Nine-Year-Old Wanders into the Night | Asha Degree Case Analysis
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- Опубликовано: 7 авг 2022
- This video answers the question: Can I analyze the case of Asha Degree?
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I have trained & certified Search & Rescue dogs for over 12 years (both Live Find and Cadaver dogs.) The only reason a certified Search Dog would not pick up the scent is because Asha got into a car. Car trails can be indicated by a Search Dog, but it takes a very specifically trained dog. They are few & far between.
I was wondering if the rain is the reason the dogs couldn't pick up her scent??
@@Ass_of_Amalek - not necessarily. It depends on the time elapsed since the dogs got there after the disappearance, the amount of rain and the surface to be checked. If it was a softer surface the rain actually helps hold the scent down for a period of time. “Scent” is actually shedding skin rafts (they’re like cornflakes) and we all shed about 40,000 per minute.
@@rucianapollard7098 see my answer above. 👍🏼
Fascinating insight; thank you for sharing your expertise.
Thank you for sharing, these kind of nuggets are gold!
Dr. Grande, thank you for covering Asha's story. This happened near our county. This little one has just haunted me. I've never forgotten her and never will. I just wish her family had some answers to give them some sort of peace and finality.
Her poor parents must be wondering what they did to make her want to run away.. I can’t even imagine the tears they cry
I think that impulsivity, a lack of maturity, is playing into this problem as well as her family history. Forensic investigation turns up the strangest and unimaginable results.
@@BucketHeadianHagg I know. I think as parents, we subconsciously put our children in those places and find it is just impossible to do. Not at all saying you have to be a parent to understand or empathize. Heartbreaking.
@@pepperjones7559 I couldn't agree with you more. ✌🏻
@Tiffany Thompson Thank God! Oh, 15 is right at that age of being a kid while you're turning adult! All those hormones! Been there, done so twice. 💜
This one spooked me, to be honest. A little girl leaving her home in the cold early hours and just vanishing into the night? And the only things found are remnants of her school supplies? Parents, hug your children tight.
Me too...😞
This case has bothered me since I first heard of it some 20 years ago. Of course we all know what most likely happened to that little girl in the end, but why? Why did she walk out that day? Did someone lure her, and if so how did they groom her? Where did they make contact with her and how did they convince her to go out in the dark in that weather.
@@pembrokelove yes... 💔
@ohthesuffering I'm with you. Doesn't make sense.
@@pembrokelove I can answer your questions easily. The why, where and how aren't that complicated. What's complicated is proving daddy dearest's involvement. And figuring out why mommy dearest looked the other way.
The fact that two truck drivers mentioned noticing her and thinking it was unusual indicates to me that she stood out. That other people thought it was unusual and was concerning. All it would take is another, evil minded person to also notice her and act upon it.
Do you have kids? Have you lived in a small apartment with young children of your own? Her parents are lying through their teeth. The story, on its face, is preposterous. No decent parent sleeps soundly through the night with small children in the house. Period.
But why didn't the truck drivers contact the police when they saw her?
She stood out because she was 9 years old walking the streets at 4:30 in the morning.
True but not surprised.
@@Nunya22Too people fail to remember this was the early 2000s and most people did not have cell phones like that.
2 truck drivers see a child walking alone alongside a highway & neither one calls 9-1-1? Boggles the mind tbh.
Thats because those calls were bogus, misleading.
Something at home was scarier than the dark, cold night.
I agree
yes, oh lord the fate of this little one. There are nothing more awful than disappearing, and a lil girl..world is full of predators.
Exactly
This case reminds me of Isabel Celis, 6, Tucson. She went missing in the middle of the night in 2012. Her remains were found in the desert in 2017. A man named Christopher Clements was eventually arrested and awaiting trial with killing Isabel and another little girl. He had visited the family home at least one time. My theory is Asha was taken by someone the family knows. I think most little girls don’t wonder off from their families in the middle of the night. Prayers for the family 🙏🏼
Thank you for telling us what happened to Isabel Cells. I live in Arizona and remember that hearing that news report on her disappearance. Only thing I'm happy about is the family got closure.
I believe her name was "Asha."
@@stephaniebaker6001 Yes, her name is Asha. I tried to edit the post. I’m not sure why correction didn’t save. I’m going to try again.
@@michellecaddell725 Sorry, I wasn't trying to be a b*tch! 🙃
I went to school with the other girl… she was honestly a sweet/genuine person- I remember she was always very generous! I felt so angry, to think someone had the audacity-to think they can take someone’s life?!!!
She was so trusting, I feel as if they took advantage of it-
In 3rd grade my friend asked me to help her run away. She had great parents and home life. But she was going through a faze where she thought her younger siblings were getting more attention and all she got was responsibility. I told her the rental house next door to me was empty and it also had a loose door knob in the back and my sis an I would sneak in there and play. Hey it was the late 70s so whatever. My friend wrote a letter packed her stuffed animals and left her house about 3am in the cold rain. I went next door in the morning and she wasn't there! So I called and she was home thank God but her Mom said she wasn't feeling good. Turned out she had a change of ❤️ leaving her pets behind and turned back half way. She had to wake her parents up and they didn't even know she had left! So she ended up with pneumonia and dropped one of her favorite stuffed animals. Someone turned it in at the school so I took it to her. Everything was back to normal. Not long afterward we had the Oakland county child killer where we lived. I shudder to think what could have happened to her. We were 8-9 yrs old. We just didn't have reasoning skills, experience or knowledge about the world. Certainly not maturity. My heart goes out to the Degree family and sweet Asha. But as I experienced, Asha may not have been visibly upset like my friend. She also could have had a friend like me, too young to know better. She could have talked to a kid they dont know about at the valentine party. Idk either but I hope this brings back attention to the case and it gets solved. God bless the family. 🙏
Thanks for sharing, it's hard to understand that a girl so young would not be afraid to go out to walk alone miles in the rainy dark night , so to hear a story that is similar helps make more sense to it, even thought the motive is unclear. I'm hoping that any child she talked to with clues would have come forward, even years later to tell her family what they know. What an awful secret let alone burden to carry.
