disappearance of Asha Degree

Harold and Iquilla Degree married on Valentine's Day in 1988. Their son, O'Bryant, was born a year later; Asha was born in 1990.{{cite news |last1=Orlando |first1=Joyce |title=Family of Asha Degree holds on to hope |url=https://www.goupstate.com/story/news/crime/2018/02/18/family-of-asha-degree-holds-on-to-hope/14262981007/ |access-date=November 19, 2023 |work=Shelby Star |date=February 18, 2018}} The Degrees raised both children in their house on Oakcrest Drive in a residential subdivision amidst a generally rural area north of Shelby, North Carolina, on the western edge of the Charlotte metropolitan area.{{cite news|last=Orlando|first=Joyce|title=Where is Asha?|url=http://www.shelbystar.com/article/20160213/NEWS/160219532/?Start=1|access-date=February 20, 2016|work=Shelby Star|date=February 14, 2016|archive-date=February 21, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160221093451/http://www.shelbystar.com/article/20160213/NEWS/160219532/?Start=1|url-status=dead}} Both worked regular jobs nearby; Harold was a dock loader and Iquilla worked for Kawai America Manufacturing building pianos.{{cite news |last1=Soper |first1=Aileen |title='A soft-hearted child': Family prays to have missing little girl back home |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-a-soft-hearted-c/135767551/ |access-date=November 25, 2023 |work=The Charlotte Observer |date=February 28, 2000 |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-a-soft-hearted-c/135767551/ 1B], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-degree-family-pra/135767793/ 4B] |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}{{cite news |last1=Soper |first1=Aileen |title=Cleveland County girl missing from bedroom |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer/135417919/ |access-date=November 19, 2023 |work=The Charlotte Observer |date=February 15, 2000 |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer/135417919/ 1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-few-clues-in-case/173159616/ 10A] |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}} The children let themselves in after school,{{cite news|last1=Orlando|first1=Joyce|title=15 years later and still missing|url=http://www.shelbystar.com/article/20150205/News/302059790|access-date=February 12, 2016|work=Shelby Star|date=February 5, 2015}} where their parents expected that they would either be doing their homework or finished with it by the time they returned.{{cite news|last1=Cawthon|first1=Graham|last2=Brooks|first2=Drew|title=Asha Degree: Family, friends refuse to give up search for little girl who disappeared in 2000|url=http://www.shelbystar.com/news/asha_28858___article.html/county_name.html|access-date=February 24, 2016|work=Shelby Star|date=February 16, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726175918/http://www.shelbystar.com/news/asha_28858___article.html/county_name.html|archive-date=July 26, 2008}}

They made sure their children were insulated from outside influences and had a life centered around their extended family, church, and school. The Degrees did not have a computer in the house.{{cite web |title=Inside the FBI: Searching for Asha Degree |url=https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/inside-the-fbi-searching-for-asha-degree-021422.mp4/view |website=FBI |access-date=December 29, 2024}} {{nowrap|"[E]very}} time you turned on the TV there was some pedophile who had lured somebody's child away, via the Internet," Iquilla recalled in a 2013 Jet interview.{{cite news|last1=Lantigua Williams|first1=Juleyka|title=Missing & Black: What Happened to Asha Degree?|url=http://www.jetmag.com/news/iquilla-degree-where-is-my-daughter/|access-date=February 7, 2016|work=Jet|date=April 9, 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815033502/https://jetmag.com/news/iquilla-degree-where-is-my-daughter/|archive-date=August 15, 2018}} Iquilla said Asha handled this well; she was cautious, shy, and content mostly to stay within the limits her parents set. "She was scared to death of dogs," she recalled years later. "I never thought she would go out of the house."{{cite news|last1=Banfield|first1=Ashleigh|last2=Shaylor|first2=Jay|last3=Netter|first3=Sarah|title=Vanished: Tips on Asha Degree's Disappearance Roll In Even 10 Years Later|url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/nc-girl-asha-degree-disappeared-10-years-ago/story?id=11591506|access-date=February 7, 2016|publisher=ABC News|date=September 9, 2010}}

Asha was in fourth grade at nearby Fallston Elementary School, going into a three-day weekend on the second week of February 2000. The Cleveland County Schools were closed on Friday, February 11, while the Degrees still had to work; the children spent the day at their aunt's house in the same neighborhood, from which they went to their youth basketball practices at their school. The following day, Asha's basketball team, on which she was a star point guard, lost its first game of the season. Asha had fouled out. Her parents recalled that she was somewhat upset about this, crying along with her teammates afterwards, but seemed to have gotten over it and watched her brother's game later that day.

