SHELBY, N.C. (WBTV) - The attorney for the man whose house was searched by federal agents in Cleveland County earlier this week in relation to the disappearance of Asha Degree said his client denies knowing nothing about what happened to her.

David R. Teddy, who represents Roy Lee Dedmon, said the search warrant for Dedmon’s Cherryville Road property will reveal someone who is no longer living will be linked to the circumstances of Degree’s disappearance.

Degree, who was 9-years-old at the time she went missing in February 2000.

“It’s very possible that that person who is no longer here has the answer as to what happened to Asha and the answer may very well never be known,” Teddy said.

Teddy spoke to reporters Friday evening, hoping to dispel rumors that have circulated in Cleveland County about the case and Dedmon, whose Shelby home was searched by FBI agents Tuesday and Wednesday.

“I’m disturbed as a lawyer and as a citizen of this community about the information that has been spread out there,” Teddy said. “I’m concerned not only for my client, Roy Dedmon, and for his family, but most importantly I’m concerned for the Degree family. I do not know Asha’s parents personally but I do know a number of their relatives and they are good, honest, decent people. And they deserve better than what some people in this community have done recently.”

Dedmon, along with his wife and three children, have all been questioned by authorities about Degree’s disappearance, and all denied knowing anything, according to Teddy.

The search warrant could be unsealed as early as week, Teddy said.