*phase not faze🙄
YES this one has haunted me for years. Little girls don't go off alone into the dark, freezing, rainy night for no reason. People say "Well maybe she was going on an adventure like she read about in a book." No. Even small-town kids (like me) don't just wake up in the middle of the night & go "adventuring" alone in driving rain in the freezing cold. ALONE. That's terrifying. She was also scared of dogs & relatively shy. Something doesn't add up. Either she was running from something in the house or running TO something outside. Or we're not getting the actual story/timeline from the family & the truckdrivers are just projecting misremembered eyewitness accounts after hearing of her disappearance.
True, if a child wanted to go on an adventure, she'd probably pick a warm night when it wasn't pouring rain.
I believe it was someone she knew. The child doesn't seem to trust strangers. Her household seems to be a place where she felt safe. Prayer for her return.
But was it? A place where she felt safe? We have her parents' word on that, not hers. And what was her father doing, out "shopping for Valentine candy" in the middle of a stormy February night? Not to mention the fact that no small child would venture out into that weather when she had a warm comfy bed to sleep in. She wouldn't have lasted five minutes out there. And, in an apartment that size, her parents would have heard her attempts to leave. NO PARENT sleeps soundly through the night with small children in the house. At least, no DECENT parent.
AMEN !!🙏🦋💕💒💖
I agree, it was probably someone she knew that lured her out of the house. Maybe someone from her basketball team, as her emotions seemed to be really high around that activity. Praying that her family finds peace.
As grande mentioned though why wouldn’t they pick her up from near the house seems very strange they’d get her to walk so far at night
@@sponish0 maybe so no one like neighbors or the parents would see?
This is one of my "Top 5" missing persons cases that I would love to see conclusively solved. It just doesn't make sense, no matter what angle I look at it from. If she was running away for whatever reason, why do it in the middle of a storm. In addition to being afraid of dogs, she was said to be afraid of the dark too. Why not take a coat? Why double-wrap a backpack? Was this a trophy intended to be retrieved later? Who was the other girl in the picture? Was it bait as a phony "long lost sister" or a new friend? I really hope a breakthrough happens soon.
I think she left home willingly to go meet someone she thought of as a friend. And on the way, someone in a car picked her up and harmed her, burying her things. :-(
She had to have a strong reason to run away.
There is no way, in my opinion, that a nine year old runs away in the middle of the night when she's scared of the dark and dogs and it's storming outside without a strong reason
@@Andreamom001 It was suggested that her basketball coach might have been involved.
Me too. I think of this case often.
Wich are the other top 4 cases ?
“No computers and no cellphones in the household ” - don’t forget that this was in back in 2000, and this was standard for most households at that time, definitely with regard to children having cellphones with internet access
Yes especially for a poor family many didn't have home computers yet although many did already, many still did not. They mention church being a big part of the family's life. Alot of hardworking, poor people focused on family and church didn't see the need to get computers right away yet. It was seen as expensive luxury. I had this type of family but we did get a slow dial up internet PC. It was a miracle my parents bought one pretty early in the mid 90s because my mom typed up programs for the church.
@@Ass_of_Amalek True. Only "dumb" phones back then.
He didn’t say it wasn’t standard. But it was far from universal so he was rightly explaining that that possibility didn’t apply to Asha.
@@diannt9583 awe, I miss my dumbphone.
My thoughts exactly.
My brother was chief investigator on this case, and the parents were ruled out as suspects early on in this case. He feels she càme in contact with tis person at church or school, hence, it was someone she knew and trusted. Our local law enforcement has never let this case go cold. They have at least one person assigned to her case at all times. There is a theory that she was struck and killed by 2 guys coming back to Shelby after making a drug deal in Morganton. These 2 guys were known to law enforcement due to their past drug activity and were afraid to contact law enforcement because of this. They have since come forth and relayed this information to the authorities. Law enforcement have not found this story to be credible for some unknown reason. These 2 guys state they put her body in the bed of their truck and drove to a local lake Moss Lake, and put her body in the lake. This lake has been searched but no body has been found. This is a large, man made lake with untold coves and structures left under the water when it was filled. We all hope that Asha will be found and a resolution comes sooner rather than later. Thanks for covering this mystery.
Sounds plausible about someone hitting her with their car, killing her and moving the body. She may have been sleep walking in the middle of the road (where people are probably not expecting a young girl to be, especially in those conditions and at such an early time of the day), didnt see her for whatever reason, and collided with her. If she were sleepwalking she wouldn't have been aware of the car heading towards her. Then the person put her in the car, drove somewhere secluded and disposed of the body. I could imagine that the person(s) who was/were responsible may have been known to police (or on parole maybe?) so unlikely to report it to try and escape the consequences... or they may have been doing something else sketchy at the time - maybe driving while "self medicating"/under the influence of a myriad of drugs, looking for homes to break into (or just burgled somewhere), being in possession of stolen goods, driving without a license (or not permitted to drive). Whatever the situation, it's all so very sad, and I feel awful for her family.
Thank you for this information the first thing I though of was the parents. So odd her scent was not picked up by the dogs.
But why were the parents ruled out?
@@toughntiny thru polygraph and investigation. Verifying timelines, etc.
@@relax2dream164 it was raining at a pretty heavy rate alll night. The heavy rain has a tendency to wash away scent.
Can't even imagine how the family feels, just never seeing your child/sibling again with no closure. Terrifying!
I imagine that they must feel so much guilt for whatever happened that made her run away, must feel horrifying.
Thank you for covering this case. It has always haunted me, shes only a year older than me so I wonder what she would've been today...sad.💔
It always sickens me to think someone so precious is taken by an evil person this world is left with.
Her rame means hope in Hindi. I hope she is still alive somewhere and the truth comes out one day.
I must argue that even back in 2000, not everyone had computers or cell phones.
I def didn't
Dr Grande is fairly thorough in his analysis, I believe he mentioned it just so that it was clear she wasn't on AOL or something.
My mother had a bag mobile phone back in 1993.
I don’t get your point. No one has said otherwise.
I didn't get a real cell phone 2007.
Bruh this is the 3rd video by Dr. Grande in the past 18 hours. I love it, but this man's insane productivity needs a rest! You need a week off to relax, Sir. We don't want you to burnout. We want you for a lifetime.
Yes! 🏕🏖🏜🏝🏞
Dr. G's a pro...he sets his own pace and can handle it fine 😎
I always wonder if Asha was talking to a pen pal who was posing as the little girl in the photo.