On February 13, a Sunday, the children went to church from a relative's house and then returned home. Around 8 p.m. that night, both children went to bed in the room they shared. Almost an hour later, the power went out in the neighborhood after a nearby car accident. The power came back on at 12:30 a.m., at which time Harold checked on his children and saw both Asha and O'Bryant asleep in their beds.{{cite news |last1=Cawthon |first1=Graham |first2=Drew |last2=Brooks |title=Asha Degree: Family, friends refuse to give up search for little girl who disappeared in 2000 |url=http://www.shelbystar.com/news/asha_28858___article.html/county_name.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726175918/http://www.shelbystar.com/news/asha_28858___article.html/county_name.html |archive-date=July 26, 2008 |newspaper=Shelby Star}} He checked again shortly before he went to bed at 2:30 a.m. on February 14 and again saw them both.

Shortly afterwards, O'Bryant, then age 10, recalls hearing Asha's bed squeak. He did not further rouse himself, as he assumed she was merely changing positions in her sleep. Apparently around this time, Asha got out of bed, taking a bookbag she had previously packed with several sets of clothes and personal items, and left the house. Between 3:45 and 4:15 a.m., a truck driver and a motorist saw her walking south along Highway 18, wearing a long-sleeved white T-shirt and white pants, just north of its junction with Highway 180.{{cite news |last1=Morgan |first1=Sarah-Blake |title=Finding Asha: Leads still pouring in 18 years after child vanished |url=http://www.wbtv.com/story/37493875/finding-asha-leads-still-pouring-in-18-years-after-child-vanished |access-date=July 16, 2018 |publisher=WBTV |date=February 15, 2018}} They reported this to police after seeing a TV report about her disappearance. The motorist said that he turned his car around because he thought it was "strange such a small child would be out by herself at that hour". He circled three times and saw Degree run into the woods by the roadside and disappear. It was a rainy night, and the witness said there was a "storm raging" when he saw her.{{cite news|title=Girl's disappearance baffles investigators|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=20000315&id=RFhIAAAAIBAJ&pg=4994,6249297|access-date=February 7, 2016|work=Morning Star |location=Wilmington, N.C. |agency=Associated Press|date=March 15, 2000}} County sheriff Dan Crawford said, "We're pretty sure it was her because the descriptions they gave are consistent with what we know she was wearing." He added that they also saw her at the same place, heading the same direction.{{cite news |last1=Dys |first1=Andrew |last2=Barr |first2=Heather |title=9-year-old girl missing |url=http://www.shelbystar.com:80/news/asha/asha01.html |access-date=July 18, 2018 |work=Shelby Star |date=February 15, 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000818061204/http://www.shelbystar.com/news/asha/asha01.html |archive-date=August 18, 2000 |url-status=dead }}

Iquilla awoke at 5:45 a.m. to get the children ready for school that morning. This involved drawing a bath for them because they had not been able to take one the night before due to the power outage. When she opened the children's room to wake them up before their 6:30 alarm and call them to the bath, O'Bryant was in his bed; Asha was not, and Iquilla was unable to find her in the house or in the family cars. She told Harold she could not find their daughter. He suggested Asha might have gone over to his mother's house across the street; when Iquilla called there, her sister-in-law said Asha was not there. "That's when I went into panic mode. I heard a car next door ... I put shoes on and ran outside." Iquilla called her mother, who told her to call the police.

