Mother accused of collecting food stamps in daughter’s name while she has been missing for nine years, police say

NASHVILLE (WSMV/Gray News) - A mother in Nashville is accused of collecting food stamp benefits in the name of her daughter, who has been missing for nine years.

Shannon Anderson, 51, was arrested Wednesday and charged with felony food stamp fraud for allegedly claiming benefits for her daughter, Jodie “Brooke” Anderson.

Brooke Anderson was 18 when she was reported missing on Aug. 9, 2017.

De’Anna said Brooke was last seen with her mother at a Jack in the Box, which has since closed, where Shannon Anderson said she went to the restroom and returned to find Brooke gone.

De’Anna said both Brooke and her mother were homeless and struggling with drug addiction at the time. She also questioned the timeline of the missing person report.

“They waited from June until August to report her,” De’Anna Anderson said. “That’s a lot of wasted time.”

Metro Nashville Police said Shannon was incarcerated when Brooke was reported missing, which may have contributed to the delay. However, De’Anna said Shannon was briefly out of jail in June 2017 and already knew her daughter was missing.

As the years have passed, De’Anna said she has begun to lose faith that Brooke is still alive.

“I was hoping for years we would find her, but everything points to murder,” she said, adding that Brooke’s lifestyle at the time put her at heightened risk.

De’Anna said Shannon previously worked for the Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk’s Office and as a school bus driver before spiraling into addiction.

Now, she’s disturbed by the new allegations.

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

De’Anna said her priority is to find Brooke alive, if possible, or to recover her remains and bring her home.

“Finding her would take a huge load off of me and finding out what happened,” she said. “Then I would want justice. If I said I didn’t, I’d be lying.”

Shannon remains in custody on a $22,000 bond on all seven charges. She also faces charges related to sex offender registry violations.