon would send his daughter, who was 16 or 17 at the time, and not AnnaLee.
The locations are owned and lived in by members of the Dedmon family, with the warrants requested after DNA samples linked the missing girl with a AnnaLee Dedmon Ramirez
At a press conference last week, attorney David R. Teddy, who is representing Roy Dedmon, denied any connection between his client with the disappearance of Asha.
The attorney confirmed that the properties belong to Dedmon, who is in his 80s, and asked the local community to jump to any conclusions.
Teddy seemed to allude to Underhill saying that he might be the one who knows what happened to the young girl.
Authorities have reportedly interviewed the elder Dedmon and have not made any arrests in connection with the case.
Degree’s parents Iquilla and Harold told WBTV last year that they still believe their daughter, who would be 32, is still alive.
Iquilla told the outlet: ‘I never thought it would be 23 years. She was a happy kid, she was quiet, she liked everybody.’
The last time they saw their daughter was when she went to sleep on the night of February 13.