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June 14, 2005 At 2:30 AM on February 14, 2000, Asha Degree was asleep in her bed in her home outside Shelby, North Carolina. The last time she was seen alive, around 4 AM, she was walking by herself along State Highway 18. Some of her personal effects were found in a shed near the highway shortly after her disappearance. Over a year later, in August 2001, her backpack was found forty miles from where she was last seen. Why Asha left home is still a mystery. It is a case that has baffled law enforcement officials from the local level, in Cleveland County, all the way up to the FBI. Why would a seemingly well-adjusted nine-year-old girl run away from home? Who might she have run into on her aborted journey? More frightening still, who might have she been running to? Assuming that Asha is still alive, she’s fourteen now and, based on age-progressed photographs, getting to be a very lovely young woman. The case still comes up periodically in Charlotte’s print and broadcast media, as police continue tracking leads. It’s landed on a bevy of missing-children and urban-legend websites. And it’s gotten the attention of some businesses that have used their own resources to spread the word about her and others from the area who have gone missing. Asha’s parents have not given up hope of finding her, and neither have the people of Shelby and Cleveland County. But in comparison to runaway bride Jennifer Wilbanks, missing high-school graduate Natalee Holloway, and many other young white women, Asha Degree has gotten comparatively little attention. It made headlines when Wilbanks finally turned up in New Mexico, and the world found out she lied to hide her pre-wedding jitters. Instead of drawing sympathy, she drew the ire of many, including those involved trying to find her. It will make headlines when and if Holloway is found, dead or alive. My hope and prayer is that she is alive, and that she will be able to return to the creature comforts of suburban Birmingham, all the wiser for her experience. I hope Asha makes it home, too, so that she can be with her family and enjoy things that teenagers ought to be enjoying—school dances, football games, and trips to the mall, among others. Regardless of the outcome, it will be a relief to know what happened, and lay the wondering and anxiety to rest. It’s too bad that most of you won’t know about it, though, because Asha’s story will only be heard here in Charlotte, simply because she has the wrong color of skin. ------------ About the author: Claxton Graham has written a number of articles for Useless Knowledge. He works as a business systems analyst. Email: scifiwriter8502@email.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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