This week, it’s a topic of conversation in homes, restaurants, tire shops, and all across Cleveland County.
The tragic and strange disappearance of nine-year-old Asha Degree from her home on February 14, 2000 is once again in the spotlight following violent unrest on a Shelby property.
From Tuesday evening into Wednesday night, FBI and SBI agents, along with local police, surrounded a home on Cherryville Road, searching the property with dogs and lining up vehicles in the yard. The two-story brick home, set back from the street and nearly obscured by trees, belongs to Roy Lee Dedmon of Shelby.
On Thursday morning, the scene was eerily empty and quiet. The police were gone and only a few news reporters were hiding at the side of the road. The crowd that had gathered across the road at Spake’s Farm had dispersed and the gravel parking lot was cordoned off to prevent curious onlookers from gathering there.
An older green car was impounded and removed from the property Wednesday afternoon. It matches the description of a vehicle linked to Asha’s disappearance. The little girl, dubbed “Shelby’s Sweetheart,” is seen in photos with a sweet smile and braided hair. Her photo has hung on a billboard for decades, reminding passing motorists of her disappearance 24 years ago. A $45,000 reward has been offered for information leading to her whereabouts.
Rumors about the search operation circulated on social media, while people were glued to television screens, phones and news websites looking for updates on a case that has troubled and saddened society for more than two decades.
Asha’s brother, O’Bryant Degree, asked people on Facebook to be respectful and stop spreading false information.
“Please stop the false narratives now. My family and I are still looking for solutions to my sister’s case. However, the desire to be the first to spread the news with false narratives only prevents us from getting the real answers.”
Law enforcement authorities remain tight-lipped and have not confirmed the content of the investigation.
“The Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, FBI and SBI are currently executing a court-authorized search warrant for a property on Cherryville Road in Shelby,” the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post Wednesday afternoon. “Cleveland County detectives, the FBI’s Evidence Response Team and SBI agents, including specially trained tracking dogs, arrived this morning and will likely be on scene for most of the day. The search warrants are not publicly available at this time. More information will be released in due course.”
This is not the first time the property’s owner has come under scrutiny. Roy Lee Dedmon, who owns the home, went on trial in 2012 for an animal cruelty case. The case caught the attention of the community and animal rights activists. The horse, Baby, was seized by animal control officers after it was found emaciated and near death in a barn on Cherryville Road. The charges were later dropped after a judge ordered the suppression of evidence.
According to Cleveland County GIS, Dedmon owns numerous other properties in the county, including several on Cherryville Road.
He also owned and operated a private Christian school for many years, Twelve Oaks Academy at 701 West Oak Street. This school has since closed.
Contact reporter Rebecca Sitzes at [email protected].
