Asha Jaquilla Degree was born to her parents Harold and Iquilla Degree on August 5, 1990 in Shelby, North Carolina. She lived with her brother and hard working parents in an apartment and never wandered far from the residence. Asha’s mother Iquilla describes her as being a very responsible fourth grader who enjoyed school and going to church with her family. Asha was not one to talk to strangers, as she would even avoid petting the local dogs. Her introverted behavior made it even more strange when she disappeared on Valentine’s Day in 2000.
Asha and her brother had been tucked into bed at around 8 P.M. the night of her disappearance. A car accident not far from the Degree’s apartment left the home with no power until soon after midnight. Harold checked on his children at around 2:30 A.M to find them sleeping peacefully. It wasn’t until Iquilla went to wake up her kids the next morning at around 6:30 that she noticed Asha had been missing. The family instantly called the Shelby Police Department. Upon arrival to the Degree household, there had been no signs of forced entry and Asha had taken her backpack with her.
Investigators began their search in the afternoon. The canine units had not found a single scent trail to follow. There had been reports from two people saying they saw a young girl matching the description of Asha walking along the highway at around 4 in the morning. However, when one of the witnesses tried to approach her she ran into the woods. Detective Tim Adams from the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office stated that those encounters were the last confirmed sightings of Asha Degree since she disappeared. The next day, Asha’s hair bow was found in a nearby shed, but after a week of searching the three mile radius and going through 300 tips, there was still no clue as to where Asha Degree could be hiding.
The FBI and North Carolina’s State Bureau of Investigation were both searching for the missing girl. The story and details about Asha were featured on shows such as The Montel Williams Show and The Oprah Winfrey Show in order for the case to gain publicity. There was not another significant break in the case until over a year later. On August 3, 2001, Asha’s backpack was found while construction workers were digging in an access field 30 miles from where she was last seen. Inside the backpack was a New Kids on the Block shirt and a Dr. Seuss book titled McElligot’s Pool. The backpack did not reveal any more clues but it was confirmed that the book had been checked out at the school that Asha attended.
In 2004 a prison inmate claimed that he had killed Asha and knew where she was buried. When police went to confirm his story, there was nothing found but animal remains. Asha’s parents have continued to raise awareness for the mystery of the missing case of their daughter. Iquilla told North Carolina’s WBTV, “This is worse than death because, at least with death, you have closure.”
There has never been any definitive answers to what ever happened to Asha Jaquilla Degree. She has been presumed missing since February 14, 2000 and there has not been any confirmed sightings since.
https://allthatsinteresting.com/asha-degree
Hi Bella,
Interesting story, I hadn’t heard about Asha’s disappearance before reading your post. I can only imagine how terrifying it was for the parents at the time and how heartbreaking it still is for them. It’s amazing that even with the small window of her disappearance, two sightings, and her found backpack, there’s still very little known about what happened to her. If she was alone when she left and was found walking on the highway alone, I wonder what her motivation for leaving was – especially considering her introverted, careful personality. Twenty-two years later, I think it’s safe to say that, sadly, Asha’s disappearance may remain a mystery forever.
This story was so interesting to read! I sometimes get caught up in the true crime and mystery side of TikTok, but I haven’t heard Asha’s story before. Her age and characteristics sort of remind me of Susie from “The Lovely Bones,” but what I find especially intriguing is that her disappearance seems almost self-inclined in the sense that her backpack was gone and the figure by the highway almost wanted to be hidden. If she made that choice, it would have been well-thought-out because she never returned, so that brings up the question of what she was hiding from her parents, or what her parents hid from the press. Although it would provide nice closure to solve the mystery, the lack of evidence makes it more and more difficult moving forward. Great post!!