CLEVELAND COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — The ongoing search activity this week by law enforcement in the Cleveland County area is directly connected to the Asha Degree cold case, the sheriff’s office confirmed on Friday.
While multiple items have been taken from several sites of interest, no human remains have been found yet, authorities said.
Asha, who was 9 years old when she disappeared in 2000, was last seen along Fallston Road (N.C. Highway 18) walking in the rain.
Witnesses said she ran into the woods when a vehicle stopped and has not been seen since.
There have been clues surrounding what may have happened to the girl, and a backpack was found in Morganton belonging to Asha, but deputies, to this day, have not publicly released any solid leads to the case. The reward for information now totals $45,000.
In an interview with sister network NewsNation in 2022, Asha’s mother Iquilla Degree recalled the day she discovered her daughter missing, noting she noticed the covers of the girl’s bed pulled back, with Asha nowhere to be found.
Investigators could be seen this week hauling away a green vehicle that matched a similar description to one authorities have been looking for in connection with the disappearance.
On Friday afternoon, the attorney for Roy Lee Dedmon, one of two people who owns the properties searched, held a press conference.
The attorney, David Teddy, says Dedmon had nothing to do with girls disappearance. Teddy expects the search warrants to be released next week and those could reveal someone responsible.
“I think there will also be information in that search warrant that will sadly link a person to the circumstances of Asha’s disappearance that is no longer living,” said Teddy.
He also asks people to stop spreading social media rumors and making false statements in the case. Teddy says the speculations are hurtful to Asha Degree’s family and his client’s.
