The Disappearance of Asha Degree

On the night of February 14, 2000, six-year-old Asha Degree left her family home in Shelby, North Carolina, in the middle of the night during a storm. She was spotted by two drivers on Highway 18 near her home between 3 and 4 a.m. When one driver turned around to check on her, she ran into the woods and was not seen again. A search of the area found no trace of her in the woods or beyond. She had been dressed for travel — wearing a jacket over her pajamas — but had taken no money or food. Her disappearance has never been explained.

Investigators found a backpack in 2001, buried in a shed along a road roughly 26 miles from Asha's home. When the bag was opened, it contained items that belonged to Asha, including school items and a hair bow. The bag had apparently been buried after the initial search for her, suggesting someone had held onto her belongings — or that she had been alive somewhere in the interim. The discovery deepened the mystery without resolving it.

The FBI joined the investigation and the case has been periodically featured on national television programs. Investigators have never conclusively determined why Asha left her home that night, who she may have been going to meet, or where she went after she ran into the woods. Her parents and the Shelby community have maintained a sustained public campaign to keep her case visible.

In 2019, the FBI relaunched active investigation of the case, reclassifying it and appealing for new information. Asha's case remains one of the most puzzling child disappearances in American history — the mystery of why a six-year-old would leave her home alone in a storm and never be seen again has resisted every investigative effort. She would be in her late twenties today. The case is officially open.