Pen pals were still quite common in the late 90s and early 2000s. The pen pal could have posed as the little girl to groom Asha and tricked her into coming to meet them at their house and then snatched her up before she had a chance to get away.
I agree. That New Kids on the Block shirt looks more like a little girl's nightgown. My daughter had several with that exact cut, just different design on the front. Thus, I think Asha expected to be gone at least overnight. So maybe she was lured to a sleepover with the little girl in the picture?
Yeah, now that you say this, I can remember reading about cases where this occurred. Sorry, can't remember any names.
That's a good point. A lot of us had pen pals in the 90s so that is a viable option.
That is definitely a good theory. The "girl" could have even sent her the nightgown. I wonder if the phone records picked anything up, a lot of weirdos have been known to call girls and send gifts.
@@Peeved100 They did actually find out the exact style, and you're absolutely right. It is a little nightgown.☮️💜
Her father said he slept on the couch. he changed his story to say he went to the store at 11:30 to purchase candy and returned at midnight to see Asha lying on the couch, and told her to go to bed. But if that's true, it contradicts the mother, who said she put the kids in bed at 8:30. The circumstances surrounding Asha and Harold's whereabouts the night before are very unclear to me.
Concerning the eyewitness accounts - I'm puzzled about these eyewitnesses for several reasons.
First off, none of them called 911 when they supposedly saw this little girl. They only reported this after seeing someone was missing on the news. Secondly, we don't even have official statements from them, we have second hand accounts from the police. none of these eyewitnesses have been named, they haven't done interviews with the media, there's very little information on them whatsoever. And lastly, the description some of them gave was a "young woman" walking down the highway. I think it's possible they either saw something or someone else....or they are simply having a bad lapse in memory. Eyewitnesses are notorious for being unreliable, and people are basing all their theories about what happened to Asha on them. It's a very unstable source of information, especially in this case because we've heard so little from them.
My theory is that somebody harmed Asha at home between midnight and 2:30, then spent the next couple of hours covering it up. They report her missing, and after hearing reports that she was spotted on highway 18, go back and plant more evidence in the Upholstery shed, and this is why it isn't found until 3 days later.
I would be taking a serious look at Asha's father. Something about his stories sound very off tO me
And in the parents recent interview, the mother said she was asleep on the couch, waking up at midnight.
I agree with all of this. Harold said he went to get candy. I think he said that incase someone seen his car out that night.
Yes, I totally agree! The more I think about this case, the more I think something happened in the house that night. I wish there were more detailed interviews with the parents.
I don't believe that Asha is alive. Her remains just haven't been found. And I think her killer disposed of her back pack.
Yes. But he intended to return for the backpack and other items. They belonged to his victims and he preserved them by wrapping them in plastic.
@@cantfindmykeys how do you know he intended to return? What makes you think his intention was to come back and get the items and why did he suddenly need to get rid of the items?
@@theamethyst93 I don't know, I'm only speculating. Many predators and serial killers will keep trophies from victims. They keep clothing, jewelry, even body parts. He probably didn't want the items (evidence) in his possession until he disposed of the bodies. Later he would retrieve them and store them in a secure location near or in his residence. But that's only my best guess.
Not gonna lie, this case only makes sense to me if the parents know more than they’re letting on. She was too protected for anyone to groom
Yes, why didn't he offer the parents as one possibility here, some kind of conspiracy? Why did they check on the kids so many times over night? I get the first check after the power outage, but not the second time hours later.
Yes, she seemed to be raised to be wary and had several fears. It could've been her parents, but also someone who came off as very caring/parental could have been there while Asha was in the woods feeling extremely vunerable. A commenter here suggested that because the trucker had radioed the message in, a criminal could've heard it over a scanner and drove out to abduct her (or could've had a shady girlfriend to entice her to get into their car).
@@BrisLS1 that stood out to me too.. why check them a second time only a few hours later at a time when most children wouldve been asleep? (Although maybe they were just checking that they weren't talking/reading/goofing off). They could've just been overly fearful/compulsive parents which could correlate with having no computers/cellphones and her not being aloud out alone during the day. I'm wondering if they had an acquaintance/relative they feared might take Asha. Or it could be that Asha rebelled at her parents constant overprotection and did run away.
@@tlc6756 it was mentioned that her brother heard squeeking from the other bed. Is it possible the father commited crimes of a s3xu4l nature and thats why she ran away?
@@maryjanerx it's could be, but it's so hard to say. It depends on if the brother thought the squeaking was unusual/loud or if he simply heard the squeaking and it wasn't unusual. So many things could've happened. Even if the parents were to blame for her running away, it doesn't explain why shes never been found since. Very sad🧐
Many children do not feel safe at home. It is a terrifying reality.
I hope Asha's case get solved. Poor little angel. I cant imagine the pain of their parents. Prayers to her entire family.
As a person who lived next door to a beagle in a pen next to the garage wall, like the amphitheater of the Hollywood bowl facing my bedroom, beagles are literally air horns on four legs.
Ah, you have my sincere condolences 😣.
LOL
lol, true. And the one my friend had would get under the covers and crawl up beside me when I was dogsitting. Funny breed.
Yes! I had a friend who would leave her beagle with me when she traveled. He was was quiet during the day, but when the lights went off, I was shocked by the howling!
@@rachaelhume1818 Thank you for understanding!
I get that parents check on their children before bed to make sure everything is okay but why would the father check on her at the 9 o'clock hour and then hours later at 2 in morning? Did he suspect something would happen or hear anything? Did he normally check on the children multiple times? Seems like there is something there. Did the brother know more but was hushed from saying something? 🤔 Thank you Dr. Grande.
I wonder if dad had a feeling something was going to happen and checked his children's room because he wanted to ensure everything was okay. Sometimes parents have these premonitions. My mother had a bad feeling the night that my sister and I were supposed to go to our bio dad's house for a weekend trip. I remember her checking up on us a few times during the night. Turns out bio dad planned on kidnapping us and bringing us to an Indigenous reservation where he knew police couldn't get us without jumping through hoops and hurdles. Maybe something similar happened in this case and dad just had a feeling that something bad was going to happen?
Also, if Asha planned on running away maybe she had gotten up and was going to leave when dad heard something and decided to check it out and she jumped into bed. Her brother said that he heard his sister's bed creak as though she had gotten up or moved right after dad moved away from the door or something. I feel that she was going to meet somebody and met up with foul play. It doesn't make much sense for why she would leave the house during the night, especially when she was terrified of the dark (according to reports).
