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SBI Search For Possible Remains Of Asha Degree

November 10, 2004
WSOC-TV

Police say their search is in connection to the Asha Degree case, but won't say what they're looking for.


Asha Degree has been missing since Valentine's Day of 2000. She was last seen sometime between 2:30 a.m., when her father said he went to bed. When her mother went to Asha's bedroom at around 6:30 a.m. to wake her up for school, she was gone.

It's believed she left on her own, but then met trouble. A massive search began, hundreds of volunteers, law officers, rescue workers, combing dense woods around State Road 18 where Asha was last seen.

The only clues police had to go on were two reports from motorists who were on Highway 18 around 4 a.m. Monday morning. He said the reports came in late Monday afternoon. "One Sun-drop truck driver and another motorist have called since they saw that she was missing on television, and told officers that they saw a girl walking on the road about that time," Crawford said. "We're pretty sure it was her because the descriptions they gave are consistent with what we know she was wearing."

Asha was a fourth-grader at Fallston Elementary School. Police said the only items missing from the house were her sneakers, a pair of pants, a pocketbook with Tweety Bird on it and her school bookbag.

Later, deputies recovered a black and beige bookbag, which was found inside a plastic bag and sent to FBI for analysis. Cleveland County Sheriff Dan Crawford said his office suspected foul play.

[Admin]

Missing girl case remains unsolved

11/11/2004
News 14 Carolina

LAWNDALE, N.C. – After spending two days searching for the remains of a 9-year-old girl who disappeared four years ago, Cleveland County authorities say the bones they uncovered were those of an animal.

Officials said they began the dig on Rube Spangler Road in Lawndale in order to follow up on an old lead in the case.

The State Bureau of Investigation confirmed Wednesday that the search was related to Asha Degree, who was last seen walking away from her home on Highway 18 in Shelby in the middle of the night during February 2000.

A special command post was set up to help in the investigation, and special dogs were brought in to search the area. But some neighbors were frustrated by what they saw as a futile effort.

"That yard has been a zoo, more or less, all evening," said Gloria Lawrence. "I'm just ready for it to be over and for some of these people to go home so we can get back to our normal life."

Meanwhile, the Degree family said they found out about the search from a television broadcast.

Detectives say they have not decided whether they will continue searching the area.

[Admin]

Search continues for Asha Degree

2/11/2005
Mercer Merrill
News 14 Carolina

KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. -- Five years after the disappearance of Asha Degree, her friends and family are working hard to keep hope alive.

Asha’s church held a Valentine’s Day Ball on Friday night, raising money and awareness for her search.

“While other people might forget about her, we most certainly won’t forget about her,” said Ryan McCain, a pastor from Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church. “And we want to make sure that we keep her name out there so others will know how dear she is to us.”

Asha was 9 years old when she disappeared on Valentine’s Day of 2000. She was last seen walking on Highway 18 near her Shelby home.

Her parents are holding out hope that she is still alive.

“We don’t think that she is dead,” said her mother, Iquilla Degree. “And until they can prove it to us, then we’re not going to believe that. Because all we have is hope, and we’re not going to let anyone take it away from us.”

The money raised Friday night will pay for a permanent billboard about Asha’s disappearance. Anyone who would like to make a donation can send it to the following address:

Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church
P.O. Box 280
Waco, N.C. 18169

[Admin]

Asha Degree's family is still hopeful

2/14/2005
By: Jaime Fettrow
News 14 Carolina

SHELBY, N.C. -- This Valentine's Day marks the fifth anniversary of the disappearance of Asha Degree, a 9-year-old Shelby girl who was last seen walking near her home in the middle of the night.

Witnesses say they saw her walking down Highway 18 on Valentine's Day in 2000. A year later, her black book bag was found alongside Highway 18 in Burke County.

Still, neighbors, police officers and family members say they aren't giving up hope that they'll find Degree.

"We don't think she's dead, and until they prove it to us, than we won't believe that," said Degree's mother, Iquilla. "All we have is hope and we won't let anyone take that from us."

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said it won't give up hope, either. The organization's executive director, Margaret Frierson, said they are continuing to hunt for clues in the case.

"Someone somewhere knows something, and even if it's something that seems insignificant, that could be the key piece of information that we need to break the case," Frierson said.

This past November, law enforcement officers in Cleveland County searched again for Degree's body. For several days, officers from the State Bureau Investigation and the sheriff's office sifted through ground in Lawndale. But they concluded their search without finding anything.