By 6:40 a.m., the first police officers had arrived on the scene. Police dogs called to the scene could not pick up Asha's scent. Iquilla went through the neighborhood calling Asha's name, which she said had awakened everyone by 7 a.m. Friends, family, and neighbors canceled their plans for the day to assist police in searching the vicinity while the pastor of their church, along with other area clergymen, came to the Degrees' home to support them. By day's end, all that had been found was a mitten, which Iquilla Degree said did not belong to her daughter, noting that no winter clothing had been taken from the house.{{cite news|last=Barr|first=Heather|title=Friends, family offer their support|url=http://www.shelbystar.com/news/asha/asha04.html|newspaper=Shelby Star|date=February 15, 2000|access-date=February 24, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050920235852/http://www.shelbystar.com/news/asha/asha04.html|archive-date=September 20, 2005}} Local news coverage prompted the two drivers who had seen Asha walking along the road early that morning, including the one whose attempt to approach her apparently prompted Asha to flee into the woods, to report the sightings to police.

On February 15, candy wrappers were found in a shed at a nearby business along the highway, near where Asha had been seen running into the woods.{{cite news |last1=Dys |first1=Andrew |date=February 18, 2000 |title=Items found, but still no Asha |work=Shelby Star |url=http://www.shelbystar.com:80/news/asha/asha10.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000818061104/http://www.shelbystar.com/news/asha/asha10.html |archive-date=August 18, 2000}} Along with them were a pencil, a green marker, and a yellow hairbow that were identified by her parents as belonging to her.{{cite news|last1=Scott|first1=Joy|title=Book bag may hold more than meets eye|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/anonymous-crime-clipping-aug-10-2001-241852/|access-date=April 2, 2017|work=The Gaston Gazette|date=August 10, 2001|via=NewspaperArchive.com}} {{free access}} Also found was a photograph of a black girl around Asha's age who has yet to be identified.{{cite news |last1=Coin |first1=Julia |title=Investigators & Asha Degree's family never gave up: A timeline in case close to Charlotte |url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article300055954.html |access-date=March 22, 2025 |work=The Charlotte Observer |date=February 13, 2025}} It was the only trace of her found during the initial search. On February 16, Iquilla realized that Asha's bedroom was missing her favorite clothing, including a pair of blue jeans with a red stripe.{{cite news |last1=Barr |first1=Heather |last2=Bretzius |first2=Shana |title=Painful mystery remains unsolved |url=http://www.shelbystar.com:80/news/asha/asha06.html |access-date=July 26, 2018 |work=Shelby Star |date=February 17, 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010110113600/http://www.shelbystar.com/news/asha/asha06.html |archive-date=January 10, 2001 |url-status=live }} A week later the search was called off, after 9,000 man hours had been invested in a search of the {{convert|2|–|3|mi|km|adj=mid|-radius}} of where she had last been seen,{{cite news |last1=Soper |first1=Aileen |title=Search halted after 7 days |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-search-halted-aft/135772134/ |access-date=November 25, 2023 |work=The Charlotte Observer |date=February 21, 2000 |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-search-halted-aft/135772134/ 1A], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-search-called-off/135772274/ 15A] |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}} flyers had been posted all over the area, and 300 leads had been submitted that ranged from possible sightings to tips about abandoned houses and wells where Asha might have ended up. "We have never really had that first good, substantial lead," said county sheriff Dan Crawford at a news conference. He urged the media to keep the story alive.{{cite news|title=Crawford: Keep telling Asha's story|url=http://www.shelbystar.com/arch_news/_disc4/00000666.htm|access-date=February 12, 2016|work=Shelby Star|date=February 23, 2000|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000818000803/http://www.shelbystar.com/arch_news/_disc4/00000666.htm|archive-date=August 18, 2000}}

At the news conference on February 22, 2000, Crawford said he was going "long-range" with the search for Asha. Both the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and North Carolina's State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) got involved and put her on their respective databases of missing children. While the agencies were done searching in the area of her home and route, "we're following everything," Crawford insisted.

