The Disappearance Of Asha Degree 😨 (explained)

[jamaaldavis]

Thank you so much for covering this and exposing it to your large following. I have followed this case for almost a decade wondering if there will ever be closure for her parents.

[iactuallylied]

Everytime you dig deep into this case, it literally make less sense of what happened to her. It's every parent's worst nightmare.

[arullgodwin]

Imagine as a parent finding that your girl is not at the room, not in the house, after which you search for days waiting for her return. It's really painful and heartbreaking!

[Chesteritea]

I know a Guy who's son went missing in the 90's, He still waits for him to come home every evening, its so heartbreaking to see him call his name every evening

[bobcat_mike]

Missing 411 is a very scary rabbit hole. People can literally disappear in seconds of you not watching them for seemingly no reason and end up miles away in less than a day.

[TheCollector]

i can’t imagine how hard that must be as a parent..

[OziansDelight]

A few things needs to be noted:

1. Asha shared a room with her brother. He didn’t report hearing her leave, he did hear her ruffle around once or twice but assumed she was just moving around. There’s a few unconfirmed reportings that Asha’s dad had checked in on them and saw Asha in her bed, or one that says he saw her wearing her day clothes, but that was never confirmed.

2. Asha was terrified of thunderstorms. There was a storm the night before, and Asha was reportedly scared. Her parents said she wouldn’t even THINK of going outside during a storm, and there was a thunderstorm when she left.

3. Asha lived a sheltered life. Her only social life was church, family gatherings, and basketball practices. She didn’t have access to a computer or technology.

4. Asha was scared of talking to strangers, which is why when the motorist approached, she ran away. She didn’t like talking to new people.

5. There was nothing going on that would’ve made Asha want to run away. One theory is that she left because she read a book that glorified a person running away and starting a new life and having fun adventures but her parents say she wouldn’t have run away because of that. And the most upsetting thing that’d happened recently was she lost / couldn’t play in (sources vary) a basketball game, but she wouldn’t have run away from that.

6. Asha's last known whereabouts are unknown, past being seen on Highway 18. I said this in another comment, but her church was not on Highway 18 nor near it, so it's unlikely she would have gone down the road for that. I have read a few reports that say her parents also say she didn't know the area well, or that she had any family or friends down Highway 18. I believe this to be true, but Asha's case is one where a lot of the information from sources can be contradicted by other sources.

7. I do want to say that Iquilla Degree, Asha's mother, has said in interviews in the past that she does believe Asha could have run away for no reason. HOWEVER, O'Bee (Asha's brother) and her father have said they don't believe she would have ran away. As well as the rest of the people who knew Asha, they do not think it's likely she would have run away from home with no explanation or reason as to why.

8. I do want to say something else, too. The video got the description of the bags Asha’s bookbag was in kinda wrong. Her bookbag, along with a few other items, were double bagged in two black trash bags. Investigators for this case say they believe this wasn’t just to cover it up but almost to preserve it. If they didn’t want whatever was in there preserved, why double bag it? Why give it an extra layer of protection before it was buried in the concrete?

—

*UPDATE: The police department reported what items were recovered during their search warrant. They were things like cameras and film, laptops and computers, a human tooth in a ziplock bag, trash bags, and a car. There was a DNA hair stem that was genetically linked to a woman in the local area on Asha’s undershirt. They also believe a man who died in 2004 was involved in her disappearence.*

*SECOND UPDATE/MORE INFO ON SUSPECTS: Seventeen months after Asha went missing, her bookbag was found buried in two plastic trash bags at the construction site. They also found some of Asha’s clothing in the bags. According to the search warrant affidavit, the two items had given evidentiary results with DNA samples that were narrowed down to two people: Russell Underhill, who died in 2004, and a woman named Anne Lee Dedmon Ramirez. She’s the daughter of Roy Lee and Connie Dedmon, and they had three daughters, all who were teenagers when Asha disappeared. They believe if the girls did something to Asha, Roy and Connie would have had to assist. The police state that they had an eyewitness say they saw Asha be pulled into a 1970s model green colored Lincoln Thunderbird or similar car.*

