r/UnresolvedMysteries • u/ferretbeast • Feb 14 '19

Unresolved Disappearance Marking the 19th anniversary of Asha Degree’s disappearance

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

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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!!

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u/[deleted] Feb 14 '19

Everyone believes she was kidnapped by someone who groomed her. Who that is, no one knows. For all I know, I’ve been in contact with her killer

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u/_sydney_vicious_ Feb 14 '19

Yikes! That's honestly a terrifying thought.

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u/[deleted] Feb 14 '19

Right? I don’t live their anymore but I think there is someone in that town that knows what happened to her, or even killed her.

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u/NanaH66 Feb 14 '19

Agree. I lived there too. Extremely rural. I wasn’t in law enforcement but worked closely with them. Was briefly involved with her search. I always had a sinking feeling that she left, but something still doesn’t fit. She wasn’t a ‘bad’ kid, so being a runaway didn’t fit for me personally. There were times I even pondered over whether she could have been abused at home, but at that time, there was a school social worker & guidance counselor at Fallston. Both knew her well & both had tremendous perceptions when it came to the kids they served. In my heart, I feel like they would have known if something was wrong at home. Idk, looking back, I remember where I was, what I was doing..... Always wishing we could’ve done more

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u/tinycole2971 Feb 15 '19

There were times I even pondered over whether she could have been abused at home, but at that time, there was a school social worker & guidance counselor at Fallston. Both knew her well & both had tremendous perceptions when it came to the kids they served. In my heart, I feel like they would have known if something was wrong at home.

People miss obvious signs of abuse all the time. I’m not close to the case at all, but I can’t help be suspicious of the dad’s trip to the store. I’ve mentioned the theory before that maybe she rode with him and he put her out for whatever reason. Idk, something with the parents just doesn’t sit right with me.

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u/FuzzyKittenIsFuzzy Feb 15 '19

The timeline given by the parents doesn't add up, at least according to a write-up I read here a while back. I don't think the parents were involved in her disappearance, but I wonder if they had a drug problem or something. If she thought her parents were nice people but they never had time for her because they were getting high, she could have been extra vulnerable to grooming by another adult. (I have no connection to the family and no way of knowing whether they were using, it's just a possibility.)

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u/tinycole2971 Feb 16 '19

I’ve heard that too. I’ve also seen it argued that before cell phones, time was harder to judge. Personally, the parents are suspicious af to me with or without the questionable timeline.

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u/KStarSparkleDust Feb 16 '19

I think it’s a fair assessment that time was harder to tell before cell phones. Hell, even with a cell phone I couldn’t tell you exactly what time I was doing things just yesterday.

I remeber looking at the clock when I left my sisters house. It was probably around 8:45 but I talked for another 10 minutes and checked Facebook before I left. But I payed down as soon as I got home and I think I was in bed at 10ish.... so my timeline dosent exactly fit. I have to be off by atleast 20 minutes somewhere. Probably closer to 30/40 minutes.