Hi everyone! My name is Caroline and I’m a big True Crime fanatic. Ever since I was young, I have been absolutely hooked on mysteries. I would read Nancy Drew books in the bathtub in elementary school for hours and then progressed to Agatha Christie novels in middle school, much to my mother’s chagrin. I think she had hoped I would enjoy a topic a bit more tame to be interested in. Sorry mom…

Anyway, with this blog I will be sharing some of my favorite True Crime cases as well as recommending some quality crime podcasts and books I enjoy. Without further ado, I want to tell you about one of the most puzzling cases I have ever came across: Asha Degree.

This case takes place in Shelby, North Carolina on February 14th of 2000. Asha Degree was 9 years old at the time of her disappearance and lived with her parents and brother. On the evening of February 13th, Asha and her brother O’Bryant went to their room they shared to go to sleep around 8 p.m. They were home with only their mother at the time because their father, Harold, worked in the evenings.

Harold returned a little past midnight and checked on the children, which were apparently soundly sleeping. He decided he wanted to unwind for a bit before going to bed and was up until 2:30 a.m. before turning in.

The next morning, Asha’s mother, Iquilla, went to wake the kids up for a bath and only found her son sleeping in the bedroom. She was initially not too worried since they had family close by and thought perhaps Asha went to her grandmother’s home. After realizing she was not with family, a now panicked Iquilla called 911.

It had been badly storming the previous night and search dogs were not able to pick up her scent. They went through her room and found that her backpack along with some clothing was missing from Asha’s room, indicating she had been packing.

It was thought that she had left on her own accord because the doors and windows were locked like they usually were when the family woke up that morning and Asha did have a key.

However, it is definitely worth noting that Asha was not only young, but also sheltered and a generally frightened child. She was very scared of the dark and especially storms and her family thinks it is very unlike her to leave when both of those things were present. Asha was also sheltered as her family was very religious and greatly limited internet use which for some eliminates the idea that an online predator took advantage of her.

Later that evening after Asha still had not been found, her case was broadcasted on the local news. The police received a few different calls saying that a young girl was seen walking with a backpack in the early morning hours on the highway, around 3 a.m. One person even said they tried to stop and call out to her but she ran off into the woods, evidently spooked.

After learning Asha had possibly ran off into the woods, police searched the area and found a shed that appeared as if a young person had been in there. There were multiple candy wrappers, a hair bow, various school supplies, and a picture of a young girl that was not Asha. Asha’s parents confirmed that the hair bow and school supplies were indeed their daughter’s which only heightened the mystery.

Where did Asha go? Was she running from someone? Did she run away from home and meet with foul play? Had someone from the community groomed her and convinced her to meet them at night for a “surprise”? Did her parents have something to do with it?

Investigator’s heads were spinning. More than a year went by with no new leads on where Asha went. In August of 2001, a construction worker digging up some land close to 30 miles away from where Asha was last seen found a child’s backpack.

It was immediately determined to be Asha’s because it had her information on it. Even more disturbing was the way it was found. The backpack was wrapped in multiple bags and buried deeply in the ground. It was a miracle that the construction workers found it at all.

This would be the last update for years until 2016 when police asked for the public to help them find a green 70’s Lincoln car that they believed Asha had gotten into that evening she went missing.

The police also asked for assistance in locating a specific “New Kids on the Block” t-shirt and a Dr.Seuss children’s book checked out from Asha’s elementary school library. Clearly the police have a lead that the public is not privy to involving these items but to this day, no new updates have been provided. It is anyone’s best guess what happened to Asha on Valentine’s Day.

I hope you enjoyed learning about this case. As with all unsolved cases, tell your friends and family about Asha. Someone out there knows something about what happened to this little girl. She deserves justice.

*Please note that this information is from a combination of different sources over the years such as podcasts, missing person reports, and news articles and videos.*

https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap/asha-jaquilla-degree

MISSING: Asha Degree

#TrueCrime #AshaDegree #NorthCarolina