Possibly, but I have a kid, and usually suffer from insomnia, so I check on my kid multiple times during the night.
Maybe he got up to use the bathroom and just stuck his head in the kids room. Lots of parents do this.
I didn't wonder so much about that. If you have a small child who is afraid of the dark and a power outage that takes out the nightlight, you check on them more - a quick reassurance while they are still sleepy and in bed beats getting an upset and crying child to go back to sleep. I always checked when there were power outages. Everyone is different, but the night checks would have been normal for our household.
I used to check on my old doggie several times a night because I was so attached to her. I don't think it's that strange. The parents seem to be truthful about the events of that night.
I sure hope the police thoroughly investigated eveyone close to Asha, not only her parents, but the people who work with the parents and the landlord. This story gave me the creeps and broke my heart at the same time!
Even living in Germany I`ve heard about this sad case. It`s totally puzzling to me. Since the squeeking of the bed woke up the brother for a secind it could have been Asha was taken by a stranger right at that moment....But then the sightings on the street...Really very mysterious. Hope that there will be answers soon.
I always thiught someone maybe was watching them
I believe her brother had heard her bed squeak at two different times. Crime Weekly does a 3 part series on Asha if you're interested.☮️☮️
Glad to see you covering this case. The image of that little girl walking alone at night on a roadside in the pouring rain has always given me chills.
The photo in the outhouse of an unidentified Black girl found alongside Asha 's possessions makes this sound like somebody absolutely is responsible for her disappearance and it was not random. She had contact with people who could have gained her trust such as teachers, church folk or even family members. My heart goes out to her 💔
Yes, because most likely if the photo was a friend of Asha's the police would've found that friend early on. I'm wondering if the photo was ever put up as flyers or on a crime show? If not, it should've been.
@@tlc6756 it’s on Reddit
@@nathanjackson4189 thanks , but alot of people don't read Reddit. It needs to be on the news.
Not sure how much coverage went out with releasing that photo, but that is no random little girl. I'm surprised no one at all could identify her, it's a school photo and those are always unique to the individual so why does no one know/ or has recognized this mystery child?
@@lulub1433 exactly, something's not right.
Children are naturally curious about the world, so I wonder if she waited to leave in the middle of the night to do something “reckless” or “exciting” as she had a sheltered, seemingly strict upbringing. I believe it’s possible that seeing other cars made her scared and she realized the reality of what she was doing, and in the process she was scared to go back to her home fearing consequences from her parents. It’s possible someone with bad intentions picked her up seeing her along the road and she thought that they were there to help :(
I really wonder if she was sleepwalking at first. Recently, I was on a camping trip with a group of girls that age, and one girl who was sleepwalking got out of her sleeping bag, navigated past the other girls without waking them, unzipped her tent, climbed out, walked across the campsite to another tent, and started calling out for one of her parents.
Adults woke up and started talking to her, but by the time they could get out of their sleeping bags and find the door of their tent and get out, she had gone back into her tent and zipped it closed again. She never fully woke up.
Interesting theory, and quite plausible. I've seen a number of sleep walkers in action, and was one myself while on the insomnia medication, Ambien.
It's very dangerous, and very scary because anything is possible when you're in that state. I've heard of people getting in their cars and driving while asleep.
You made a very good point, that would have to be confirmed by the family as to whether Asha, was a sleep walker, or not. Thought provoking, nonetheless.
@@chachadodds5860 I think, that sleepwalking should be on the list of possibilities. Perhaps the interruption in her normal routine from the power outage triggered an episode of sleepwalking? Maybe, she didn't eat that evening due to the outage? Going to bed hungry can cause sleepwalking. That could explain why she apparently left the house unprepared for the weather and without the fear of the dark, which she usually had.
Many people, until they encounter a sleepwalker, don't realize how common it is. I remember my elderly dad had to use a cane, when he walked for balance, but I encountered him sleepwalking & navigating the halls & stairs of his house without a cane, like he was 40 years younger! When I was in college & in the Army, drinking seemed to be a common cause of it. I don't know about children specifically, but sleepwalking could be just as common with them as with adults. I don't know, that there even needs to be a cause, like hunger, drinking, or Ambien? Sleepwalking could certainly explain, why things didn't make logical sense
Btw, I had a girlfriend who took Ambien 20 years ago. She quit taking it, after she woke up in her front yard, in her nightgown a couple of times.
My neighbor was a chronic sleep walker between the ages of 6-10. She would exit her house and walk around in the yard. It was during the 1960s, in a quiet neighborhood in NC. But had it been these days, or in a not so nice area, someone could have easily grabbed her.
My sister was often sleepwalking at this age.
I had a roommate that was a sleepwalker. But usually there is a history of it so if it never happened before, it's unlikely.
I think someone stalked her at the basketball game. They saw her stand out when she got upset and began targeting/plotting to kidnap her.
That or she really did run away.
Yay! You’re covering Asha Degree!!!!!! I requested this sometime back.
Not all heroes wear capes. Thanks again, doc!
Thank you for covering this. It’s rare you see people talking about missing black and brown girls.
Children who’ve experienced trauma can sometimes sleep walk. When observed by parents, it can literally look as if the child is awake but the bloodshot eyes and vacant stare are a giveaway that the child is not actually awake. Also, the child can sound as if they’re in a trance-like state when interacting with the concerned caregiver.
If she wandered off whilst sleep walking then who knows what happened. On February 13th 2022, why did neither of those truck drivers actually stop??
One did return to investigate. (Hard to get a 18-wheeler to stop on a dime.)
@@diannt9583 or to get it turned around to go back.
@Diann T
Nonsense. I saw a man do it when a black cat crossed in front of us on the road! True story ☝️
Oh Sweet Asha 😔 Living in NC I've seen her face most of my life. I've always hoped there will be resolution 🙏🏽 Thanks for covering this one Doc and for providing your perspective
My thoughts: she was either groomed by someone at her church and lured out or she was using the computers at the library, met someone in chat and was lured away. Since it’s usually someone you know I’m leaning towards the first one, churches give a lot of opportunity for grooming.
