‘Good Morning America' Profiles Local Girl's Disappearance

SHELBY, N.C.,None — On Thursday, "Good Morning America" profiled the disappearance of Asha Degree, a Cleveland County girl who went missing on Feb. 14, 2000.

Asha was 9 years old when she disappeared from her Shelby home. Her parents, Harold and Iquilla Degree, said they last saw her asleep in her bed at about 2:30 a.m. Witnesses claimed to have seen her walking down Highway 18 at about 4 a.m.

Police have said they think Asha left her home at her own will, packing her backpack and starting off down the road in the middle of the night.

Her bag was found 18 months later, wrapped in trash bags 26 miles away in Burke County. To date, that is the only sign of Asha that has been found.

The Cleveland County Sheriff's Office has handled the case since the beginning, with help from the State Bureau of Investigation and the FBI.

Investigators have received hundreds of tips, they said, but none have led to answers about Asha's disappearance.

"All it takes is that one lead, one tip that could be seemingly innocuous to somebody, that they may not think is worthy of even calling us about, that may tie everything together and may get us to find the answer," detective Jon Wright said.

Asha has been profiled on "America's Most Wanted" and by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Her story has also been told on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and "Montel Williams."

The "Good Morning America" feature was part of a series profiling missing-persons cases.

If you know anything about Asha's disappearance, the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office asks you to contact them at 704-484-4822.

Previous Stories: September 9, 2010: Detectives Work New Leads In Missing Girl's Disappearance

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