A Missouri woman is locked in a battle to prove her existence after being mistakenly declared dead over 15 years ago, reports PEOPLE. Madeline-Michelle Carthen’s life took a turn when she was denied financial aid for college due to her Social Security number indicating her death.

The issue initially arose in November 2006, but Carthen only became aware when her university informed her four months later. CNN stepped in to assist after her story gained media attention in 2007, leading Carthen to discover that her records were stored in a

“deceased warehouse”

at the Social Security Administration in Washington, D.C. She had been added to the Death Master File, a database that catalogs the records of deceased individuals with Social Security numbers. 

This classification resulted in the cancellation of her existence according to the IRS, banks, and Medicare. Investigations suggest that around 12,000 Americans are wrongfully declared dead by the government annually. While the SSA has reached out to Carthen to assist with her case, she has received six inaccurate death letters in the 16 years since the mistake occurred.

Despite reaching out to four U.S. presidents and other government officials, her efforts have been met with limited responses. In 2019, she filed a lawsuit, but it was dismissed on the grounds of sovereign immunity. In 2021, she changed her name and obtained a new Social Security number, but each step forward has been met with setbacks. As a result, Carthen, now 52 years old, has been unable to vote or maintain a steady job for an extended period.

“I’m in Missouri, but I’m back and forth [between here and Tennessee],”

she tells PEOPLE.

“I had to give up my home. I don’t have a place to stay. I can’t get a mortgage… Everything has been stripped from me,”

she says.

“I’m blocked.”

#Clique, what are your thoughts?