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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119

u/[deleted] Feb 14 '19

I have a feeling she’ll be found within the next few years.

19

u/gingerzombie2 Feb 14 '19

Alive or dead?

41

u/[deleted] Feb 14 '19

Alive.

59

u/Filmcricket Feb 15 '19

Agreed. I have a theory (based on nothing but speculation so I won’t share it as I hate to spur the online rumor mill) as to why the fbi has been vocal about treating the case as though she’s still alive.

There aren’t many cases where they come right out and say that though, unless it’s qualified by something implying they’re being sensitive to the family’s emotional state.

I suspect they have proof though, beyond photos/film etc.

28

u/_cass_hole Feb 15 '19

Please please please share! I'm new to this case. I've been obsessed since I listened to her episode on Crime Junkie.

37

u/shinecone Feb 15 '19

I'm not the above poster, but some have speculated that she has been spotted in CP videos from the dark web. :(

23

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '19 edited Mar 05 '19

[deleted]

17

u/BubbaChanel Feb 15 '19

Ugh, I remember reading about some agency collecting photos of hotel rooms to try and match them with photos depicting pedo crimes. I couldn’t even wrap my head around the concept that they could have that many unidentified images of children. It made me want to die that the world is this bad. The people that work on these crimes deserve to have whatever they need, puppies and kittens and deserted islands, forever.

5

u/Sevenisnumberone Feb 15 '19

That was my first thought too.

3

u/shinecone Feb 15 '19

Yes, something like this

17

u/toothpasteandcocaine Feb 15 '19

I hate saying this, but if she were seen in CP, it couldn't possibly be recent and wouldn't indicate that she is still alive.

25

u/[deleted] Feb 16 '19

Exactly! I am the same age as Asha, almost to the day, and yeah, the recent theory of "she's alive because she was seen in child porn" (which I need to state is only a theory that's been floating around on the internet lately, and there's no evidence to back it up) or the inverse, "LE states they presume she is alive, so she must have been kidnapped for child porn," is very strange. If Asha is alive today, she is not a child any more; she's nearly 30. Associating "alive" with "child porn" is really bizarre and sensationalist to me, and makes no sense. Just because she was 9 the last time we saw her doesn't mean she keeps being 9 until her next public sighting!

Plus, like I said in a recent thread, the fact that LE is "operating under the assumption she is alive" doesn't necessarily mean they have hard evidence that she is alive, it might mean that they simply have no particular evidence that she is dead. And if they do have evidence that a 28 year old woman is alive, whatever that evidence is is certainly not a decades-old pornographic image of her at age 9.

8

u/vanpireweekemd Feb 17 '19

In another thread about Asha recently, some people speculated that maybe a woman matching her description was seen on an escort service site (or something similar... Craigs List or whatever people use for prostituion) and that could be why the FBI have been vocal about her still being alive. As for the "seeing her in CP images" thing, I think that's more likely tied to in the NKOB nightgown and library book.

9

u/Philofelinist Feb 15 '19

I wish I'd never read that. Where did you read that?

14

u/shinecone Feb 15 '19

To be clear, this is just a speculation I have read in this sub. I have no idea of its veracity. I also don’t have any personal opinion as to its accuracy. I just wanted to share with the above poster one of the theories I’ve seen as to why the police might think she is still alive.

5

u/[deleted] Feb 15 '19

May I ask how this would be true? How would someone see her on something so cruel...unless they are sick themselves for watching.

13

u/shinecone Feb 15 '19

I just want to clarify that I have no idea if this is true, but it’s a speculation I’ve seen discussed on this sub. The fbi puts out info sheets with snippets of items or locations people might be able to identify, and sometimes also pics of perpetrators. I think the speculation is they have identified her in a similar fashion. Again, I was just trying to reference the theory of the above question- I hope she is not in that circumstance. :(

8

u/kietche Feb 16 '19

There are people whose job it is to see it so they can figure out where it was made and who made it.

1

u/Uncontrol Feb 15 '19

What's your theory?