It was the year 2000 when Valentine’s Day, celebrated mainly in the United States, was not romantic but rather gloomy for an American family; this because of the disappearance of a nine-year-old girl who left the house early in the morning and never returned.
Asha Degree lived with her parents and older brother on the outskirts of the town of Shelby, North Carolina, in the United States. Her graduation was in fourth grade at Fallston Elementary School.
Both relatives and acquaintances of the child described her to the American authorities as a happy, calm, judicious and responsible girl who never left the house without her parents’ permission. Furthermore, she has never behaved strangely or suspiciously.
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However, she belonged to the basketball team of her school and, in one of the matches played two days before her disappearance, she was sanctioned for committing a foul against one of her opponents, becoming very angry, since, according to the class of her classmates , he was very competitive.
Indeed, her friends told the authorities that they had to calm her down because her anger was quite evident when she saw that they had lost and, furthermore, that she would not be part of the team during the next game. However, one day before she disappeared, Asha was already calmer.
“His feelings for the game seemed to have passed. However, we don’t know if that basketball game was what got Asha out of the house that night, or if it was something more.”, Assured the girl’s mother to the American program ‘Inside the FBI’.
February 14, early one morning when Asha left
According to an episode of “Inside the FBI”, around 2:30 am, Asha Degree’s father went to check on her and her older brother in the room they shared. Everything seemed normal to him, because they were sleeping.
But, being 6:30 in the morning, Asha’s mother returned to the room to wake her children and prepare them for school; however, the little girl was gone.
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Asha’s mother called her husband to see if he had seen the girl, but he told her no, in fact he thought she was sleeping. Her parents immediately asked their relatives who lived near her if they had seen her.
Nobody knew about her. After calling acquaintances, friends and not receiving an answer, the married couple decided to contact the emergency health services.
Moments after the call, the authorities arrived at the scene and an investigation was launched along with an intensive search to find her.
The agents noticed that the girl’s suitcase and some of her personal effects were missing.“indicating that he had packed his bags before his disappearance”Explained Detective Tim Adams, who initiated the investigation.
Having no answers, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, along with the FBI and community in the neighborhood where Asha lived, joined the search.
“Literally hundreds of community volunteers helped find the girl”Detective Adams reported.
A long day without Asha Degree
The day passed and Asha still did not show up, the clues seemed very hidden and the traces of the girl very far away. News of Asha’s disappearance reached all the media, which helped to get witnesses who saw her early in the morning.
More drivers told investigators they had seen a girl on the street around 4 in the morning.
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“There have been some pretty credible witnesses who said they saw a little girl walking along Highway 18 heading towards the town of Shelby and, along with her description, it is believed she was walking around town,” Adams explained.
He further stated that: “At least one of these people said they tried to control her because she was worried about seeing a lonely girl on the street. But when the driver turned around, Asha had gone into the woods and the driver could no longer see her.“.
Despite efforts to find her, not just a day, but more than a decade passed without the parents knowing about their daughter.
Asha’s suitcase appeared 17 months after she left the house
“17 months later, his suitcase, which he was believed to be carrying when he left, was found 20 miles north on Highway 18 in another county; however, some of the objects inside did not belong to herAdams said.
Someone must have met or a scheduled meeting may have taken place or maybe some stranger passed by as she walked and picked her up
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Therefore, Asha’s disappearance remained a mystery and the few clues that the agents had were not enough to reach her.
Given her possible escape, investigators had a theory that the girl could not be left alone and that there must have been an accomplice who had supported her departure from home.
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“Someone must have met or there may have been a scheduled meeting or maybe some stranger walked by and picked her up,” the detective told “Inside the FBI.”
However, this hypothesis could not be confirmed and Nor was it possible to identify a possible place where they could find it.
22 years later and Asha has never returned
Authorities reported in “Inside the FBI” that they are still looking for who would already be 31 today and made a portrait of the young woman with the alleged appearance today.
Likewise, They reported that at that time there were many obstacles in the investigation, as the technology was not very modern and the girl did not have a cell phonehe left no messages on the computer and there were no security cameras that could help with contacts.
“We have not given up hope of finding it. There remains a case of a missing child and we do not give up. At the moment, there is the FBI’s Quick Deployment Team for Child Abduction, or CARD, and they are helping us find it.”, Informed the detective, who has been dealing with the case from the beginning, Tim Adams.
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Asha Degree case investigator who, 22 years after her disappearance, is still looking for her.
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FBI-United States
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Her parents are the ones who are most eagerly awaiting Asha’s appearance and still hope that the help of the authorities will be effective, as they ensure that their daughter is still alive and they want to find her.
“After 22 years, I still believe my daughter is alive ”, I don’t think she is dead. And I know someone knows something. A 9-year-old cannot vanish into thin air without anyone knowing.“, Expressed in ‘Inside the FBI’
Currently, There is a reward for information on Asha’s whereabouts that reaches 45,000 dollars (198,000,000 Colombian pesos).
In addition, her family takes a walk every February 14 of each year on the last path that, according to witnesses, Asha walked, to find her or to find clues to help solve this intrigue.
Indeed, A billboard was placed in that place showing Asha’s photo when she was 9 and what she can look like today at 31.
Likewise, there are all contact numbers they can call if they find out about Asha and they are also notified of the amount of money that is being offered as a reward.
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