From Iquilla's account of what Asha had taken with her, investigators believed she had planned and prepared for this departure over the several days preceding her disappearance. "She's not your typical runaway," observed SBI agent Bart Burpeau. Another expert, Ben Ermini of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, noted that most children who run away are at least 12.{{cite news |last1=Soper |first1=Aileen |title=Missing girl doesn't fit profile, experts say |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-missing-girl-does/135771527/ |access-date=November 25, 2023 |work=The Charlotte Observer |date=March 14, 2000 |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-missing-girl-does/135771527/ 1L]–[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-case-of-missing-d/135771748/ 2L] |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}} An FBI agent also pointed to the lack of an issue she might have been running away from, such as a dysfunctional family or poor academic performance. Still, investigators believed that was the most likely explanation for her departure, but that for some reason, she either got off track or was abducted.

The media attention went national. A month after Asha's disappearance, the Degree family appeared on The Montel Williams Show to call attention to the case. America's Most Wanted and The Oprah Winfrey Show also devoted segments to it.

In March 2000, police erected a full-size color billboard, featuring Degree's image and identifying information, along Highway 18, near where Degree was last seen.{{cite news |last1=Soper |first1=Aileen |title=Hunt for girl will try a billboard |url=https://newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-hunt-for-girl-wil/135768676/ |access-date=November 25, 2023 |work=The Charlotte Observer |date=March 22, 2000 |page=5B |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}{{cite news |last1=Soper |first1=Aileen |title=Mother holds out hope for missing girl |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-mother-holds-out/135771183/ |access-date=November 25, 2023 |work=The Charlotte Observer |date=August 5, 2000 |page=4B |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}

In May 2001, stock car racing driver Travis Kittleson featured an image of Degree on the hood of his car for an event in Concord, North Carolina, which was broadcast live on TNN. Kittleson said, "We've got a perfect opportunity to put Asha's picture on our car and maybe, with any luck, we can help bring her home."{{cite news |last1=Soper |first1=Aileen |title=Auto racer to aid in search for Asha |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-auto-racer-to-aid/135769787/ |access-date=November 25, 2023 |work=The Charlotte Observer |date=May 18, 2001 |page=2B |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}{{cite news |title=Wallace on pole for Winston |url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/05/19/wallace-on-pole-for-winston/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231126095105/https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2001/05/19/wallace-on-pole-for-winston/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 26, 2023 |access-date=November 26, 2023 |work=Tampa Bay Times |date=September 10, 2005}}

In August 2001, Asha's bookbag and other items were discovered during a construction project off Highway 18 in Burke County, near Morganton, about {{convert|26|mi}} north of Shelby.{{cite news|title=SBI Search for Possible Remains of Asha Degree|url=http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/sbi-search-for-possible-remains-of-asha-degree/nHMhH/|access-date=February 7, 2016 |publisher=WSOC |location=Charlotte, N.C. |date=November 10, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216033718/http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/sbi-search-for-possible-remains-of-asha-degree/nHMhH/|archive-date=February 16, 2016}}{{cite news|last1=Manware|first1=Melissa|last2=Coto|first2=Danica|last3=Cimino|first3=Karen|title=Search renewed in Asha Degree case|url=http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/10147889.htm|access-date=February 7, 2016|work=The Charlotte Observer|date=November 10, 2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041213113742/http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/10147889.htm|archive-date=December 13, 2004}}{{cite news|title=Items may be linked to missing girl, 9|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=20010807&id=DA5PAAAAIBAJ&pg=5633,1930339|access-date=February 7, 2016|work=Morning Star|date=August 7, 2001}} It was wrapped in two black trash bags.{{cite news |last1=Chamer |first1=Jeff A. |title=Authorities believe Asha Degree was murdered, allege DNA may point to local people |url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article292563214.html |access-date=September 16, 2024 |work=The Charlotte Observer |date=September 16, 2024}} The worker who found it said the bookbag contained Asha's name and phone number. The FBI took it to their laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, for further forensic analysis;{{cite news |title=Police keep quiet about bookbag |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/statesville-record-and-landmark-police-k/135773010/ |access-date=November 26, 2023 |work=Statesville Record & Landmark |agency=Associated Press |date=July 27, 2003 |page=9A |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}}{{cite news |last1=Moore |first1=Robert F. |title=Analysis may link discovery to Asha |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-analysis-may-link/135771868/ |access-date=November 25, 2023 |work=The Charlotte Observer |date=August 6, 2001 |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-analysis-may-link/135771868/ 1B]–[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-charlotte-observer-fbi-analysis-may/135771809/ 2B] |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}} results from that testing have not been shared publicly.{{cite news |last1=Correll |first1=Christina |title=Sheriff confirms items belonged to missing girl |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/21879294/ |access-date=July 15, 2018 |work=The Gaffney Ledger |date=August 13, 2001 |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{free access}} To date, it is the last evidence found in the case.{{cite news|last1=Scott|first1=Joy|last2=Diskin|first2=Megan|title=Asha bookbag results back from FBI|url=http://www.shelbystar.com/news/evidence_7290___article.html/bookbag_asha.html|access-date=February 24, 2016|work=Shelby Star|date=July 26, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726182509/http://www.shelbystar.com/news/evidence_7290___article.html/bookbag_asha.html|archive-date=July 26, 2008}} On the 20th anniversary of Asha's disappearance, the FBI confirmed that the bookbag contained a copy of Dr. Seuss's McElligot's Pool and a T-shirt depicting the band New Kids on the Block. Neither appeared to have been her property before they were found in her bag; the book was from the library at her elementary school.

