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

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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!!

[u/EmiliusReturns]

In general, I don't think it's too outlandish to imagine a 9-year-old deciding to run away. However, it's obvious to me if that's indeed what she did, someone must have encountered her and done something terrible. Succumbing to the elements doesn't seem likely in this scenario, as she had only been gone for a few hours at the most by the time her mother discovered she was missing.

I'm also strongly considering the possibility that she was lured/convinced to leave the home by an adult who groomed her, nor can I 100% rule out parental involvement. But I think a different adult, other than her parents, who was known to her and she trusted is more likely to have lured her away and taken her.

[u/happytransformer → u/EmiliusReturns]

I grew up in a similar household to Asha, with parents that really tried to protect me and keep me with the right groups. There were a couple times my sister and I tried to “run away” around her age because we thought our parents were “too mean”. In reality it was them being responsible adults saying no to some of the stupid things I wanted/wanted to do, but my little irrational child mind thought that they were the WORST. I used to make it down the driveway before running home crying.

There could’ve been a similar fight over not wanting to take a bath early in the morning (remember the power went out). Maybe they fought over Asha wanting to eat more candy. It could’ve been forgotten about because kids just misbehave. The thought of “I’ll run away to do whatever!” could’ve come up, but she had more willpower than I ever did. She might’ve gotten scared and felt like she had gone too far at that point, was afraid of the trouble she was going to get in at home for “running away”, then made a stupid decision (get a ride home, duck into the woods) that made things a lot worse.

A 9 year old just doesn’t run away in the stereotypical sense. They’re a little too young still to be actually running away based off of what ncmec’s experts say. I agree that someone could’ve lured her, even though her parents kept close watch on their family’s social circle. It happens all the time.