I don't think there's too many stories of people at churches kidnaping children that could easily identify them. Sure, its possible and child molestation can happen anywhere.. but child abductors usually don't groom someone from a church where everyone knows them. Also, it seems the parents were overprotective and would be intune if an adult was paying Asha special attention. Also, she was seen walking alone late at night near the woods by witnesses.
Someone close to her had to be involved, or she ran away and was a chance victim. I can't really see her running away in the cold and dark, though, so I also think someone groomed her.
I know one such story. In this case, the parents were "groomed" too-the perp bent over backwards to be "such a good guy". No one could believe such a good guy would do anything like that. Despite earlier accusations by "crazy" people. (His narrative). The family of the little girl left the church; the perp stayed, member in good standing.
@@gigiwills7851 Yup, me too! There was a baby just kidnapped by a woman from his parents church. I also recently read a news story of a pastor grooming a 16 year old girl. She’s now an adult and finally reported him. It happens more than people realize.
the basketball team kept coming up...
One thing I want to point out is that the two drivers "think" they saw her. It's not like this was a positive ID with 100% certainty.
And if I recall correctly, both notified police AFTER the story aired on the local news.
@@nathanjackson4189which makes me think that they didn't not see Asha that night because if you see a child walking along the highway in the cold rain why wouldn't you call 911??? I think Asha was killed by her parents, her father's whereabouts that night have changed multiple times and K-9 units couldn't track her scent pass the driveway and there were no footprints.
This case reminded me of Linda Healy, Ted Bundy's first (official) victim. She was taken from her bed in the middle of the night, no one heard or saw anything, and her backpack and housekeys were missing, which stumped the investigators initially thinking she took those items with her and left of her own will, but now we know Bundy took them along with her body. I thought a lot of elements of that crime sounded similar to this case.
This actually makes more sense to me in some ways than the idea that she left voluntarily without a jacket in the middle of the night to go on an adventure or meet someone in the pouring rain... you're running away/sneaking out for the night in February and you don't bring a jacket? that makes no sense.
She had recently had a sleepover, maybe that's why she had a bag packed. If someone abducted her from the house they could have taken it to make it look like a run-away. We know Asha (or someone or someone with her bag of stuff) made it to the shed; could that have been an abductor hiding out for a while snacking on her candy and looking through her stuff after he disposed of her body?
But then I think there should have been some trace of evidence of an abduction-- how would her brother not hear it when he can hear the bed squeaking? Plus two people later reported seeing her walking alone down the road... how reliable were those witnesses?
Such a confusing case.
Something that really broke my heart while reading about this case was hearing that some of her family still has faith she may be alive somewhere. Part of me wishes so much that were true. But if she did live, what must her life have been like? 💔💔 the mind goes to so many dark places. This is such a fucked up case. I hope one day her family gets answers 🕊
Thank you for covering this case Dr Grande! This is such a haunting case. As you put it, each theory seems unlikely, yet one has to be true. I think theories 1 or 2 are the most plausible, but even those theories require logical leaps. I wonder if there is a chance that she could still be alive, as they haven’t found her remains. For example, she could have been sold into human trafficking, illegally adopted, or held captive. Law Enforcement stated that they are operating under the assumption that she is alive, and that they are not looking for remains, but rather Asha as a 32 year old. I just wish the public had more information about the evidence, and all of the unconfirmed facts about the case. I think this case often, and my thoughts are with her family, and community. Once again, thank you Dr Grande!
He didn't speculate that the parents or sibling were involved. That could be true.
@@sabrinashelton1997 my first thought for some reason is that a relative was involved
9 yr old, middle of the night at home, no dog track scent, my theory is one of the parents killed her, grabbed some of her things, put them and her into their car, and dumped the body somewhere. They put the random things around to throw the case off. The “witness sightings” were not her, even though the truckers said it “might have” been her.
How many children are walking alone at that hour in a storm to where a witness might mistake them for an adult? Also, it would be too risky for the parents to later go to different scenes and plant her belongings, especially in a tight knit community where they were known in their church. Neighbors could've noticed their car going in/out at odd hours/could tell the police, , and they definitely wouldn't want to be seen during the day at the same places where her belongings were left.
Also, in another comment, a canine search and rescue expert explained how the sent will stop as soon as the victim is driven off in a car. Perhaps the storm erased any footprints.
Another 9 year old girl in the middle of the night? What an idiotic theory.
@@tlc6756 Good questions, but since the case has been cold over 20 years, it might be beneficial for them to take a fresh look again at the parents and not have tunnel vision that she ran away. Statistics show that most missing kids end up being found a lot closer to home than imagined.
@@crystaaal7824 yes, they definitely should look at this case again, especially if they said they felt she was still alive. I'm wondering if they ever posted the photo of the girl they found in the backpack. Someone's got to have recognized her.
That would seem to help find some answers.. Maybe it should be on Americas Most Wanted!
I wonder if the rain also interfered with the dogs finding her scent?
I became aware of Asha when Prosecutors Podcast featured her - it is the strangest story - someone the family knows got her to leave, someone she trusted and then who knows what happened - but it isnt good, poor kid--the items were put there not by asha but by someone who wanted it to appear they were left by asha-i truly believe what happened to her began inside her home
I just don't think she ever left the house and I've looked into it for like 7 years. Eyewitnesses can be so unreliable, who knows if the truck driver saw a kid
I knew it was raining but I had never heard that it was 35° when she disappeared. I do not believe that a nine-year-old would have the fortitude and the bravery to leave the home for any length of time under those conditions. Also some of the planning seems very sophisticated for someone her age... However, Leiby Kletzky’s murderer was someone who took advantage of the fact that he got lost the very first time he was to walk home alone. Who knows who was out and about and will decide to start their career in Crime.
She did attend church the day before the disappearance. Maybe she made a plan to meet someone and that person turned out to be untrustworthy. Such a sad situation.
yep, I think so. Lots of predators lurking in churches and schools. Sad.
Used to work with her mom back in 2003 in Lincolnton, NC. Such a sad situation.
She may have had "secret" plans to meet up with a friend that, as one would expect, had trouble getting out of their house at that hour and at that age.
If so, why have that friend not come forward after all these years?
@@merrymaid2890 guilt, or fear maybe.
I'm surprised you didn't consider the theory that her parents killed her, and faked everything. That's usually what happens in cases like this. Presumably the police were able to exclude the parents as suspects.
