Asha Jaquilla Degree (AY-shuh), born on August 5, 1990, dissappeared at the tender age of nine from Shelby, North Carolina, United States.
In the early hours of February 14, 2000, she mysteriously packed her bookbag, left her family home, and started walking along a Highway in North Carolina.
It was also raining heavily that morning.
Several motorists noticed her, and when one decided to turn back and approach her, Asha quickly ran off the roadside and disappeared into the nearby woods.
She has not been seen since then.
The search for Asha began immediately and was intense.
Some of her belongings were found near where she was last spotted.
A year and a half later, her bookbag, still packed, was discovered at a construction site along the highway where she was last seen.
Initially, it seemed Asha might have run away from home, but investigators found no clear reason why she would have done so, especially given her young age.
As the years passed, authorities concluded that Asha had likely been abducted after leaving her home.
Overview
Asha's parents, Harold and Iquilla Degree got married on Valentine's Day in 1988.
Their first child, O'Bryant, was born the following year, and Asha joined the family in 1990.
Both parents were hardworking parents.
Harold was employed as a dock loader, while Iquilla worked at Kawai America Manufacturing, assembling pianos.
The Degrees focused on providing a secure environment for their children, keeping them away from potential negative influences.
Their lives revolved around family, church, and school.
The household did not have a computer, a decision driven by concerns over internet safety.
Asha adapted well to this lifestyle; she was cautious, shy, and happy to follow her parents' rules.
"She was terrified of dogs," Iquilla recalled, "I never thought she would leave the house."
Disappearance
On Sunday, February 13, 2000, the Degree children spent the day at a relative's house before attending church and returning home.
By 8 p.m., they had gone to bed in their shared bedroom.
Nearly an hour later, a nearby car accident caused a power outage in their neighborhood.
The electricity was restored by 12:30 a.m., prompting Harold to check on Asha and O'Bryant, who were both asleep in their beds.
He checked on them again at 2:30 a.m. on February 14, before heading to bed and found them still asleep.
Shortly after, O'Bryant, who was ten years old at the time, heard Asha's bed move but assumed she was just shifting in her sleep.
Around this time, Asha quietly got out of bed, took a bookbag she had previously packed with clothes and personal items, and left the house.
Between 3:45 and 4:15 a.m., both a truck driver and a motorist spotted her walking along a highway, dressed in a long-sleeved white T-shirt and white pants.
They reported this to the police after seeing news of her disappearance.
The motorist found it odd to see such a young child alone at that hour, so he turned his car around and circled the area three times to observe things.
When Asha noticed him, she ran into the woods and disappeared to this day.
The night was stormy, with heavy rain and winds, so the motorist said he couldn't do much.
Search Efforts
At 5:45 a.m., Iquilla woke up to get the children ready for school.
When she entered their room, she found O'Bryant in his bed, but Asha was missing.
After searching the house and their cars with no success, she informed Harold, who suggested Asha might be at his mother's house across the street.
They called his mother's house and it was confirmed that Asha wasn't there either.
"That's when I went into panic mode," Iquilla said.
She then called her mother, who advised her to contact the police.
By 6:40 a.m., the first police officers arrived at the Degrees' home.
Despite bringing in police dogs to help in the search, they couldn't pick up Asha's scent.
Iquilla walked through the neighborhood, calling out for Asha, waking the entire community by 7 a.m.
Friends, family, and neighbors quickly canceled their plans to help the police search the area.
However, by the end of the day, she was nowhere to be found.
The only item found was a mitten, which Iquilla confirmed did not belong to Asha.
The next day, on February 15, searchers discovered candy wrappers in a shed at a nearby business along the highway where Asha was last seen.
Searchers also found a pencil, a green marker, and a yellow hair bow, and these items were identified as Asha's.
Additionally, they found a photograph of a young Black girl around Asha's age who is still yet to be identified.
This was the only trace of her during the initial search.
