25 years later, reward raised to $75,000 in disappearance of Asha Degree
The reward for information leading to answers in her 2000 disappearance has been raised to a combined $75,000. Asha Degree was just 9 years old when she vanished from her home in Shelby on Valentine's Day 2000. Now, 25 years later, investigators said they are making 'significant progress' thanks to advances in forensic technology and renewed public attention.
'We recently retested evidence using new advancements in technology and continue to make significant progress,' the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office shared in a statement Friday. 'To highlight our ongoing search to find Asha, the combined reward was raised to $75,000. Take a moment today to pray for Asha, her family, our investigative team, and our community.'
The increased reward follows recent searches tied to properties previously owned by Roy Dedmon, a name that has surfaced multiple times in this decades-long investigation. In April, investigators, including agents from the FBI and State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), searched an old, abandoned schoolhouse at the intersection of Highway 274 and NC-182 in Lincoln County.
Property records confirm Dedmon owned the site from 1991 to 2004.
While authorities have not disclosed what, if anything, was found, past search warrants suggest that investigators believe Asha was killed, her death hidden, and her body has never been recovered.
Searches also took place last September on properties owned by Roy and Connie Dedmon in Cleveland County. Investigators said at the time that they believed the Dedmons may have helped conceal Asha's death.
An attorney for Roy Dedmon has denied any involvement in the case.
Earlier this year, newly released search warrants revealed text messages from the Dedmons' daughter that included what detectives referred to as 'a possible admission of guilt.'
Witnesses reported seeing Asha walking along NC Highway 182 early on the morning of her disappearance and entering a green 1970s Lincoln Thunderbird. Despite years of searches, interviews, and forensic efforts, her fate remains unknown. The girl who came to be known as 'Shelby's Sweetheart' has never been far from the community's mind.
Tips can be submitted by contacting the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office at 704-484-4822, the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI, or online at tips.fbi.gov.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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