I don't think they did
For some reason I think a relative did it but not the parents
You would think. But me and my brother and sister were always threatening to run away. It seemed like fun. My parents were overprotective and we wanted to see the world. We made a raft and floated down the creek for a mile and called my mom to pick us up. We were just spoiled and being silly.
I've always thought this a very strange case. Thank you for covering
Both sad and puzzling. Her parents have lived in torment for so many years. I pray they get a resolution.
Her family involvement? What a scary and strange case. Poor little darling girl 😟 she deserved far better.
Didn't know about this little girl but it sounds horrendous. So sad 😞
There was an update done in this case. Truly sad. The parents talked about how the police initially thought they were involved. They said they would like to know what happened to their daughter.
Sadly in a lot of cases, the parents are the actual suspects. Not saying her parents were, I'm just not shocked they were looked into as suspects.
I know they have to interview everyone including the family but it is horrible being told you are a suspect at the same time you recieve the news.
That poor, beautiful child vanished in the middle of the night from a small, locked apartment. Who would YOU suspect?
@@maxalberts2003 a nine year old would have no problem unlocking a door. Plus witnesses have told police a girl fitting her description was seen in the woods late night/early morning hours. How many 9 year old children would be walking alone at the time?
The parents must be looked at to rule them out. Every family member is a suspect.
I feel like it had to be someone she knew either someone in her family or maybe an older neighbor teen
i do too.
i do too something don't add up that late at night
@@doreenedeputy5118 another thing that bothers me is the car accident that happened earlier that night! It could’ve been a coincidence but I wonder if it could be connected
They found her backpack and some hair right behind my childhood home. There’s a Creek on highway 18 that we all played at, literally fall out of my front door into the creek, this is where they found her book bag and some hair. This was always close to my families heart. We would walk through the woods and the side of the mountain over and over trying to find something. Realizing that her stuff was right there more than likely meant the killer way right near us if they’re the ones who dropped it there.
I’m so thankful you’re covering this.
I absolutely wish this could be solved, she could be found, and whoever did this, locked up permanently.
Did they find hair? I only knew about the backpack.
That’s what the detectives told my Mom and Dad when they were scouring the ground after finding the Bookbag.
It may have been found not Hair, we just always went with it as the initial report
There’s definitely, another theory! The most simple and statistically likely: she never left the house alive that night. A family member killed her, and disposed of the body. People say that that couldn’t possibly be the case here, bc her parents passed a lie detector and have been helpful in the search. I just don’t get why those 2 things clear them completely. The quickest study on lie detectors and their accuracy, will shock those who think its a good indicator of guilt or innocence. As for the truckers seeing Asha AFTER the details were announced publicly? That happens all the time with high profile cases. People “remember” all sorts of things they go to the cops with. They aren’t necessarily lying, it’s just a trick our minds play on us. Asha’s items were almost certainly planted by someone, later. Not her. I simply don’t understand why this case has all these bizarre twists and turns, when it all seems pretty simple.
the thing is, they would have to be some kind of criminal masterminds to leave 0 evidence in the house, for the brother to not notice anything, and to dispose of the body quickly
@@cutiepiebb yeah, if she did not leave the house on her own. She was taken out silently, by who we don’t know. 😢
Correct!
Why couldn’t she have been sleepwalking? One of my children did that and had no memory of it the next day. He walked out of the apartment and went down the hall and threw a stuffed toy into the trash room. He came back in, leaving the door open, and his stuffed toy was gone when he woke up. The janitor later said he saw the toy in the room for a couple days before he threw it out. Why couldn’t Asha have walked out in a sleep state? It makes no sense. She could have woken up after a while not knowing where she was. She could have encountered any number of mishaps after regaining consciousness. She had no cellphone and was sort of isolated, no? My son missed his toy, so I bought a few more exactly the same for him.
If she's alive, it's difficult to believe she would've survived without someone intervening. Same goes for her not being alive. But the weird thing is how some of her possessions were found in the "out building" a mile from her house, while more of her things were located twenty-six miles away. And yes, the library book is puzzling, along with the photo of the girl who was never identified. By the way, I thought I'd look up that book, McElligot's Pool, and there's kind of an eerie quote: "Oh, the sea is so full of a number of fish, if a fellow is patient, he might get his wish!" Just a bit creepy. So, if the book didn't belong to her, but it was checked out from the school library, who checked it out? Of course, I'm probably reading way too much into it, but perhaps the t-shirt, photo and book are somehow all connected, and the perpetrator was leaving clues in two or more locations. Also, yes, the beagles didn't bark, and there's a Sherlock Holmes mystery about "the dog that didn't bark."
last part goes into schizo territory, but the part about the book and so on could be true
There is nothing in the least surprising about a child having a library book that they didn’t officially check out themselves.
The killer probably died and his family cleaned out his car and home abd found all 4 trophies/ items from different girls. Got scared threw everything in the garbage bags and tossed it.
@@Mrs.buildingblackwealth that makes a lot of sense tbh. The average sex offender is a bit older than the average age for men nationally, so it's plausible that some old guy croaked.
On the other hand, the south has serious problems with child trafficking.
@Davod Wartski 'New Kids On The Block,' makes one wonder if there were any new kids on the block and or if that is a clue left by some demented kidnapper.
Dr. Grande, please look into and cover the case of 10 year old Amy Mihaljevic taken from a shopping center here in Bay Village, OH.
I was only 3 when my mom had me pass out flyers for people in the area to look for her body. Personally, I already have my theory and suspect to this point... having followed and studied the case for so long. But I would love to hear your input.
I read a book about this case. The author believes he interviewed the killer.
@@Ass_of_Amalek lol!! luckily i didn't know what i was passing out. i couldn't read yet and it was at a christmas expo thing where a lot of christmas stuff was going on. i didn't know i passed them out until my mother told me years later.
