New search warrants in connection with the disappearance of 9-year-old Asha Degree were made public on Monday, and investigators said for the first time that they believe she was killed and concealed. Asha has been missing since Feb. 14, 2000, after her parents said they woke up and found her gone from their home in Shelby.

Degree’s backpack was discovered more than 30 miles from where she was reportedly last seen about 17 months after she went missing. The girl’s belongings were “wrapped in two sealed black plastic garbage bags” and were found along North Carolina Highway 18 near Morganton, court documents read Monday.