Despite extensive search efforts over the next week, no substantial clues were found.
Investigation
Flyers were posted throughout the area, and 300 leads were investigated, ranging from potential sightings to tips about abandoned houses and wells.
"We have never really had that first good, substantial lead," lamented county sheriff Dan Crawford at a news conference.
At a news conference on February 22, 2000, Sheriff Crawford announced that the search for Asha would extend over a long period.
Both the FBI and North Carolina’s State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) got involved, adding Asha to their missing children databases.
Although they had finished searching the immediate area around her home and the route she took, Crawford insisted, "We're following everything."
Based on Iquilla's account of what Asha took with her, investigators believed she had planned and prepared for this departure several days before her disappearance.
"She's not your typical runaway," remarked SBI agent Bart Burpeau.
Ben Ermini from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children noted that most runaways are at least 12 years old.
An FBI agent also pointed out the absence of any issues that might have prompted her to run away, such as family problems or poor academic performance.
Investigators believe that Asha had initially left on her own but either got lost or was abducted.
After a year and six months, on August 3, 2001, Asha’s bookbag and other items were found during a construction project.
It was wrapped in a plastic bag.
The worker who found it said the bookbag contained Asha's name and phone number.
The FBI sent it to their lab in Quantico, Virginia, for forensic analysis, but the results have not been publicly disclosed.
To date, this is the last piece of evidence found in the case.
On the 20th anniversary of Asha's disappearance, the FBI confirmed that the bookbag contained a copy of Dr. Seuss's "McElligot's Pool" and a T-shirt depicting the band New Kids on the Block.
Neither item seemed to belong to Asha before they were found in her bag; the book was from her elementary school's library.
Later this lead turned out to be a dead end.
In 2004, acting on a tip from an inmate, the sheriff's office dug an area in Lawndale, but the bones found were from an animal.
The Degrees took steps to keep Asha’s memory alive.
In 2008, they established a scholarship in her name for a deserving local student. They also host an annual walk to raise awareness and funds for the search.
The walk starts at their home and ends at a missing person's billboard for Asha along Highway 18, near where she was last seen.
Initially held on February 14, it was moved to early February in 2015 and 2016, as Harold and Iquilla felt it was unfair to make Valentine’s Day a somber occasion.
Pictures of Asha, including age-progressed images created by investigators, still decorate the Degree house. "I fully expect her to walk through the door," Iquilla says.
In February 2015, the FBI announced that agents, Cleveland County Sheriff's Office investigators, and State Bureau of Investigation agents were re-examining the case and re-interviewing witnesses.
They also announced a reward of up to $25,000 for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for her disappearance.
A community group added another $20,000 to the reward.
In May 2016, the FBI disclosed a possible new lead: Asha may have been seen getting into a dark green early 1970s Lincoln Continental Mark IV, or a Ford Thunderbird from the same era, along the highway where she was last seen.
In October 2018, the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office asked the public for information about two items found in Asha's bookbag: a Dr. Seuss book "McElligot's Pool" borrowed from her school library and a New Kids on the Block concert T-shirt.
An investigator said these items are vital clues.
In November 2020, an inmate named Marcus Mellon, convicted of sex crimes against children claimed in a letter to The Shelby Star that Asha was murdered and he knew where to find her.
However, in February 2021, the sheriff announced that Mellon's claims had led to another dead end.
The disappearance of Asha Degree remains one of the most perplexing and heartbreaking mysteries in recent history.
Despite the relentless efforts of her family, law enforcement, and the community, Asha's fate remains unknown over two decades later.
The annual walks, scholarships, and billboards ensure that her memory stays alive, keeping the search for truth and justice ongoing.
While many leads have turned into dead ends, the resilience of Asha’s family and the dedication of those working on her case inspire hope that one day, answers will be found.
Until then, Asha Degree remains in the hearts of those who remember her and in the prayers of those who yearn for her return.
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