Volunteers at that time said they wanted to help out.

"I know the feeling of losing a child," said Merle Turner, who helped during November's search. "It's just rewarding for me to work and try to help find her."

Even now, people continue to help out. Just last Friday, the Degree family's church -- Macedonia Missionary Baptist in Waco -- held a fund-raiser to pay for a missing persons billboard for Degree.

"I always encourage people to be on their guard, be on the lookout," Frierson said. "If they see something, report it to law enforcement."

Help the Search for Asha Degree:

Anyone who has any information regarding the case is asked to call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at (800) THE-LOST.

To donate money to pay for the missing persons billboard for Asha Degree, send checks to:

Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church
P.O. Box 280
Waco, North Carolina 28169

[Admin]

Search for Asha Degree turns up empty

Tuesday, April 26, 2005
By GLENN COUNTS
6NEWS

SHELBY, NC -- Authorities spent the day digging in an area just south of Shelby for a missing Cleveland County girl based on information obtained by a prisoner. Members of the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Department and the FBI spent most of the day digging through dirt for the girl’s body or any clues to her disappearance.

The search was called off shortly before 5 p.m. after their search came up empty.

Sources said they went to the location based on information obtained by a prisoner. It is not clear if the information came from someone who is in a local jail or in the prison system.

Searcher brought three cadaver dogs to the site. None of the dogs found anything.

Agents excavated several locations in the vacant field looking for Asha's body. She disappeared from her Cleveland County home some five years ago.

Also online
Search at dig site called off

Family hopes new billboards give clues to missing girl

Investigators hope new picture of missing girl will help search

Timeline since Asha Degree's disappearance
Most of the searches for Asha’s body have taken place in the northern part of the county, but this is the first time that we know of that they have searched in the southern part of Cleveland County. Among those searching the site was an FBI forensics team.

The last search for Asha lasted for days in a wooded area in Cleveland County last November. Authorities confirmed they were acting on a tip from the Asha Degree case. The only thing that turned up from all the digging were animal bones.

[tru]

I MIGHT HAVE SOME HELPFUL INFORMATION. PLEASE CONTACT.
I HAVE SOME PERSONAL INFORMATION THAT MIGHT BE OF HELP. I JUST HEARD ABOUT THE PRECIOUS LITTLE GIRL. I LIVE VERY FAR AWAY. SO SORRY FOR THE FAMILY.

I AM ORIGINALLY FROM THE AREA AND STILL HAVE PEOPLE AND ACQUAINTENANCES THERE. WORKING W/SOMEONE ON ANOTHER CASE.[/b]


PS: AS OF A FEW MINUTES AGO, I SPOKE WITH SOMEONE AT THE CLEVELAND COUNTY SHERRIFF'S OFFICE IN NC. I GAVE THEM ALL THE INFORMATION I HAD. I HOPE THAT THIS BRINGS SOME KIND OF CLOSURE AND JUSTICE TO THE FAMILY AND LOVED ONES OF THAT PRECIOUS LITTLE GIRL.

[Peaced]

Does anyone have any more information on this case?

[Admin]

911 caller says she saw missing girl. Authorities following lead, but say it seems to be mistaken identity

Kytja Weir and Greg Lacour
Charlotte Observer
July 6, 2005

Burke County officials received a tip that Asha Degree, a girl missing for more than five years, was sighted in a grocery store Tuesday afternoon.

Though authorities said they were following up on the lead, they said it appeared to be a case of mistaken identity.

Nine-year-old Asha was last seen before dawn on Feb. 14, 2000, walking along N.C. 18 in Cleveland County, about a mile from her home north of Shelby.

On Tuesday, the 911 caller said she saw Asha about 30 miles northwest from where she disappeared. The girl was leaving the Brendle Town Grocery on N.C. 64 around 4:30 p.m. with a white woman, the caller told authorities.

The caller described the woman as about 5 feet 8 to 6 feet tall, with frosted hair worn in a twist. The girl whom the caller identified as Asha was wearing a calf-length denim skirt and was limping.

Burke County Sheriff John McDevitt said a clerk at the grocery store said the girl in the store was too young to be Asha and had a lighter complexion.

But just in case, authorities were trying to find the black Ford Explorer the pair drove away in and the 911 caller.

[Admin]

Missing girl's family holds on to hope

Adam Shub
News 14 Carolina
Febraury 14, 2006

SHELBY, N.C. – Tuesday marked a solemn anniversary for one Cleveland County family.

