CATAWBA COUNTY, N.C. — A tragic cold case has resurfaced, igniting renewed outrage as critical evidence from the 1992 murder of 13-year-old Dee Dee Dawkins has been reported missing from the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office. The disappearance raises troubling questions about the integrity of the investigation and the commitment of law enforcement to seek justice for victims.
Dawkins’ body was discovered in a river near Hickory, and the initial findings revealed she had been raped and murdered. Families now grapple with the revelation that a pivotal piece of evidence—believed to be a shoe—has vanished without any record of how or when it left official custody. This shoe was thought to hold vital clues that could have led to solving the case decades ago.
“Somebody committed an unspeakable act and treated her like she was worthless, and nothing meaningful was done afterward,” lamented Kessiah Young, a cousin of the victim.
According to documents sourced from the medical examiner’s office, the shoe was officially transferred to the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office, but it has since disappeared. Brookford Police Chief Willie Armstrong, who reopened the case last year, emphasized the shoe’s importance in potentially cracking the case.
Armstrong has been vocal about the previous mishandling of the investigation, stating, “Key evidence has been lost, and there were missed opportunities to solve this case. For years, it feels like there was little genuine effort to seek justice.”
The Catawba County Sheriff’s Office has acknowledged that they currently have no evidence related to Dawkins’ murder. The department noted that their electronic records only extend back to 2001, and a full inventory audit in 2021 revealed no trace of the missing evidence.
Amid this distressing turn of events, Chief Armstrong has expressed concern about potential misconduct within the department. “What we are facing is a situation where law enforcement may be covering up the truth,” he said, echoing the discomfort felt by the victim’s family.
This incident highlights a broader failure in how authorities managed the case from the outset. Family members claim that Dawkins, while uncharted and neglected, was misperceived by law enforcement, who allegedly labeled her as a runaway rather than a child in need of protection.
“They believed she was involved in unsavory behavior; they couldn’t see her for what she truly was—a young girl,” said Stephanie Young, another cousin. “To them, she was just another statistic, the town’s hidden tragedy.”
Adding to the uncertainty, records indicate that the case was declared closed in 2001, despite assertions from the district attorney’s office that it remained active. Dawkins’ case does not appear on the sheriff’s list of unsolved homicide investigations, a troubling oversight that compounds the family’s frustration.
“I feel hopeless at times, as if no one will ever take this case seriously,” said Stephanie Young.
Chief Armstrong took it upon himself to revive the investigation in 2023, spurred by empathy for the victim and her family. “It is heartbreaking to think that a child lost her life in our community, yet there was so little media attention surrounding it,” he stated.
In response to the growing concerns, the sheriff’s office has characterized the missing evidence as an “isolated incident,” leaving many unanswered questions regarding other potentially lost items from cases predating 2001.
For the Dawkins family, the missing shoe symbolizes not just the failure of law enforcement but decades of neglect in the quest for justice. “I will keep fighting for my cousin. We grew up like sisters, and I can’t give up on her,” Kessiah Young asserted passionately.
The family is actively seeking information about the 1992 murder and has set up a tip line to encourage anyone with knowledge of the case to come forward. For them, the fight for accountability continues, underlining the urgent need for justice in a case that has lingered far too long without closure.