Fri Feb 21 10:40:00 UTC 2025: ## Cold Case Reopened: New Evidence Surfaces in Asha Degree Disappearance
**Shelby, NC –** Twenty-five years after the disappearance of nine-year-old Asha Degree, investigators have uncovered new evidence implicating members of the Dedmon family. Search warrants released this week reveal that Lizzie Grace Dedmon Foster, the eldest daughter of Roy Lee Dedmon and Connie Elliott Dedmon, failed a lie detector test, indicating she is withholding information about the case.
Asha Degree vanished on Valentine’s Day 2000. Witnesses reported seeing her being pulled into a 1970s-era green vehicle, possibly a Lincoln or Thunderbird, on Highway 18. Her bookbag, containing items not belonging to her, was found over a year later in Burke County. DNA analysis linked the bag to AnnaLee Victoria Dedmon Ramirez, Foster’s younger sister, and Russell Underhill, a patient at a nursing home operated by the Dedmons.
The investigation gained momentum in September 2024 with searches of Dedmon properties, resulting in the seizure of a 1964 AMC Rambler—a vehicle similar to the one described by witnesses. Investigators suspect Asha was a homicide victim, though her remains have not been found.
Further warrants, released in February 2025, detail a statement from a former acquaintance who claims to have overheard Foster confess to killing Asha at a party in the mid-2000s. This acquaintance passed a polygraph test supporting their testimony. Foster’s subsequent failure of her own polygraph test, along with text messages exchanged between the Dedmon sisters suggesting a coordinated effort to conceal information and follow their father’s instructions, further complicates the case.
While Roy Lee Dedmon, now in his 80s, and his daughters have denied any involvement, the investigation continues. Warrants have been issued to search the phones of Lizzie Grace Dedmon Foster, Sarah Gwen Dedmon Caple, and Roy Lee Dedmon. No arrests have been made at this time.
First Piper 