For many years afterward, leads turned out to be dead ends. In 2004, acting on a tip reportedly received from an inmate at the county jail, the sheriff's office began digging at an intersection in Lawndale. The bones that were found turned out to be from an animal.

In 2005, Degree's image was featured on the work vehicles of two North Carolina companies: Servpro, a water cleanup and restoration service, and Republic GDS, a waste pick up service. Republic GDS's area president, Drew Isenhour, stated, "We are doing this for one reason and one reason only, and that is to find Asha Degree. Then we can move forward and help other missing children as well." An age progressed photo of Degree, created by the FBI, was featured on 28 vehicles for a period of 30 to 60 days.{{cite news |last1=Menster |first1=Jennifer |title=Taking action |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/hickory-daily-record-taking-action/135855145/ |access-date=November 27, 2023 |work=Hickory Daily Record |date=May 25, 2005 |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/hickory-daily-record-taking-action/135855145/ A1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/hickory-daily-record-photos-hickory-fir/135855164/ A6]}} {{free access}}

{{external media

| align =

| width =

| image1 = [https://api.missingkids.org/photographs/NCMC879788e1.jpg Age progression of Degree to age 29]

}}

The Degrees took steps to keep Asha's memory, and the case, alive in the public's mind. In 2008, they established a scholarship in her name for a deserving local student.{{cite news |last=Gaier |first=Kate |title=Family honors girl with scholarship |url=http://www.findmissingkids.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2335&sid=aabce26a2b53c771ed1ebe75f6eae966#2335 |website=findmissingkids.com |date=February 16, 2008 |access-date=February 25, 2016 |archive-date=September 22, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922024601/http://www.findmissingkids.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2335&sid=aabce26a2b53c771ed1ebe75f6eae966#2335 |url-status=dead}} They host an annual walk to raise awareness and money to fund their search.{{cite news|last1=White|first1=Casey|title='We haven't given up:' Asha Degree's family walks hoping to find answers|url=http://www.shelbystar.com/article/20150207/News/302079902/?Start=1|access-date=February 7, 2016|work=Shelby Star|date=February 7, 2015}} The walk starts at their home and ends at a missing person's billboard for Asha along Highway 18, near where she was last seen. It was originally held on February 14, but it was changed to February 7 in 2015 and February 6 in 2016, as Harold and Iquilla felt it was not fair to participants to make Valentine's Day a somber occasion. Pictures of Asha, both real and those showing her as she might appear in later years created by investigators to help the search, still decorate the Degree house. "I fully expect her to walk through the door," Iquilla says.

Iquilla Degree lamented in a 2013 interview with Jet that her daughter's disappearance had not gotten as much media attention over the years as some subsequent cases of missing children because Asha was Black. "Missing white children get more attention. I don't understand why," she said. "I know if you ask them they will say it's not racial. Oh, really? I'm not going to argue because I have common sense."

