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Search warrants ‘now public record’ in Asha Degree investigation
By QCN Digital StaffDerek Dellinger,
1 days ago
Authorities believe Asha Degree was the victim of a homicide
Additional search warrants were executed in Vale and Charlotte
Dedmons in Cleveland County were subject to search warrant because of familial DNA found in hair strand on Asha’s undershirt, which came back to their daughter
Search warrants were released Monday involving a search last week related to the Asha Degree missing persons case.
The girl, missing since 2000, has been the subject of a massive search effort and investigation since her disappearance, which has also made national headlines.
The search warrants stem from a search of a property on Cherryville Road last week, along with the seizure of a green car, believed to be matching the description of one related to the case.
Search warrants were issued for two addresses on Cherryville Road and one address along Hawthorne Lane in Shelby, and a rest home in Vale, and a home in Charlotte.
In the probable cause affidavit for each of the warrants, it states, “Asha Degree was seen being pulled into a 1970s green Lincoln Thunderbird, or another similar vehicle.”
This vehicle serves as the link between the wide-ranging searches this week and the Degree case.
The FBI and the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office released these images of what the distinctive vehicle may have looked like.
Later on, the affidavit stated that “a construction crew working in the area” of Highway 18 in Burke County “located the evidence double bagged in black garbage bags and turned it over to the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office” and noted that some items were “identified as belonging to Asha Degree and other items not belonging to Asha Degree.”
The affidavit noted that the items were sent for analysis and that genealogical data narrowed the samples down to two individuals–one, belonging to Russell Bradley Underhill, and another belonging to a family member of Roy and Connie Dedmon, who were listed as the property owners of the addresses on Cherryville Road and Hawthorne Lane, and owners of North Brook Rest Home.
“Laboratory analysis of collected DNA samples indicated the likelihood that the hair stem sample of Asha Degree’s undershirt is a person genetically identical to the DNA standard collected from AnnaLee Victoria Dedmon Ramirez,” the affidavit said, noting that Ramirez is the daughter of Roy and Connie Dedmon.
Search warrants for DNA from the Dedmons were also included in Monday’s release.
The search warrants stated that authorities believed Asha Degree was the victim of a homicide, and that there may have been concealment of her death. While not explicitly stated, the execution of the warrants was based on the belief that Roy and Connie Dedmon may have helped conceal Asha’s death.
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children/FBI
The search warrant for one of the other properties Dedmon owned indicated that, several years ago, a family member “saw Roy Lee Dedmon digging a chest-deep hole on the property”, and that investigators observed a 6-8 inch dent in the ground “where it was obvious that the ground had been disturbed.”
Additionally, the search warrant stated that Dedmon had padlocked rooms in the home that he was renting out, stating to the renter that the rooms were told that “(Roy Dedmon’s) personal property was in those locked rooms.”
Underhill is only mentioned in the warrants as another DNA evidence source. Search warrants indicated he was a resident of the North Brook Rest Home at the time of Asha’s disappearance.
According to the search warrants, a Cleveland County Department of Social Services employee spoke with Cleveland County deputies in 2023, revealing that Roy Dedmon was involved in Underhill’s care and that they recalled Dedmon sending one of his daughters to transport patients in an “unreliable vechicle” to and from a hospital in Morganton.
An attorney for the Dedmons denied any involvement in Asha’s disappearance in a press conference Friday but indicated that someone deceased may be the subject of the investigation.
Over the years, details have trickled out about the case, which have included the discovery of her backpack in Morganton, and a relatively recent revelation from Asha’s mother that her daughter’s basketball uniform was found among her belongings.
The search warrants made clear that Asha’s family is not aware of her whereabouts, and had given numerous statements and passed polygraph tests in relation the case.
In a statement Monday relating to the release of the search warrants, Sheriff Alan Norman said, “I know our community is anxious to learn about every aspect of our ongoing investigation. While we appreciate your support, I urge you to put yourself in the place of Asha’s family who for 24 years have entrusted law enforcement to do everything possible to find her. Please do not spread or share rumors on social media. Official information will be released by my office when appropriate. Pray for Asha, her family, and everyone who has worked for decades to locate Shelby’s Sweetheart.”
The attorney for the Dedmons had no additional comment when Queen City News visited their office Monday afternoon.
Anyone with information on Asha’s disappearance is asked to contact the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office at 704-484-4822 or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
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