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A nine-year-old girl, who disappeared on Valentine’s Day 24 years ago, is now believed to have been a victim of homicide, police said on Monday.
Asha Degree was last seen walking along Highway 18 on February 14, 2000 in North Carolina. The road connects the towns of Shelby, Morganton, Lenoir, Wilkesboro and North Wilkesboro.
Degree, from Shelby, walked away from her home and vanished during a storm, according to investigators. Her parents reported her missing on the day she disappeared.
Degree’s backpack and clothing were recovered 17 months after she went missing, several miles from the scene of her disappearance on a highway in Burke County.
There have not been any reported sightings of her since, and her remains have never been recovered.
Degree’s family have previously said that they believe she is alive and offered a $45,000 reward to help find Asha, who would now be 33 years old.
On Monday, police announced that search warrants were recently executed at several properties across North Carolina belonging to a family suspected of being connected to Degree’s disappearance back in 2000.
Police searched a home in Shelby, an assisted living facility in Vale, and a home in Charlotte, belonging to the Dedmon family, WBTV reported.
Investigators said they believed that the missing girl became a “victim of homicide, with her body concealed,” according to search warrant documents.
Investigators had recently tested DNA samples from Degree’s backpack and clothing. It’s not clear when the tests were conducted or why officials decided to analyze the evidence now, but improvements in DNA testing generally have led to recent breakthroughs in other cold cases.
According to WBTV, the DNA samples have been linked to AnnaLee Dedmon Ramirez, who was 13 at the time that Degree went missing, and is now in her thirties. Dedmon Ramirez’s DNA samples were found on Degree’s belongings, according to police.
Her father Roy Dedmon, who is in his 80s, is a suspect in the case, police said. Dedmon’s home is located close to where Degree was last seen.
Roy Dedmon told police that he doesn’t know what happened to Degree and denies any involvement, according to WBTV.
Russell Underhill is also connected to the case, according to documents. Underhill, was a patient who lived in “at least two facilities” operated by Roy Dedmon, police said, before he died in 2004. His connection to the case is unclear, according to WBTV, but his DNA was also found on the child’s belongings. He is not a suspect in the case.
Police seized several vehicles belonging to Roy Dedmon, including a car that resembled one connected to the disappearance. One witness saw the girl being pulled into a green vehicle.
Authorities also found a human tooth in a plastic bag during the searches, WBTV reported.
Roy Dedmon used to have his daughters drive patients between the assisted living facilities and a hospital in Morganton, according to reports. Highway 18 would have been the most logical route to take, according to police.
Roy Dedmon’s attorney asked the community to avoid jumping to conclusions and “let law enforcement do their jobs”, during a news conference last week. He said the investigation would likely lead back to Underhill.
