On February 14, 2000, nine-year-old Asha Jaquilla Degree disappeared from her family's home on Oakcrest Drive in a rural subdivision north of Shelby, North Carolina. Her parents, Harold and Iquilla Degree, had checked on her twice overnight following a brief power outage and last saw her asleep at around 2:30 a.m. Sometime after that, Asha got out of bed, took a bookbag she had apparently packed in advance with clothing and personal items, and left the house unnoticed by her sleeping brother, O'Bryant, then age 10.
Between 3:45 and 4:15 a.m., a truck driver and a separate motorist reported seeing a small girl matching Asha's description walking south along North Carolina Highway 18 during heavy rain and wind. One driver, suspicious of a child being out alone at that hour, circled back several times; he reported that the girl ran into a wooded area and disappeared. Iquilla Degree discovered her daughter missing around 5:45 a.m. when she went to wake the children for school. Police were notified, and an extensive search began within the hour, though tracking dogs could not pick up Asha's scent.
Searchers recovered some of Asha's belongings — including candy wrappers, a pencil, a green marker, and a yellow hairbow — in a shed near where she was last seen, along with an unidentified photograph of a girl later reported to be a friend of Asha's. No further trace was found during the initial search, which involved roughly 9,000 hours of effort and 300 tips before being scaled back about a week later. In August 2001, construction workers found Asha's bookbag buried in trash bags at a site off Highway 18 near Morganton, about 26 miles from her home. FBI forensic examination later revealed the bag contained a library book, McElligot's Pool, and a New Kids on the Block T-shirt, neither of which had apparently belonged to Asha before her disappearance.
Investigators initially considered that Asha might have run away, but noted the absence of any clear precipitating cause and her atypical profile for a runaway (most runaways are 12 or older, according to a cited expert). Authorities came to believe she had been abducted after leaving home. The case drew sustained national media attention, including appearances on The Montel Williams Show, America's Most Wanted, and The Oprah Winfrey Show, as well as public awareness campaigns using billboards, a stock car livery, and branded company vehicles.
In 2015, the FBI joined North Carolina's State Bureau of Investigation and the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office in a renewed investigation and offered a reward of up to $25,000, later supplemented by a community group's additional $20,000 reward. A possible sighting of Asha entering a vintage car was disclosed in 2016. The FBI's Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team assisted investigators in 2017, and hundreds of additional interviews were conducted in subsequent years. A 2020 tip from an incarcerated individual convicted of sex crimes against children led to another dead end. In September 2024 and February 2025, search warrants tied to physical evidence resulted in the seizure of items including a vehicle and cellphones, and in February 2025 the case was reclassified as a homicide investigation, with suspects publicly identified. A further property search occurred in April 2025.
Asha Degree goes to bed at approximately 8 p.m. with her brother; a power outage occurs in the neighborhood that evening and is restored around 12:30 a.m.
2000-02-14
Between roughly 2:30 a.m. and 3:45 a.m., Asha leaves her home with a packed bookbag; motorists report seeing her walking along Highway 18 in a storm between 3:45 and 4:15 a.m. before she runs into a wooded area. Her mother discovers her missing around 5:45 a.m.
2000-02-15
Searchers find candy wrappers, a pencil, a marker, a hairbow, and an unidentified photograph in a shed near where Asha was last seen.
2000-02-22
Sheriff Dan Crawford announces the search is going 'long-range' after no substantial leads are found.
2000-03
A billboard featuring Asha's image is erected along Highway 18 near where she was last seen.
2001-05
Stock car driver Travis Kittleson features Asha's image on his car during a televised event.
2001-08
Construction workers discover Asha's bookbag buried in trash bags off Highway 18 near Morganton.
2004
Acting on a jail inmate's tip, authorities dig at a Lawndale intersection; recovered bones are determined to be animal remains.
2005
Asha's image is placed on vehicles of two North Carolina companies as part of an awareness campaign.
2015-02
The FBI announces a renewed investigation with SBI and Cleveland County Sheriff's Office involvement and a reward of up to $25,000.
2016-05
The FBI discloses a possible lead involving Asha being seen getting into a vintage car near where she was last seen.
2017-09
The FBI's Child Abduction Rapid Deployment team assists investigators for ten days.
2018-10
Investigators publicly appeal for information about items found in the bookbag: a library book and a concert T-shirt.
2020-02
On the 20th anniversary of the disappearance, the FBI confirms details of the book and T-shirt found in the bookbag.
2020-11
An incarcerated individual claims knowledge of Asha's fate in a letter to a local newspaper; the claim is later called a dead end.
2024-09
The Cleveland County Sheriff's Office and FBI execute a search warrant based on physical evidence; items including a vehicle are seized, though no human remains are found.
2025-02-13
The Cleveland County Sheriff's Office executes search warrants seizing cellphones from a local man and two of his children.
2025-02
The case is reclassified as a homicide investigation and suspects are publicly identified.
2025-04-04
A property once owned by a person described as prominent in the investigation is searched.
Best coverage
Titles and descriptions are the creators’ own and may not reflect current legal status; see the dossier above for sourced case facts.
VIDEO
Crime Weekly / 1 hr 37 min
Mystery on Highway 18: Asha Degree (Part 1)
VIDEO
Crime Weekly / 31 min
Crime Weekly News: Suspects Identified in Asha Degree Case!
VIDEO
Dr. Todd Grande / 15 min
Nine-Year-Old Wanders into the Night | Asha Degree Case Analysis
VIDEO
Crime Weekly / 1 hr 31 min
Mystery on Highway 18: Asha Degree (Part 3)
VIDEO
Crime Weekly / 1 hr 35 min
Mystery on Highway 18: Asha Degree (Part 2)
VIDEO
Kendall Rae / 16 min
WHERE IS Asha Degree?! Mysterious Disappearance on Valentines Day- Unsolved
People
Asha Degree
VICTIM
Nine-year-old girl who disappeared from her Shelby, North Carolina home on February 14, 2000, and has never been found; the case was reclassified as a homicide investigation in 2025.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Nine-year-old Asha Degree vanished from her Shelby, North Carolina home in the early hours of February 14, 2000, after packing a bookbag and walking along Highway 18 in a storm; she has never been found. In 2025 the case was reclassified as a homicide investigation and suspects were publicly identified following renewed searches.