@@rucianapollard7098 yes. James Renner. he's a reporter. he was a kid like me when Amy was found murdered. so he's always been concerned with the case, and the fact that even having good suspect options, one very much in particular, the police would never question him as years and years passed. so eventually he kind of went rogue to where this guy is known to be living and tried to get him to talk himself. and he was met with some antagonistic, curious responses. but the police just yelled at james for getting involved. personally, i believe james is correct on the suspect... no other suspect matches everything about the killer and the investigation so completely. i've heard people claiming on reddit and stuff that the police have officially ruled the guy out and now think it's someone else. but i think there is zero chance that they really have. i believe that 1) they would claim so in attempt to get james off their back & 2) they don't want the guy to know how much of a suspect he really is. because he's flighty. he already fled the state after the crime to begin with. they have items found with her body and are trying to have them identified by the public. i would think so that they then can present and arrest with physical evidence on hand, but there is no question that this man matches everything known about the killer and the investigation so completely. if law enforcement does their job right, i think James will find himself to have been right. this man should not have been let to live free for decades now. the local public has always seemed to be more concerned about justice for Amy then local law enforcement has... and it's just really upsetting. over 30 years now. we want answers. we haven't forgotten about her.
@@jennifergiannantonio7764 thanks for the comment. I agree, I think Mr. Renner found and talked to Amy's killer. I just wonder how many other little girls he has hurt or possibly killed?? People like him do not stop committing these types of crimes unless they are caught or incapacitated in some way like being in jail on an unrelated offense, locked away at a mental facility or dead. There is no statue of limitations on murder, so I don't understand why the police wouldn't put pressure on this guy. Perhaps one day justice will be done for little Amy and Asha.
Hey keep going with your videos. Also sending prayers to that girl.
It sounds like she was likely taken by someone who she knew. If the book was checked out from her school library, and not by her, they had to have known where she went to school. Could someone have prearranged for her to come downstairs and meet them at the door, for instance by signaling her with a flashlight or something? (Could she see out the window from her bed?). Then, she got into a car? I'm wondering about child trafficking. Someone she knew from school or church?
No, It’s much more likely that she took the book without officially borrowing it, either directly from the library or from a classmate.
But how would you explain the sightings of her by witnesses such as the trucker who saw her in the woods?
@@tlc6756 Maybe things got weird, so she changed her mind and got out of the car?
@@kimberlygabaldon3260 thats a reach. she prob just couldn't have just walked out of the car lol
Nobody has brought up if Asha is the only child to ever go missing from her school. Could the backpack have held trophies of multiple victims? You have someone in this comment thread willing to accuse this child of theft with no proof, when the 3 different items could be from 2 or 3 different crimes. Most Dr. Seuss books are for much younger children Asha. It wasn't mentioned if the book was recently checked out or missing either.
You said that the kids didn't take a bath because of the power outage, they went to bed at 8:pm, the outage was at 9:00 pm, so the parents lied? they had already been in bed for an hour before the outage.
I thought the same thing!
I always thought the fact that people completely write of family involvement to be strange. This little girl terrified of storms plans and packs to leave in the middle of the night?! Something may be going on in that house! I have an 8 year old and she won’t go next door without making sure I’m watching her from the door. I think we should at least include a theory that she was being abused in some way or something bad was going on in that home, so bad she wanted to run away… and maybe the dad realized she was gone and went out and looked for her and found her! Knowing she had enough and realizing her behavior may now get him in trouble …maybe he killed her. It’s about as likely as most of the theories. Maybe even more so when you consider her clearly wanting out of that house (which has always been my biggest question mark with this case) and that most child murders involve family.
I was thinking the same thing. Something on the inside could be going on.
I agree
The one thing that does not add up is the family is doing everything they can to keep this case alive. If they had something to hide they would eventually ask the public to respect their privacy.
If law enforcement did a thorough job they would do background checks on the neighbors, the people who employed the parents and at least some of the teachers, coaches and management at the school.
Conversely they would ask these very same people if anyone in the family was behaving in an odd manner prior to and after her disappearance.
With the technological developments in forensics, law enforcement will have new ways to examine the evidence and computer programs which can take the known facts and provide possible answers with a percentage of how likely they could be true. They are frequently solving very cold cases. The sad part is often there are not many surviving relatives by the time they are solved.
If the father checked on the sleeping children at 12:30am, when the power was restored, why check on them again at 2:30am? The children were school-aged not babies. It just struck me as odd but doesn't rally mean anything unless he was lying to cover the fact that Asha was already gone by then.
i was kinda thinking the brother. did he say how old he was? i know this is hella specific, but i thought maybe she had her a bag packed and ready in case he bothered her in the middle of the night again. then had the misfortune of running into an even bigger monster.
This is shocking to me simply because the 9year girl left without any unusual indications. That's what bothers me the most. This case is weird and tragic at the same time. I do agree with your analysis Dr. Grande and thank you for your coverage of this mystery.
Dr. Grande, a sincere thank you for all your content and hard work! It's a pleasure watching your channel flourish! I'll be a Doc myself in May, and I'll make sure to write back, with my new title! Until then, keep up the phenomenal work!
Poor kid-yeah, I think Dr Grande was right, I think there’s more to the story than has been made evident. It’s disheartening that nearly all theories lead to Aisha meeting a violent killer-but that does seem to be the most likely scenario
Good morning Dr Grande! Thank you for the upload!
Asha was born on Auguts 5, 1990. JonBenet Ramsey was born one day later, on August 6, 1990.
Is that important?
@@eadweard. Not important to the case, but merely a point of interest.
Points of interest should at least be interesting.
@@festina_lente7655 and it is.
The problem with all missing cases is that the family always has a reason to lie. If they tell the police that there loved one has a tendency to run away the cops may not want to consider that person as missing and instead consider it as a run away case. I think the family in these cases can actually be the worst witnesses. They say things like “they would never do that” or “they were perfectly happy”. I think she went to go meet someone. If she played basketball then she had coaches. We’ve seen how coaches can get really close to these young women.
Girls. She was a girl, not a young woman.
She was a 9 year old child not a young woman.
Yep. I believe she was bing molested. There's NO way a nine year old with no behavioral issues would leave home like this without a very good reason.
@@ToniHunterOne that doesn’t matter to a predator. Sometimes when these young kids go missing the parents and searchers asume they can’t or won’t do certain things. There’s stories of young kids going missing in the woods and searchers not looking at certain areas because they think it’s impossible for a kid to reach. Years later they find the cloths and bones of the kid. In this case anything is possible. We’ve already seen a 9 year old leave her home at 3am in the rain. I would guess she did that to prove to whoever she was meeting that she wasn’t a baby. Kids find a way. When I was that young I had porno magazines under my bed and if I went missing my mom would have told the cops I was an angel im sure. Between church, school , and basketball someone made her feel like a young woman and convinced her to leave that night. Maybe she had been sneaking out more than just this once and this night was the one night she didn’t return.
