Nashville Mom Arrested, Accused of Using Identity of Daughter Who Has Been Missing for Nearly 9 Years

A Nashville woman was arrested on Wednesday, May 27, after she was found to allegedly be using her missing daughter’s identity to collect food stamp benefits.

NBC affiliate WSMV reported that Shannon Anderson, 51, was charged with felony food stamp fraud for allegedly posing as her daughter, Jodie “Brooke” Anderson, who has been missing for nearly nine years.

Brooke was reportedly 18 when she was reported missing on August 9, 2017. Her aunt, De’Anna Anderson, told the news outlet that she was last seen with her mother at a now-closed Jack in the Box fast-food restaurant. When Shannon went to the bathroom, Brooke was apparently gone and has been missing ever since.

“They waited from June until August to report her,” De’Anna told the local news outlet. “That’s a lot of wasted time.”

“I was hoping for years we would find her, but everything points to murder,” De’Anna said, explaining that Brooke and Shannon were apparently homeless and addicted to drugs at the time.

Metro Nashville Police said, per WSMV, that Shannon was incarcerated when Brooke was reported missing.

“Your baby’s missing and you’re capitalizing by going and drawing government benefits that our vets can’t even get,” De’Anna said of Shannon. “That’s unacceptable.”

Shannon also faces charges related to sex offender registry violations, police said.

She is listed on the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry, where it says that she was found guilty of promotion of prostitution. The offense dates back to 2017.

According to WSMV, Shannon remains in custody on a $22,000 bond on all seven charges.

It is unclear if she has entered a plea on the latest charges.