*CONTINUED FROM ABOVE: Connie and Roy’s daughter, Sarah, said when she was 16 and driving an AMC Rambler which looks similar to the Thunderbird described. That was the car taken into evidence from the warrant search.*

*THIRD UPDATE: The man I mentioned earlier, Russell Underhill, was under the care of Roy Lee Dedmon in February of 2000 (for reference: Asha went missing on February 14th, 2000.) A quote from the affidavity reads: "Roy Dedmon and Connie Dedmon are the two common links between the [DNA] profiles of Russell Underhill and [the Dedmons’ daughter] collected and identified from Asha’s undershirt and the trash bag which contained Asha Degree’s bookbag.” At this time, investigators believe Asha was murdered and her body concealed, and they also believe they'll find personal belongings of Asha's or forensice evidence at the home.*

*CLARIFICATION: Someone had replied to my comment, then deleted it, but they were asking why Iquilla would say she believes Asha ran away, so I wanted to clarify just in case anyone was confused about what I meant. According to some sources I've read and interviews, Iquilla has said before that she believes Asha ran away. She hasn't said why, not that I've seen anyway. However, O'Brian Degree and Harold Degree, Asha's brother and dad respectively, have both said they don't think she would have run away for no reason. That wasn't who Asha was. They also have said though that she clearly wasn't abducted from the home, and with the eyewitness statement regarding the green colored 1970s Thunderbird, it's likely she was taken off of Highway 18 after leaving her home.*

*UPDATE FOUR: Some sources have stated that boy Roy and Connie Dedmon have been named as suspects per the affidavit. However, I haven't seen the Cleveland County police confirm that in their media statement, so I can't be sure of that, so it could just be news sources believing people are suspects. As of right now, I'm not sure if police are investigating the Dedmon family, or any of Underhill's living relatives.*

*CLARIFICATION NUMBER TWO: I’ve seen a lot of people asking what motive anyone could have for kidnapping / potentially murdering Asha. That we don’t know. I love reading your guys theories on this case, as for me, my theories don’t matter. I just posted this comment to share more info / updates. Also, for everyone saying I should be a detective and being just so uplifting in the replies, you guys are amazing human beings and I adore you all.*

*CONTINUED FROM ABOVE: Like I said, as of now, no one has officially been named as a suspect, nor as being responsible for Asha’s disappearance or death. Someone did reply earlier (their reply was likely deleted since I can’t find it) asking why Anne or Russell weren’t named as suspects, since their DNA had been linked to Asha’s undershirt / I believe they said Russell’s DNA had been on Asha’s backpack but no one quote me on that. I don’t know that. Naming someone as a suspect in an investigation means you have theories as to why they would have murdered / kidnapped someone. A motive, at least. They may not have that as of now, at least with Russell since he’s deceased.*
———
*I want to provide a transcript from the FBI’s website on Asha’s case since someone had asked what was found in her backpack:*

_”Grover: One item was a book, McElligot’s Pool, by Dr. Seuss, that had actually been checked out from Asha’s elementary school. The other item was…_

_Adams: ...the New Kids on the Block T-shirt that we released the information and some pictures of a couple of years ago to see if someone knows where that came from or if they had children that may have had that shirt trying to identify who that belonged to or where it may have came from._

(Asha’s mother has said the t-shirt did not belong to her.)

_Grover: No matter how Asha left home, the fact remains: She was just a 9-year-old girl. Someone else has likely played a role in what happened to her._

_Adams: Obviously a 9-year-old, even if they do choose to leave home for whatever reason, for her to have been not found for the last 22 years, someone had to help her. Someone had to have met or a planned meeting may have taken place or maybe some stranger came along as she was walking and picked her up.”_

*UPDATE FROM ME: Hi everyone! To the 300+ people who have replied to my comment and everyone liking it, thank you. I’m looking into starting an online blog for crime cases that need more attention, or cold cases. But, the main focus of my comment shouldn’t be me. I want to say the focus should 100% be on Asha and her case, and I want it to be. And, while I have my own theories on the case, I don’t plan on sharing them here, as that isn’t what my comment is about. It’s to bring awareness to her case and facts that were left out of this short. So, I adore you all and if I choose to make a blog, I’ll let y’all know.*

