On February 14, 2000, Iquilla and Harold Degree woke up to find that their daughter was not in her bed. Her name was Asha and she was a shy, cautious, athletic, and very smart girl, who was very wary of strangers and dogs. She was the child who didn't like to be in the dark and who would play basketball anytime she could.
Asha was born on August 5, 1990, and she went to bed the night of February 13, 2000 with no issues.
During the night, there was a lot of rain that had fallen. A motorist had struck a telephone pole and the power had gone out. Their dad Harold kept checking on the kids throughout the night to make sure they were still in bed. As of 2:30 AM, both Asha and her brother O'Bryant were still sleeping in their beds. The power had come back on. Somewhere between 245 and 6 AM, Asha disappeared. There were no signs of forced entry, and whoever took her or whether Asia went on her own, they had taken her backpack along with her.
Her backpack had clothes, a house key, and other necessities that seemed to be planned.
A few different drivers had allegedly reported seeing her on the side of North Carolina Highway 18. One driver said that she had run off into the woods, and was never seen again. Remember, this was a girl who did not like being out in the dark, so something seemed mysterious right away.
The bloodhounds that were there to search for her never found a trace of her scent. People were very baffled.
Her parents questioned why someone, who is afraid of the dark and wary of strangers, would all of a sudden leave the house with her backpack. People started wondering if this was something that was planned or if someone who knew her had groomed her into packing her bag and leaving.
Her brother seemed to have heard some kind of noise from her bed but didn't think anything of it because he didn't know if she was just tossing and turning in her bed. Asha and her brother shared a room together.
Her parents called the police right away, and the police were there at 6:40 AM with bloodhound dogs. It was one of the biggest land searches ever recorded in Cleveland County.
There were lots of speculations as to why she had left. Her parents were very cooperative with the local police and FBI.
There were at least 600 tips and two dozen boxes of evidence.
Why would the house key and tons of clothes be in her backpack?
The day after Asha went missing, a hair bow of hers was found. Her parents verified it and the next week a bunch of people combed through areas looking for her but nothing came about of it.
Asha's story was broadcast on major networks and the national news.
More than a year and a half later, her backpack was found on August 3, 2001, about 30 miles away from where she had disappeared.
The discovery of her backpack did not lead to anything new other than verifying it was hers.
Investigators went out to look to see if her remains were around the area but again nothing came about it. All they found were the remains of other animals that had passed away.
An award for $45,000 was put up and still is available for anybody with new information leading to the disappearance of Asha Degree. Her parents had organized an annual walk to help support and bring awareness to Asha's disappearance.
Over the last 20 years, this case needed a new set of eyes. More and more tips were coming in but not at the pace that they were hoping. Back in 2015, one of the tips that came forward was that a young girl had gotten into a green car and they weren't sure if it was her or not.
The FBI has decided to reopen the case. Again, lots of speculation coming in, and none of the tips seemed to ever pan out.
The question today is, where is Asha Degree?
There are no positive leads to her case as of now. They call her the Shelby Sweetheart because she was taken on Valentine's Day.
Hopefully, Iquilla and Harold Degree will have some kind of closure to their daughter's disappearance. They have so much hope and faith that they will get answers sometime soon.
If anyone has any tips or information leading to the disappearance of Asha Degree, here is the phone number you can contact 704–6 72–6100.
Written By: Heidi
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