In February 2015, the FBI announced that FBI agents, Cleveland County Sheriff's Office (CCSO) investigators, and SBI agents were re-examining the case and re-interviewing witnesses. They also announced a reward of up to $25,000 for "information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for her disappearance."{{cite news|title=FBI Offering Reward of Up to $25,000 in Asha Degree Disappearance|url=https://www.fbi.gov/charlotte/press-releases/2015/fbi-offering-reward-of-up-to-25-000-in-asha-degree-disappearance|access-date=February 20, 2016|publisher=FBI|date=February 9, 2015}} A community group is offering an additional $20,000 reward.{{cite news|title=$45,000 reward for info in disappearance of Shelby girl missing 15 years|url=http://www.cbs46.com/story/28059938/45000-in-rewards-for-15-year-missing-shelby-girl|access-date=February 20, 2016|publisher=WANF |location=Atlanta |date=March 12, 2015}} The FBI announced 15 months later, in May 2016, that their reinvestigation of the case had turned up a possible new lead. They disclosed that Asha may have been seen getting into a dark green early 1970s Lincoln Continental Mark IV, or possibly a Ford Thunderbird from the same era, along Route 18 near where she was last seen later that night. It was described as having rust around its wheel wells.{{cite news|last=Marusak|first=Joe|title=FBI releases new details in 2000 disappearance of Asha Degree|url=http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article79804767.html|newspaper=The Charlotte Observer|date=May 25, 2016|access-date=May 26, 2016}}

In September 2017, the FBI announced that its Child Abduction Rapid Deployment (CARD) team was in Cleveland County to assist in the investigation and "provide on-the-ground investigative, technical, behavioral analysis, and analytical support to find out more about what happened to Asha". The team worked alongside FBI Charlotte employees, CCSO investigators, and North Carolina SBI agents for ten days.{{cite news|title=FBI Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team Joins Unsolved Missing Girl Investigation|url=https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/charlotte/news/press-releases/fbi-child-abduction-rapid-deployment-team-joins-unsolved-missing-girl-investigation|access-date=September 7, 2017|publisher=FBI|date=September 6, 2017}} The agencies also meet "several times a month to go over the latest on the investigation." Since September 2017, local agents and investigators have conducted approximately 300 interviews.{{cite news|title=Investigators Seek Public Assistance in Unsolved Missing Girl Investigation|url=https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/charlotte/news/press-releases/investigators-seek-public-assistance-in-unsolved-missing-girl-investigation|access-date=February 16, 2018|publisher=FBI|date=February 14, 2018}}

In October 2018, the CCSO detectives appealed for information from the public about two items of interest that were found in Degree's bookbag: McElligot's Pool, a children's book by Dr. Seuss, which was borrowed from the Fallston Elementary School library in early 2000, and a New Kids on the Block concert T-shirt. An investigator said the items are vital clues.{{cite news |last1=Wester |first1=Jane |title=Book, band T-shirt are new clues to NC girl's disappearance in 2000, detective says |url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article219720915.html |access-date=January 1, 2019 |work=The Charlotte Observer |date=October 9, 2018}}{{cite news |title=Authorities release new photos in case of 'Shelby's sweetheart' who vanished 18 years ago |url=https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/authorities-release-photos-of-items-that-could-help-track-down-girl-missing-for-nearly-two-decades/849304456 |access-date=January 1, 2019 |publisher=WSOC |location=Charlotte, N.C. |date=October 9, 2018}}

In November 2020, an inmate named Marcus Mellon, who had been convicted of sex crimes against children six years earlier, wrote a letter to The Shelby Star, claiming that Degree was murdered and he knew where to find her. Two months later, Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman announced that Mellon's claims had led to another dead end.{{Cite web|url=https://www.shelbystar.com/story/news/2021/02/14/cleveland-county-sheriff-inmate-fails-lead-investigators-asha-degree/6709980002/|title='Sheriff: Inmate fails to lead investigators to Asha Degree'|first=Diane|last=Turbyfill|website=The Shelby Star|date=February 14, 2021|access-date=June 23, 2021}}