*BLOG NEWS!: Hi everyone. Sorry for the radio silence from me. So, blogs are expensive to start lol. And I don’t think I’ll use tumblr just yet soo… I’m gonna start a subreddit! The name is r/ColdCaseForums. Hope to see some of you guys join me in this journey!*

[md]

My son passed away at 8 years old. However, I still can't imagine the pain of the parents. May God grant them grace to live 🙏🏿

[olaoluwaola-williams]

I'm Yoruba, from Nigeria. And there's a common saying in my culture, "a dead child is more desirable than a missing child"

[VRJKids]

My guess is that she thought she was going to get kidnapped, so she ran into the woods to avoid that from happening, then she got to deep in the woods, until she was stranded, and lost.. Because she didn't think this would all happen, she didn't bring enough resources for life, so she either ran out of resources and died, went deeper into the woods, or ate something poisonous..

[Parsamurai]

The thing that always gives me goosebumps is when they say "The victim is still missing and nobody knows what happend"

Edit : Thanks for all these likes

[julianwrona]

that’s crazy, i live in this area and they still have billboards up for her 😔 this was 24 years ago

[FelixPapazov]

There is a THEORY that she read a book about a few kids, who left their parents and went to an adventure and that caused her to do that.

[ZacksWhack]

I dont like the fact that her backpack was found in a plastic bag. Not a good sign

[Apex_xY]

Asha Degree is a hauntingly mysterious case that has captured widespread attention since her unexplained disappearance in 2000. Here’s the story:

Background

Asha Jaquilla Degree was a 9-year-old girl from Shelby, North Carolina. Described as a shy and responsible child, Asha lived with her loving parents, Harold and Iquilla Degree, and her older brother O’Bryant. She was a good student, an active member of her church, and enjoyed playing basketball.

The Disappearance

On the night of February 13, 2000, everything seemed normal in the Degree household. Asha and her brother went to bed in the room they shared. However, in the early hours of February 14, around 2:30 a.m., Asha left her home carrying a backpack filled with clothes and personal items.

Several motorists reported seeing Asha walking alone along Highway 18, about a mile from her home, between 3:30 and 4:00 a.m. One driver turned back out of concern, but Asha ran into

[jujulieta_luvs_toothpaste]

ooo i heard abt this, another thing about asha is that she was VERY afraid of thunder and dogs, and was an extreme rule follower very isolated from social media. other than people in her school, church, and home she knew nobody. in her bag i think she took formal wear and a few pairs of clothes

this case is honestly extremely puzzling, despite the fact it was raining she still ran away. and despite her incredible rule following, she still ran away. despite the fact she was afraid of dogs, she still ran away.

she didn't pack much, the poor thing must've been tricked. just a weird case overall, it's like asha just vanished, poor girl




EDIT: i'm seeing a lot of people fact checking the social media part, i was half asleep listening to crime podcasts when i heard the story, so i may or may not be wrong about that part. you can ignore it but i don't wanna retype my text lol, so ill just leave this here

EDIT 2: thanks for the likes but the reason i didn't completely fact check this is because i didn't expect it to blow up🥲. take some of this info w a grain of salt please, id say 70% is correct atleast tho

[The_Cat_Commenter]

When Zack says “This is the most puzzling unsolved mysteries in the United States” he’s not joking

[renzrenzrenzrenzrenz]

This literally happened a few hours ago:

Search warrants executed by FBI, Cleveland County deputies were related to Asha Degree disappearance.

There's a car that is allegedly connected to her disappearance that could have a big lead

[idiocy.]

I’m from North Carolina and this is one of the state’s most notorious missing persons cases/unsolved mysteries ever. This happened in Shelby, a town near the South Carolina border in the state’s western region.

[whatif]

You can still see her on billboards and on posters in certain places. It's really sad whenever i pass one by. Im glad you're making a video to raise awareness. I was actually surprised when i scrolled to this short. I feel so bad for her family.