SHELBY, N.C. — Asha Degree was a "victim of homicide" and her body was "concealed," according to search warrant documentation obtained by WCNC Charlotte on Monday.
The FBI along with state and local investigators searched a Cleveland County property all last week in a decades-long search for Degree, who was 9 years old when she disappeared from Shelby, North Carolina in 2000. Until now, it was not known whether Degree was still alive.
The search warrants released on Monday provide new details in the updated search for Degree. In their documentation to the court, investigators said evidence was linked to the property on Cherryville Road in Shelby. That's where investigators last week recovered a car similar in make and model to one sought during the initial search in 2000.
Witnesses told investigators Degree was seen walking along North Carolina Highway 18 on Feb. 14, 2000 before being pulled into a car similar to the one recovered, according to the documents.
On Aug. 2, 2001, a construction crew in Burke County found bags containing items. The bags were turned over to law enforcement, who determined some of the items belonged to Degree.
It was a hair sample from inside these bags that led police to the family on Cherryville Road, according to the search warrants.
David Teddy, the attorney for the property owner who he identified as Roy Dedmon, said on Friday that the investigation would soon reveal a now-deceased individual was responsible for what happened to Degree. Teddy declined to elaborate further on why he believed that.
“I think there will be info that sadly will link a person to the circumstances of Asha’s disappearance who is no longer living," Teddy speculated at the time.
In 2000, the fourth-grader's disappearance shook the rural community and remains a mystery today.
Iquilla Degree, Asha's mother, said in 2020 that she believed her daughter was still alive.
The search for the missing girl has remained open with investigators as recently as May saying they were still making "significant progress" on the case.