@Cptjockitch seems like the distinction doesn't matter to you either. Are you a predator ? You acknowledged that she more than likely was groomed by an adult yet, you still want to victim blame a 9yo kid by theorizing that she could have been fast. Fast or not, it's still grooming and she's still a kid.
Horrific thing to parse .🤢 ….
Great analysis as always.
Humanity as it relates to modern day society has some terrible ticks.
It’s important to take note and share the data.
Thanks again.
Not only modern day society unfortunately.😔
This reminds me of the Jed Hall story, he just ran off into the night with no warnings at all, then his vehicle was finally discovered by AWP, and he drove it off the bridge into the water.
So who knows what happened to this girl.
I saw that on AWP's channel. Sadly Jed had left a suicide note so there was a clue. Understandably the parents didn't want to think the worst.
My instinct about the back pack is that it was double wrapped and buried because it was a souvenir. The perpetrator didn't want to dispose of it totally but didn't want to have it in their residence. The other items in the back pack could belong to other probable victims.
Thank you for keeping us informed.
This story is always haunted me. She may have come from a good family but unfortunately anywhere there are children there are predators, I think she was groomed by someone in the community.
Hi Dr. Grande. The predator was more than likely someone she knew. Even though this is an unsolved cold case, I hope it can be solved somehow. Keep your awesome analysises coming, they're cases most psychology channels don't cover. Peace & fabulous times & good evening, love, Janine Smiley🙂😀😎😍🤩🆒️🍉🍊🍌🍍🍇🥝🍎🥑🍒☕🍪☕🎂☕🥧🍧🍨🍦🍫🦓🦄
Crime Weekly does a 3 part series on Asha.☮️💜
thank you for this upload. 👍🏾
Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
Thanks for covering this story doc. This one has always perplexed me!
This one spooks me. It's got an ominous feel to it. What child leaves her home in the middle of the night when it's just above freezing, raining, and while not wearing appropriate winter clothes? Something about this feels deeply wrong.
I never heard of this case. Someone knows something.
Thank you.
Peace 💕🇺🇲
Thanks for another interesting story and analysis, Grande. There are so many and your input on them means a lot.
So many great videos. Can’t wait for the next one. Meanwhile, this one sounds like an unbelievable situation. Let’s do this.
The chances she stumbled into a child killer has to be incredibly low. And it's not just that, all the non-child killer citizens she runs into are likely to get involved seeing a 9yr old girl walking around in the middle of the night. If not actively trying to get her to go with them for genuine protection for the time being then at least calling the police or whatever. Hell, even the neighborhood dirtbags are likely to help a 9yr old in the middle of the night to some degree.
"Non-child killer citizens" lol, that's a good one.
Crime of opportunity it happens
@@jenanne31 That sounds like a Dr Grande 'gem'....His style seems to be catching!
You would be surprised to know just how many predators are roaming the streets of cities and towns and neighborhoods just looking for an opportunity
Strong logic
Thank you for sharing this story. Often these types of stories are no covered as much 🙂
Great job Dr Grande!!!
Oh, how sad 😭💔
Thank you for uploading this
Can you do the Terrance Woods jr case?? It’s one of the stranger cases I’ve seen.
I’m so excited to watch your analysis!!! This case haunts me …. I heard about it a year or so ago. I still think about it.
Love you Dr Grande!
Thank you for profiling this case!! I never want this girl to be forgotten.
Such a sad and mysterious case. Excellent analysis, Dr. Grande! ❤️
Is there something else about this case that would exclude one or both of the parents' involvement being theory #6? I see from some of the comments that they were interviewed, so presumably they were eliminated as suspects, but it would not be the first time that everyone including family, friends and community were blindsided by the fact that this was the case. Understand that I am NOT accusing them, merely putting forth a theory.
I think that she was spotted by two different truck drivers walking along the highway alone is probably what excludes them.
@@LoremLipsumz This still leaves the question of why she would've been walking down the highway in the first place, especially without a coat or whatever. It nearly totally rules out grooming.
Such a sad, sad story. Poor Asha. I can't even begin to imagine what she went through. It's so heartbreaking. 💔 Dr. Grande, we need an analysis on all of this Ezra Miller madness that's going on. Keep up the great work my friend! 🙌
This case is in my top 5 strange cases that I wish we're finally solved. Reminds me of the Andrew Gosden case too which is also on my top 5.
Dr. Grande... This case is a sad mystery; and, a perfect example of why I enjoy walking through these analyses with you. I had never heard of this young girl, but as always you covered the case in great detail. Now we can only hope she miraculously survived, is a 20-something young woman and will be found alive and well (perhaps through DNA).
Dr. grande, I’m so glad you did this episode on Asha. I live in Charlotte and have always wondered about her.
What really disturbs me is why the police search was so short. This is why people complain that little black girls dont get enough attention when they are missing. I have an 11 year old niece and could not imagine her being brave enough to go outside at 2am on her own. Most little girls are afraid of the dark. And a 9 year old well behaved little girl that seems very unlikely. I think her being taken from her bedroom is possible! I had a break in my house when i was younger and my stupid uncle didnt wake up even though they climb in through his window! His room was the only one on the main floor so the rest of the house didn’t hear anything. The whole family was dumbfounded, luckily he just took a few things and left! I definitely think a small child would also have a hard time being so quiet.. and was she walking around the house in the dark,? Was the lights left on by her in the morning? Sometimes these investigations really bother me, as someone who has delt with family tragedies ive seen first hand how some detectives miss alot of details and just come up with the easiest explanations, i would’ve immediately hired a private investigator, sometimes you have to. I pray she wasn’t sold into sex trafficking and is ok
Thanks once again Dr. Grande. You help to keep me balanced . I can't imagine not knowing where my child or grandchild is !! This is tragic .
Good morning Dr. Grande. I really appreciate that you still have humor in spite of the horrendous circumstances. I personally find missing children to be the biggest nightmare any parent could endure. Love the checks.
I think something happened in that bedroom before 2 am. Then it was all downhill after that. I have always suspected someone in the house did something just like I do with the JBR case, in my opinion a lot of the other things are red herrings.
Exactly.