In 2000, 9-year-old Asha Degree disappeared on Valentine's Day. She was last seen walking near her home in the middle of the night.

During the months following the disappearance, police conducted an investigation that turned up only her hair ribbon and book bag. Since then, authorities have worked closely with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, but no other traces of the girl have been found.

Loved one's will walk to a billboard with Asha's picure on it to raise awareness and money for their cause.

This year, family members organized a walk in her memory. It is scheduled to begin at the family home on Oakcrest Street at 4:30 p.m. and continue up Highway 18 to a large billboard with Asha’s picture on it.

They hope the walk will raise awareness for their cause and money to fund the ongoing search.

Although tips have come in recently, authorities have made little progress in their search for Degree.

Last spring, a dig in an area just south of Shelby yielded nothing. They came up empty-handed again after someone claimed to have spotted her in the Detroit area a few weeks ago.

Despite the recent disappointments and the amount of time that has passed, family members remain optimistic that Degree will be found.

[Admin]

Each year’s walk a little longer
Family, friends remind others that Asha Degree is still missing

Drew Brooks
The Shelby Star
February 15, 2008

SHELBY — Every year, the little more than a mile walk from the Degree home to the location Asha was last spotted seems a little longer to family members.

But each year, parents Harold and Iquilla are joined by family, friends and members of their church on the trek to draw attention to Asha.

Eight years ago Thursday, Asha went missing from her Oakcrest Drive home. Little has been gathered from the search for their daughter in the last several years, but the Degree family refuses to believe their daughter, who would now be 17, is dead.

“I just don’t believe it,” Iquilla said. “I don’t believe she is dead.”

So, each year the Degrees make the walk, hoping the media coverage it garners will be seen by her or by someone who knows where she is.

“We’ve got to keep it out,” Iquilla said, referring to her daughter’s name.

And family members aren’t the only ones working to bring home their daughter.

The case is still active with the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office and the Center for Missing Persons sends Asha’s picture out to different parts of the country each month.

“Asha’s gone, but we’re going to keep hope alive,” said Joe Wilson, a family friend, before dozens set out on the walk.

Passing motorists didn’t know what to make of the group of marchers singing hymns or of the police escort.

Iquilla said the walk always starts out like that, but then folks remember and knowing nods replace puzzled looks.

This year, like every year, she said she hopes it won’t be so easy for people to forget Asha’s gone.

[Admin]

Asha Degree: Family, friends refuse to give up search for little girl who disappeared in 2000

Graham Cawthon and Drew Brooks
The Shelby Star
February 16, 2008

SHELBY — It’s been a mystery for county and state law enforcement for nearly a decade.

Thousands of cases have come and gone. Thousands of arrests, convictions and solutions.

But there’s been no solution here. No closure. Not since the day 9-year-old Asha Degree disappeared.

Her image remains scattered across the county. Fliers taped to windows. Billboards on busy highways.

Asha’s disappearance has become that of urban legend and her name extends far beyond the borders of Cleveland County.

A search of her name on Google turns up nearly 1,000 Web site results relating to the Fallston Elementary student.

She’s been profiled on “America’s Most Wanted” and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Her story has been told on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and “Montell Williams.”

There’s been no sign of Asha since she disappeared eight years ago this week.

But it’s not because no one’s looking.

“It doesn’t get any easier”

“I hope we don’t have to go through another year,” Asha’s father, Harold, told friends at a prayer vigil Wednesday in Asha’s honor. “But if we do, we’ll go through it again.”

A quiet man, Harold has kept much of his feelings on the inside, reserving them for close family and friends.

His wife, Iquilla, remains outspoken.

“That’s my baby, I carried her,” she said. “It’s just hard and it gets harder. We missed out on a lot.”

She said at times she falls into depression. At other times, it’s anger.

“I get mad,” she said. “But who can I get mad at?”

The ordeal has been difficult for the couple and their son, O’Bryant, who attends college at UNC Pembroke.

“To us, it’s like it just happened yesterday,” Harold said. “It doesn’t get any easier.”

Searching for answers

Asha’s disappearance has been handled by the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office since day one. But even with the assistance of the SBI and FBI, their work hasn’t been enough to turn up credible leads in the case.

Through the years, the investigation has been handed down from detective to detective. For the past year and a half, Pete Hamrick has overseen the case.
Hamrick estimated between eight and 10 investigators led the case before him.

