In the early morning hours of February 14, 2000, 9-year-old Asha Degree took her backpack and slipped out of her Shelby, North Carolina home. Several motorists later reported seeing her walking alone in a rainstorm at around 4 am. Where was she going? What or who made her leave her home that night?

Over the next 24 years, Asha Degree’s story has been the subject of countless blogs, internet forums, Youtube videos, and podcasts. People have become obsessed with getting answers. What made a 9-year-old girl leave her house in the middle of the night, and what happened to her after that?

In September 2024, we finally got some potential answers to the second question after a series of search warrants were executed at various properties in North Carolina. While we still may not know what caused Asha to leave that night, investigators now believe that they have the names of some of the people who were involved in her disappearance.

Anyone with information on the disappearance of Asha Degree is asked to call the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office at 704-484-4788, or the FBI at 704-672-6100. There is a $45,000 reward for information that can solve this case.

Buy the ebook! - And Then They Were Gone: True Stories of Those Who Went Missing and Never Came Home
Submit a case
Find us everywhere
Get episodes early and ad-free on Patreon
Merch store
For a full list of our sources, please visit our blog