In September 2024, a search warrant was executed by the CCSO and the FBI in relation to the case. A news release from the sheriff's office said the warrant was issued based on physical evidence. No human remains were recovered, but multiple items of interest, including a green 1964 AMC Rambler, were taken from the site.{{Cite web |last=Lee |first=Hank |date=September 13, 2024 |title=Search warrants executed by FBI, Cleveland County deputies were related to Asha Degree disappearance |url=https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/asha-degree-case-update-missing-girl-shelby-north-carolina-car-towed-cleveland-county-home/275-6eb6bc0a-8e71-428a-a158-e38f5e979e70 |access-date=September 13, 2024 |publisher=WCNC-TV |location=Charlotte, N.C. |language=en-US}}{{cite news|last1=Chamer|first1=Jeff A.|last2=Marusak|first2=Joe|title=Case of missing girl Asha Degree led to Shelby property search, Cleveland sheriff confirms|url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article292429589.html|newspaper=Charlotte Observer|date=September 13, 2024|access-date=September 13, 2024}}{{cite news|last=Sitzes|first=Rebecca|title=Cleveland County Sheriff's Office confirms search is linked to Asha Degree|url=https://www.shelbystar.com/story/news/2024/09/13/cleveland-county-sheriffs-office-confirms-search-is-linked-to-asha-degree/75208793007/|newspaper=Shelby Star|date=September 13, 2024|access-date=September 13, 2024}} The search warrant indicates that authorities believe Degree was a homicide victim and that her body has been concealed.{{cite news |last1=Dellinger |first1=Derek |title=Search warrants 'now public record' in Asha Degree investigation |url=https://www.wspa.com/news/top-stories/search-warrants-now-public-record-in-asha-degree-investigation/ |access-date=February 25, 2025 |publisher=WSPA-TV |date=September 16, 2024}}

On February 13, 2025, the CCSO executed three search warrants, seizing cellphones from a local man and two of his children.{{Cite news |last=Johncox |first=Cassidy |date=February 18, 2025 |title=New Asha Degree warrants: Text messages revealed, possible admission of fault, more |url=https://www.wbtv.com/2025/02/18/new-asha-degree-warrants-text-messages-revealed-possible-admission-fault-more/ |url-status=live |access-date=February 18, 2025 |work=WBTV}} Five days later, the warrants were made public and included text message exchanges between the suspects that were obtained from a search warrant the previous October.{{Cite news |last=Lee |first=Hank |date=February 18, 2025 |title='The theory is I did it': New text messages revealed in Asha Degree search warrants |url=https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/asha-degree-warrants-new-information-revealed/275-31896fee-9468-49ec-ae05-c8fc0c288383 |url-status=live |access-date=February 18, 2025 |work=WCNC Charlotte}}{{Cite news |last=Coin |first=Julia |date=February 20, 2025 |title=New court records provide details in Asha Degree disappearance investigation |url=https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/crime/article300585564.html |access-date=February 27, 2025 |work=The Charlotte Observer}} On April 4, a property "once owned by a prominent figure in the investigation" was searched by investigators.{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Hank |title=Asha Degree update: Investigators search property once owned by key figure in case |url=https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/crime/asha-degree-disappearance-what-we-know-property-searched-lincoln-county-north-carolina-roy-lee-dedmon/275-27305534-40d1-42ee-957a-0de2dd1ca8f1 |access-date=April 5, 2025 |work=WCNC |date=April 4, 2025}}

{{Portal|United States}}

• List of people who disappeared

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{NCMEC|879788|Asha Degree}}
• {{NamUs MP|2316|Asha Degree}}
• {{Doe Network|3288dfnc.html|Asha Degree}}

{{Coord|35.34647|-81.50738|display=title}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Degree, Asha}}

Category:2000 in North Carolina

Category:2000s missing person cases

Category:Cleveland County, North Carolina

Category:February 2000 in the United States

Category:Missing American children

Category:Missing person cases in North Carolina

Category:FBI Most Wanted Kidnappings and Missing Persons