“My feelings go out to the family,” he said Thursday, the anniversary of her disappearance, before the annual prayer walk on Fallston Road. “This could happen to anyone.”

He said the investigation has had no new leads since September. That lead, as so many others before it, was exhausted to no avail.

Initial searches of Asha’s neighborhood uncovered no evidence and K-9s failed to pick up her scent. Her backpack was found about a year later, on N.C. 18 in Burke County, but nothing has been found since.

“It’s somewhat discouraging, but we have to keep going for the family and for the community,” he said. “As long as leads come in, I’m going to follow them up.”

Hamrick said he prays for Asha every night. He said he is currently reviewing the case file, trying to find the one stone left unturned, and re-interviewing those with knowledge of the case.

Hamrick said this was the biggest case the county has seen.

“I don’t really see anything else we can do more,” he said. “The community, if they do know anything, please give us a call .… It would be nice to get that one lead.”

n For archived stories of the Asha case, a timeline, video interviews with family and detectives and more, visit
shelbystar.com for a Special Report on the investigation.

n Have information regarding the disappearance of Asha Degree? Call the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office at (704) 484-4788 or CrimeStoppers at (704) 481-TIPS (8477). Your tip could be rewarded with up to $1,000.

[Admin]

Church Remembers Asha Degree

The Shelby Star
February 16, 2008

SHELBY — “We ask you to bless her wherever she is today,” prayed Larlee Geter, a deaconess at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, Wednesday.

“You’re still God and even though their child is not with them, you are still in control.”

The support system for the family of Asha Degree is in many ways connected to their church and their faith.

The Degrees biological and church family heavily attended a prayer vigil and prayer walk this week to mark Asha’s disappearance.

The members of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church say they lost a daughter on Feb. 14, 2000.

“My heart breaks every time I think about that child,” one churchgoer said.

“I can’t understand what they’re going through,” said another. “Many of us would have lost our minds.”

The church has been struggling and praying for eight years, members said.

Ryan McCain remembers the last Sunday before Asha went missing.

Now the pastor of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Waco, eight years ago he was the youth pastor.

“I can recall just like it was yesterday the last day I saw Asha,” he said.

McCain said the family has shown amazing faith in the face of adversity.

“They are extremely committed and loyal to the cause of Christ,” McCain said. “The average person probably would break under these circumstances.”

“It’s their faith that holds them together,” he said.

Since her disappearance, the church has kept Asha at the forefront of thought. Bulletin boards are permanently dedicated to her and her smiling face appears in every newsletter.

“We try to always bring attention to her cause,” McCain said. “We will continue to keep Asha’s name alive, to keep Asha’s name well.”

Still alive?

While some may doubt their daughter is still alive, there is no doubt in the minds of the Degrees that Asha is still out there, being held against her will but alive.

“They’re looking for remains,” Iquilla said of investigators. “We’re looking for a person.”

“I just don’t believe it,” she added. “I don’t believe she is dead.”
Iquilla said she avoids watching or reading the media because it’s too difficult.

Still, stories of long-lost children being reunited with family fills her with hope.

“If they would have believed (their missing loved one was dead),” she said, “they would have given up.”

The family plans to continue their wait.

“Until we have closure,” Iquilla said. “If the Lord is willing, we’re able. If he had her, he would let us know.”

“We’re not giving up. Her friends and church family aren’t giving up.”

[Admin]

Timeline of events in Asha Degree case

The Shelby Star
02/16/2008

Thursday, Feb. 10, 2000

Asha, a fourth-grader at Fallston Elementary School, rode the bus to school and home.

Fallston Elementary Principal Steve Borders said school staff knew of no problems or incidents that could have triggered Asha to run away.

He said Asha was an honors student who loves school and missed only one day that year, in September.

Former Cleveland County Sheriff Dan Crawford previously told The Star Asha and her 10-year-old brother O’Bryant did homework until their parents, Harold and Iquilla Degree, got home from work.

At the time, Iquilla worked at Kawai America Co. in Lincolnton and Harold at PPG.

Crawford said Harold normally worked second shift but worked first shift Thursday and Friday.

Both her mother and father said Asha loved school.

“It appears that it was just a normal school day and home day,” Crawford previously said.

“The mother and father are excellent parents who expect a lot academically from their children and demand they be at home after school.”

Friday, Feb. 11, 2000

Cleveland County Schools are off for the day. Crawford said Asha and O’Bryant stayed with their aunt, Kisha Degree, down the street during the day.

