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Over 26 years have passed since the mysterious disappearance of a young girl in North Carolina, yet many questions remain unanswered. The case of Asha Degree, who was only nine years old when she went missing from her Shelby home in 2000, continues to perplex investigators and haunt the community.
Asha was last seen being pulled into a vehicle that resembled a 1970s green Lincoln Thunderbird. In a bid to encourage new leads, the FBI and the State Bureau of Investigation announced an increased reward for information last May, raising the total to $100,000.
The decision to increase the reward came shortly after a search within empty buildings in Lincoln County. These buildings were once owned by Roy Dedmon, an 80-year-old man who is now a suspect in Asha’s unresolved case. An earlier search in September 2024 spanned several properties across Cleveland, Lincoln, and Mecklenburg counties. Investigators reportedly focused on a particular home and an AMC Rambler, both potentially linked to Asha’s disappearance.
In a chilling find in 2001, some of Asha’s belongings were discovered on the side of Highway 18 in Burke County, double-bagged in garbage bags. Among these items was an undershirt containing a sample of hair stem, raising further intrigue and hope for a breakthrough.
DNA analysis of two items from Asha’s backpack pointed to connections with AnnaLee Dedmon Ramirez and Russell Underhill. Ramirez, who was 13 at the time of Asha’s disappearance, is the daughter of Roy and Connie Dedmon. The couple’s other daughters, Lizzie Dedmon Foster and her younger sister, Sarah Dedmon, were also in their teens when Asha vanished, with Lizzie being 16 years old.
Underhill lived at two properties owned by Roy Dedmon and Connie Dedmon around the time of Degree’s disappearance. Underhill died in 2004.
The September 2024 search occurred the same month a man allegedly told Cleveland County police that he attended a house party in the mid-2000s with Dedmon Foster and Sarah Dedmon. He claimed Dedmon Foster was intoxicated and crying when she said, “I killed Asha Degree” — leading her younger sister to grab her head and tell her to “shut the f**k up.”
Reports indicated that Connie Dedmon and their three daughters were also named as suspects.
The man reportedly passed a polygraph test regarding his statements to Cleveland County police. Dedmon Foster initially refused to speak to investigators, but she did take a polygraph test. According to the Shelby Star, the test determined she was being deceptive about concealing information in Degree’s case.
Sarah reportedly told police she would take a polygraph test at a later date. At some point, she allegedly told police that her father gave her a vehicle resembling the one Degree was last seen in.
Weeks earlier, police obtained a search warrant for Dedmon Foster iCloud account. Detectives said they had discovered messages in which she and Sarah Dedmon talked about a shirt.
“They think it’s our shirt. It’s not her shirt,” Sarah allegedly wrote. “Dad is probably going to be a huge suspect.”
In documents, police indicated that the text messages may be evidence of felony obstruction. They also stated that if the three Dedmon girls abducted and killed Degree, assistance from their parents was “necessary in the execution and/or concealment of the crime.”
Last July, Skip Foster, a spokesperson for the Dedmon family, denied allegations that they were involved in Degree’s suspected abduction. He said the AMC Rambler which Cleveland County investigators said is connected to the case was not registered or titled to the Dedmons until a month after Degree’s disappearance.
“There’s a courtroom — and then there’s the courtroom of public opinion,” Foster told WCNC. “And there’s only been one side of this story told.”
Degree, who would be 35 today, was described as standing 4 feet, 6 inches tall, weighing 65 pounds, and having brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call Cleveland County police at 704-484-4888.
Asha Degree’s case is being covered as part of Crime Online’s “Finding the Lost: Black and Missing” series, which will feature a missing Black person every day in February. The full series can be read here.