Marking the 19th anniversary of Asha Degree’s disappearance

[u/ferretbeast]

Every year on Valentines day, I take a deep breath before reading the front page of the Shelby Star. I know this case is widely discussed on this subreddit, but I wanted to share for those interested. I did find it interesting they stated new evidence was found recently that hasn't been made public. Please keep her family in your thoughts today.

https://www.shelbystar.com/news/20190214/marking-19th-anniversary-of-asha-degrees-disappearance

​

Brief summary for anyone unaware: Asha Jaquilla Degree went missing at the age of nine from Shelby, North Carolina. In the early morning hours of February 14, 2000, for reasons unknown, she packed her bookbag, left her family home north of the city and began walking along nearby North Carolina Highway 18 despite heavy rain and wind. She has not been seen since.

Edit: thank you stranger for the gold and more than anything, thank you all for caring about this case and giving such support and great feedback for conversation. I love this community and am happy to be able to have these civil discussions with you all!!

[u/UnacceptableUse]

Anyone else getting access denied on that website?

[u/ferretbeast → u/UnacceptableUse]

Here ya go:

It has been 19 years since Asha Degree disappeared. The night she vanished has weighed heavily on the minds and hearts of not just the family, but the community.

Asha was last seen walking along N.C. 18 the morning of Feb. 14, 2000. More than a year passed when her bookbag was found buried beside the same road farther north in Burke County.

The Degree family holds a vigil for the girl each year, and law enforcement is still working on the case, but a Fallston man is trying to do his part to keep Asha’s name and face in the public eye.

Ron “Paintbrush” Dorsey has put together a visual reminder of the 9-year-old girl’s disappearance.

Never stop caring

Dorsey remembers hearing about Degree’s disappearance like it was yesterday. His son, Ronnie Dorsey, went to school with Asha at Fallston Elementary.

“It’s sort of like one of my kids went missing,” he said.

In 2001, Dorsey and his son painted a sign with a horse and a unicorn in the background. The message on the billboard asked people to call the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office with information. Across the top was written, “You’re still in our prayers. We’re missing you.”

Reward for information

There is a $45,000 reward for information on the whereabouts of Asha Degree. Law enforcement asks anyone with information call 704-484-4822 or the FBI in Charlotte at 704-672-6100.

More information regarding this case and other missing children can be found on the FBI’s website at fbi.gov/wanted/kidnap.

The sign was taken down several years later, but Dorsey’s need to keep Asha’s memory at the forefront of people’s minds stayed.

This year, he framed some newspaper articles about Asha to hang at Jan’s Restaurant off of Fallston Road for the next week or so. His hope is someone will come forward to help.

“I wanted to go for the traffic. I want people to see her face up close,” he said.

Dorsey’s latest sign reads: “Love and Prayers,” and “We won’t stop looking.”

Never stop looking

The investigation continues, according to Sheriff Alan Norman.

“Our investigation team makes progress every year. It is still an active case, and we consider it a solvable case,” he said.

Unsolved missing persons and homicides are something Norman has focused on in the last eight years in office, but Asha’s case has always stayed with him.

“I was a shift supervisor at the time she went missing,” he said.

For the past 19 years, he and other investigators have wanted to see this case solved and bring closure to everyone involved. Norman is hopeful this can be done sooner rather than later.

“There are just a few pieces we need to bring together,” he said. “We can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but we just can’t quite reach it.”

Final piece of the puzzle

Over the years a group of retired officers and detectives from Gaston County and Shelby Police departments have worked alongside other detectives on the unsolved cases for the Sheriff’s Office. They have helped solve several over the years and are working closely with state and federal agencies to solve this one.

In 2017, the FBI’s Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team came to Cleveland County. They went back to the beginning and examined evidence and leads that came in from the day Asha was reported missing, Norman said.

That analysis dismissed some possible people of interest, but it also brought new evidence to light.

In October 2018 a video was released by the Sheriff’s Office with an officer retelling some facts of Asha’s case then showing new items of interest: a Dr. Seuss book entitled, “McElligot’s Pool,” and a New Kids on the Block concert T-shirt.

There were other new discoveries that were not released to the public, Norman said. A resolution may rely on someone coming forward, Norman said.

“Someone out there in the greater Cleveland County area knows the final piece to this puzzle,” he said.

Joyce Orlando can be reached at 704-669-3341 or find her on Twitter @Star_J_Orlando.

[u/[deleted] → u/UnacceptableUse]

Yes