Cleveland County search could be linked to cold case disappearance of Asha Degree

CLEVELAND COUNTY, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — Several search warrants have been carried out in and around Cleveland County, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) confirmed.

The Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office and the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) joined the FBI in searching a property on Cherryville Road in Shelby on Wednesday.

“The Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, and the SBI executed court-authorized search warrants at multiple locations in and around Cleveland County today,” the FBI said on September 10. On Wednesday, authorities confirmed the additional search in Shelby.

“The Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI, and the SBI are currently executing a court-authorized search warrant at a property on Cherryville Road in Shelby,” they said.

Cleveland County deputies, the FBI’s Evidence Response Team, and SBI agents, including specially trained K-9s, arrived Wednesday morning and will likely be on the scene for most of the day, authorities confirmed with Queen City News.

Is this connected with Asha Degree’s 2000 disappearance?

A neighbor confirmed to Queen City News that they saw a green car towed from one of the search areas that matched a 2016 FBI description linked to the disappearance of Asha Degree .

In 2016, officials said someone matching Asha’s description was seen getting into a dark green Lincoln Mark IV or a Ford Thunderbird from the early 1970s with rust around the wheel wells.

The FBI and the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office released these images of what the distinctive vehicle may have looked like.

On Valentine’s Day in 2000, then-9-year-old Asha Degree disappeared from her family’s home in Shelby. Her family says they saw her asleep in her bedroom around 2:30 a.m. that day. Several ‘fairly credible witnesses’ say they saw her walking down NC Highway 18 in Shelby. Another witness says she walked into the woods.

Around 6:30 a.m., Asha’s mother discovered the girl was missing, and the family quickly called 911 to report her missing.

Over a year later, Asha’s bookbag was found buried at a Burke County construction site near NC Hwy. 18, about 30 miles away. Investigators say that inside the bag was at least one item that did not belong to her.

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For the last 24 years , authorities have been working to find Asha. A combined reward of up to $45,000 is being offered for information to find her.

Anyone with information on Asha’s disappearance is asked to contact the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office at 704-484-4822 or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

Queen City News has asked officials if the current search warrants are tied to Asha’s Degree’s case. However, investigators did not confirm a connection, stating that, at this time, they are not releasing more information on the ongoing search.

The search warrants have yet to be released. Queen City News will provide the latest updates as they come into the newsroom.

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