Local, state, and federal officials suspect that a family in North Carolina is involved in the death of Asha Degree, who has been missing since 2000 and is believed to have been murdered.
Asha vanished from Shelby, North Carolina, at the age of 9 on February 14, 2000, reportedly leaving her home in the early morning hours with a backpack containing some of her belongings. Witnesses reported seeing a girl resembling Asha walking along a highway during inclement weather. A year later, her backpack was discovered 30 miles from her last known location at a construction site, wrapped in plastic.
Investigators found that the backpack contained a library book and a New Kids on the Block t-shirt, which her parents stated did not belong to Asha.
Authorities search multiple properties in Cleveland County, North Carolina related to Asha Degree’s case
Recently, investigators executed search warrants at several locations, including properties in Shelby, Charlotte, and an assisted living facility in Vale. They also towed a vehicle that resembled one Asha was seen entering.
Authorities confirmed that the searches were connected to Asha’s case, although her remains have not yet been located. Newly released details from police warrants indicate that Asha’s death was a homicide and that a family has been implicated.
The Dedmon family is believed to be responsible for Asha Degree’s death
Police stated that all the properties searched are linked to the Dedmon family. However, a family attorney for them quickly denied any connection to Asha’s disappearance, despite police documents identifying some family members as suspects. Search warrants were sought after DNA evidence connected Asha to a woman named AnnaLee Dedmon Ramirez and a man named Russell Underhill.
DNA found on items in Asha’s backpack matched that of Dedmon Ramirez, who was 13 at the time, and Underhill. A hair sample from Asha’s undershirt also matched Dedmon Ramirez’s DNA. At the time of Asha’s disappearance, Dedmon Ramirez and two other teenage Dedmon sisters lived at the property.
When seeking a search warrant, investigators informed the courts that they believed Asha had been murdered and her body hidden. Given the ages of the Dedmon sisters at the time, investigators suspect they received assistance from their parents, Roy and Connie Dedmon. Roy’s residence is located 3.7 miles from where Asha was last seen, and it was searched by drone earlier this year.
Police noted that Underhill lived at two locations owned by the Dedmons when Asha went missing, and Roy Dedmon was listed as his emergency contact. Underhill passed away in 2004.
Items collected during the searches included an older green vehicle similar to one Asha may have been seen entering on the night of her disappearance, as well as various electronics such as laptops, computers, cell phones, tablets, flash drives, hard drives, CDs, SD cards, a Blackberry phone, and a human tooth found in a plastic bag.
