SHELBY, N.C. — It has been more than 24 years since Richard Shaffer arrived on scene in Shelby, called in by then-Cleveland County Sheriff Dan Crawford to help investigate the disappearance of a 9-year-old girl from her home. Even after all that time, the retired FBI agent still remembers the neighborhood and first interaction with Asha Degree's family.
"The family was obviously very distraught," Shaffer said. "I remember Asha's mom giving me a photo of her."
Investigators learned Asha disappeared from her bedroom in the middle of the night on Valentine's Day, sometime between 2:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. There was no sign of forced entry and no promising scent trail for search dogs to follow.
At least two people claimed they saw a young female walking along North Carolina Highway 18 around 4 a.m. One person said when they turned around to check on her, the girl ran into the woods and was not seen again. Another tipster told detectives they saw a young woman get into a green car from the 1970s. The FBI said they were looking for a Ford Thunderbird or Lincoln Mark IV in connection with Degree's disappearance.
"It was a cold, chilly night--raining," Shaffer said. "We're in a rural area, so, it was very dark. The weather was obviously not good, and for a 9-year-old to voluntarily leave her house and embark upon a journey on foot in a rural, dark area in the middle of the night was just unconscionable."
"I was just dumbfounded at the reason that she would leave, but I was just crushed over the fact that this little girl was out there," Shaffer continued.
For years, Shaffer carried Asha's photo with him, personally "haunted" by her case and many of the answers that continued to elude his team. He said, at the time, his sons were seven and nine, around the same age as Asha, and he could not help but put himself in Asha's parents' shoes.
"For the longest time, I made this a priority case in my life," Shaffer said. "I chased every lead with the same zeal that we had that night, years later."
"People in law enforcement, whether they are state or local law enforcement or a federal agent, we're all human beings, we're all parents, we're grandparents, and we understand the hurt that the Degrees are going through," Shaffer continued. "We wanted nothing more than to help them through their pain--get some resolution."
Even after retiring from the FBI, Asha's case was never far from his thoughts. Shaffer kept up with those who inherited her investigation, heartened to see that year after year, the agency continued to keep her story alive, by periodically contacting those who might have been in contact with her before she disappeared and releasing annual age-progressed photos to the public.
"They never turned it into a cold case," Shaffer said. "It was always a priority case."
"There are men and women in law enforcement that say, 'Look, we're not going to forget about a child after 24 years. We're going to continue to be as vigilant as we can,'" Shaffer said, applauding the multiple agencies that kept the case alive.
Then, last week, several search scenes around Cleveland County and beyond stirred the community with curiosity and hope. Evidence collected included an older green vehicle similar in appearance to the one wanted in connection with Degree's disappearance. Days later, investigators confirmed the scenes were related to Asha's case and that new evidence pointed to her being a "victim of homicide," with her death concealed.
While it is not the break in the case many were hoping to hear, it is a break that, Shaffer hopes, is the start of more answers for the Degree family.
"They definitely need to have some closure for their little girl," Shaffer said.