The Disappearance of Asha Degree

Asha Jaquilla Degree, a nine-year-old girl from Shelby, North Carolina, left her home voluntarily in the early morning hours of February 14, 2000, in cold, rainy weather, and was never seen again. Multiple drivers reported seeing a young girl walking along Highway 18 before she disappeared into a wooded area when headlights approached. Her backpack was found buried in a shed 26 miles from her home in 2001. Despite a $25,000 reward and renewed FBI attention over the years, including the backpack's contents being re-examined in 2019, no suspect has been identified and Asha has never been found.