US: Asha Degree, extremely bizarre disappearance - update

Asha was a young girl who packed a bag and walked out of her North Carolina home in the middle of the night back in February 2000, never to be seen again. It was stormy, awful weather, and she was dressed lightly for the conditions. Forget all the things you'd assume (it wasn't family, she didn't have internet - she was only nine, her circumstances were good - loving parents who kept a very close eye on her, quiet neighbourhood, she was a well behaved kid). It's an utterly baffling mystery.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5zLIi975kob08F3lZhT5WR?si=b6XLDAZOS4iJb1p-DLz4fg

I don't think it mentions that among Asha's belongings found in a barn, there was a photo of a little girl about the same age - whom it's speculated was maybe a fake "pen pal", to lure her out that night. But how could she have conducted the pen pal correspondence without anyone knowing…?

https://prosecutorspodcast.com/2021/02/16/an-enhancement-of-the-mystery-asha-degree-photo/

Police circulated the photo but nobody came forward, even to say they recognised her.

Anyway, unusually for these extremely strange cases, there is an update:

https://youtu.be/fIuJiSQLEvE?si=oSDCxnOdKkwBx1yO

Mantis Toboggan

Sounds interesting, I've downloaded a podcast on it, must check it out.