Both children had peewee basketball practice that afternoon at Fallston Elementary, then came home afterward.

Her coach, Chad Wilson, previously said the practice was normal.
“Asha was her usual fun-filled self,” Wilson said. “She had a good practice.”

Saturday, Feb. 12, 2000

Both Asha and O’Bryant had basketball games Saturday at Burns Middle School, with the girls’ game played first.

Asha’s team lost and she fouled out of the game.

Crawford said Asha was the type who might have felt responsible for her team’s loss.

Both her mother and Wilson said she took the loss hard initially but perked up afterward.

Asha’s parents said she cried after the game and it took a while for her to be consoled. Her mother said Asha felt bad and said her leg hurt. Her mother said she told Asha she really wasn’t hurt and could go ahead and walk, and Asha soon perked up.

Wilson said he was present the whole time and Asha didn’t have problems with anyone, and quickly admitted her leg wasn’t really hurt. He said she then played with the other girls.

“All the girls were crying, not just Asha, and they had a good cry afterward because it was the first loss,” Wilson previously told The Star.

“Just a few minutes later, she was up smiling and joking and having a good time. I sat behind her for part of the boys’ game and tossed a towel over her head and joked with her.

“She didn’t show any behavior or say anything that led me to believe she was unhappy.

“We joked like we normally do, and she was very happy when sitting with her mother.

“The family is a loving family, and her parents are just great. They are always at the games cheering both kids on.”

The family returned home after the games.

Sunday, Feb. 13, 2000

The family went to church at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church in Waco, then to an aunt’s house for lunch, then home.

Asha’s grandmother, Joanne Jackson, said Asha was happy when she received her Valentine’s Day candy on Sunday.

Her mother said Asha was happy during the day Sunday.
Crawford said Asha went to bed around 8 p.m.

Electricity went off in the Degrees’ neighborhood just before 9 p.m., after a car wreck nearby.


Monday, Feb. 14, 2000

When electrical service was restored around 12:30 a.m., Asha’s father saw both Asha and O’Bryant in their beds. The children sleep in the same room.

Asha’s father went to bed around 2:30 a.m.

Two motorists reported seeing a girl who matched Asha’s description on Highway 18, 1.2 miles south of the Degree home near the intersection of Highway 180, at 3:45 a.m. and 4:15 a.m.

Crawford previously said the motorists did not call police until about 5 p.m. Monday, after seeing the girl was considered missing on TV.

Asha’s mother went into the bedroom at 6:30 a.m. to wake the children for school, and Asha was not in her bed. Asha’s father called police and the search for her began.

Family members said Asha left the home wearing white sneakers, white jeans, carrying a black bookbag and a purse with Tweety Bird on it.

Other clothing missing from Asha’s room included her favorite blue jeans with a red stripe, a long-sleeved, white nylon shirt and a red vest trimmed in black.

Another outfit missing included black overalls with Tweety Bird on them and a black and white long-sleeved shirt.

There have been no sightings of Asha or her belongings since the two motorists saw her on N.C. 18.

[Admin]

Family honors girl with scholarship
The Degrees watched their son graduate from high school last year, and that’s what sparked the idea for a scholarship in Asha’s honor.

Kate Gaier
News 14 Charlotte
02/16/2008

WACO, N.C. -- It’s been eight years since a Cleveland County girl went missing, and Saturday, her family held a fundraiser in her honor, hoping to help at least one deserving students in Asha Degree’s name.

Degree went missing Feb. 14, 2000. Her parents, Iquilla and Herald, decided in the wake of their tragedy, they wanted to help brighten the life of another child by offering a college scholarship.

“Every year we try to come up with something different to keep her name out there,” said Iquilla. “For me, it’s like another thing that I’ll miss doing with her. It’s like everything else I’ve missed in the last eight years of doing with her, by watching other children grow up.”

The Degrees watched their son graduate from high school last year, and that’s what sparked the idea for a scholarship in Asha’s honor.

"Even though she's not here we wanted to do something in her name, let them … in our hearts she's here with us,” said friend Gloria Wilson. “This scholarship will them know we love her."

Family and friends gathered at Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church this weekend, trying to raise money for the scholarship. They sold t-shirts with Asha’s picture on it, with proceeds going to the scholarship.

The Degree’s are hoping to raise enough money to award a scholarship to one student from each of the four high schools in Cleveland Co.