CLEVELAND COUNTY - A number of Division of Community Corrections officers recently assisted a task force searching for a Cleveland County girl who remains missing since her disappearance February 14. The officers from the 4^th Judicial Division have been commended by DCC Director Robert Lee Guy for helping in the ground search for 9-year-old Asha Degree, as well as searching prior offender records and checking out all residences of known sex offenders in the area.

"The tireless hours you spent working with the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Department, the State Bureau of Investigation, the FBI, and the family of Asha Degree is a profound demonstration of dedication to duty and commitment to community," stated in Guy’s commendation letter. "Our efforts serve as an excellent example of community policing and our community corrections strategy at its best."

The officers say they are very concerned for the family and really wanted to help. "We thought of it as more than just our job," said Mickey Bland, Judicial District 27B Manager. "It was no small task, but I am proud our staff assisted in this community policing effort. It shows how much can be done and it saved other law enforcement departments a lot of manpower hours."