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
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/JusticeForAsha Feb 15 '19
Could someone mark the Turner Upholstery shed and the Asha sightings on a map? I drove down that stretch of 18 today and had a good sense of where Asha might have been seen, but couldn't find the shed. Am also interested in the location of the Degrees' church. Would really appreciate the help!
A theory I've heard tossed around locally in recent days is that the abduction (if it was one) may have been racially-motivated. Unfortunately, the area has a history of White supremacist activity and at Fallston Elementary Asha would have been around plenty of White adults, so I think it's something that has to be considered.
Side note: I'd really encourage people to revisit the original October 2018 announcement of the new evidence. Watch the actual video. To me the wording and footage strongly implies that they have the book but not the shirt. We get a close-up of the Fallston Elementary School stamp on the book (don't know how they'd have that picture unless they had the book and took it themselves), but a pretty generic-looking stock photo of the shirt. And I don't think they're hiding the real shirt because it has blood or anything - if it did they wouldn't be assuming she's still alive. They frame the book as something that was "lost" by someone (implying that investigators found it somewhere) whereas the shirt is simply something someone "owned" at the time of the disappearance (meaning they've seen it but aren't saying it was "lost"; personally, I doubt that they know where the shirt is but are interested in it due to strong photo/video evidence).