Authorities have arrested a mother accused of fraudulently collecting her missing daughter’s food stamps for nine years, according to police.
Shannon Anderson, identified as a homeless registered sex offender, faces charges of felony food stamp fraud. She allegedly claimed benefits intended for her daughter, Jodie “Brooke” Anderson, who disappeared from a Nashville restaurant at the age of 18, as reported by WSMV.
“Your baby’s missing, and you’re capitalizing by going and drawing government benefits that our vets can’t even get,” Brooke’s aunt, De’Anna Anderson, expressed to the outlet.
“That’s unacceptable.”
Brooke was reported missing in June 2018 after she and her mother—both homeless and struggling with drug addiction—visited a Jack in the Box.
Shannon, 51, was the last person to see her daughter before she disappeared. She went to the restroom and returned to find Brooke missing.
The daughter was not officially reported as missing until August 2018, during Shannon’s incarceration, according to her aunt.
The investigation had stalled, but De’Anna hopes Shannon’s recent arrest will renew interest in Brooke’s disappearance.
“I was hoping for years we would find her, but everything points to murder,” she stated, suggesting that Brooke’s lifestyle might have led to her being killed.
“Finding her would take a huge load off of me and finding out what happened. Then I would want justice. If I said I didn’t, I’d be lying.”
Shannon once held positions at the Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk’s Office and as a school bus driver before her life was disrupted by drug use.Â
She is currently homeless and has an extensive criminal record dating back to 2013. This includes a 2017 charge for promoting prostitution, which led to her being listed on the Tennessee sex offender registry, according to court records.
Shannon remains in custody on a $22,000 bond, facing seven charges related to food stamp fraud, violating her sex offender registration, and failure to appear in court.
