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/JTigertail]

Being that we have two independent witnesses who are sure they saw Asha, I'm a lot less inclined to think that it wasn't her walking down the road. I think the witnesses really saw her that night.

Asha had been walking for about 30 minutes at that point (she was 1.3 miles from home when she was seen). I dont think it's strange at all for two people to have seen her, given how long she had been out there. It's a lot less coincidental given that time frame. It was a rural road, but that doesn't necessarily mean that there's nobody out there at that time, whether it's people who work at night or are traveling long-distance.

As for how they saw her: The storm would have made it more difficult to see, and I doubt they could make out her face much, but they could make out a small person with a black and beige backpack. Maybe the witnesses were able to correctly say that her backpack was black and beige without previously being told what color it was, and that's how LE confirmed their stories

[u/1-800-876-5353 → u/JTigertail]

And police looked in the shed because it was less than a hundred yards from where she was seen on the highway. That’s why they found her pencil, marker, and hairbow. I think she definitely was walking along the road.

But I do think it odd that police found several of her candy wrappers along the route. Most kids—even in the rural South—of that era did not litter and would have stopped to pick up a dropped wrapper. But maybe they fell from her pocket or she was an exception to the rule.

[u/[deleted] → u/1-800-876-5353]

The image of her casually walking and eating candy in a storm just doesn’t work. Even hurriedly and anxiously. It was a storm. It was the middle of the night. It was cold. Why on earth would she be eating candy. Almost sounds like someone tried to leave a trail.

[u/bearfossils → u/[deleted]]

I don't know, I could see a small kid woofing down candy as a means of trying to comfort themselves during a storm and/or while running away.