Authorities believe Asha Degree, who went missing in 2000, was murdered

Court records returned in Cleveland County on Monday morning detail why the sheriff’s office, FBI, and State Bureau of Investigation were searching a property in Shelby last week.Investigators believe 9-year-old Asha Degree, who went missing on Feb. 14, 2000, from her home in Shelby, was murdered and her body concealed, according to a search warrant affidavit.The records marked the first time law-enforcement investigators publicly said they believed Asha was dead, in a case that the Shelby community and many in the region have never forgotten. “Pray for Asha, her family, and everyone who has worked for decades to locate Shelby’s Sweetheart,” Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman said in a statement Monday. People are also reading… Last week, investigators searched multiple locations in Cleveland County in connection to the case, including a property where they took a vehicle and other evidence. Investigators believe local individuals may have had a hand in Asha’s disappearance, the affi...