Asha Degree case: NC authorities tow car resembling one sought in missing child case

( NewsNation ) — Authorities in North Carolina have towed a car that resembles one a witness described in connection with the decadesold case of missing child Asha Degree .

A search warrant was carried out starting Tuesday in Cleveland County, North Carolina, and an older green car was seen being towed from the property Wednesday afternoon. There were also reports of significant law enforcement activity at two sites, including one just miles from Degree’s home.

Law enforcement has not confirmed there is any connection to the case. In a statement, the FBI confirmed they had executed a search warrant and that the teams included specialized K9 units but would not say what case the search was connected to. The agency said it would release more information when appropriate.

The disappearance of Asha Degree

Degree was 9 years old when she disappeared from her home in Shelby, North Carolina, on Feb. 14, 2000. She is believed to have left her home in the early hours of the morning after her father checked on her and her brother around 2:30 am before he went to bed.

Degree’s brother reported hearing her bed squeak, and investigators believe Degree left her house then, taking with her a backpack that held clothes and personal items.

Witnesses reported seeing a girl resembling Degree walking alongside the highway between 3:45 and 4:15 am. It was storming, and one witness, who was driving on the road, said he turned around and went back toward the girl because it seemed strange for her to be out that night, but she ran into the woods nearby.

Degree’s mother discovered her missing in the morning when she went to wake her children up to get ready for school. After the family couldn’t find her in the house or locate her with relatives, they reported her missing.

Police searched the area and, a day later, found candy wrappers at a shed near the woods where the driver reported seeing Degree. There were other items with the wrappers, including a yellow hairbow, that belonged to Degree. The search was called off a week later after a 2-to-3-mile radius had been searched.

Later investigations

Degree’s case attracted widespread attention and was featured on national television due to the lack of leads and the fact that she didn’t fit the profile of a typical runaway.

Degree’s backpack was found by a construction crew in August 2001, wrapped in plastic. Years later, the FBI confirmed the backpack contained a Dr. Seuss book from the school library and a New Kids on the Block T-shirt, neither of which belonged to Degree.

In February 2015, investigators confirmed they were reexamining the case, with the FBI, the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Department and the State Bureau of Investigation working together. In 2016, the FBI said the review had turned up a potential new lead.

The agency said Degree may have been seen getting into a car, described as a dark green early 1970s Lincoln Continental Mark IV or Ford Thunderbird with rust around the wheel wells.

Continuing to investigate

The car towed in Cleveland County appears to resemble the green car described by the FBI, leading to speculation the search is connected to the Degree case. Neighbors told local media they had never seen a search effort so large in the area before.

Although it has been more than 24 years since Degree, who would now be in her 30s, disappeared, her family and the community have continued to try to keep attention on the case.

Anyone with information on Degree’s disappearance should call the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office at 704-484-4822 or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

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