x
Breaking News
More () »

Fake Facebook profile claims to be mom who lost family in duck boat accident

One page that was shared on Facebook Monday put up some red flags for the crews in our newsroom who have been covering the story.
One page that was shared on Facebook Monday put up some red flags for the crews in our newsroom who have been covering the story.

ST. LOUIS — We know you all want to help the duck boat victims and their families. Fundraisers are popping up all over social media.

But one that was shared on Facebook Monday put up some red flags for the crews in our newsroom who have been covering the story.

So we asked our Verify team to find out if it was fake.

The Facebook profile shows a woman named Sheila Brown from Concord, Missouri. At first glance, it shows a beautiful family with a devastating story.

"I lost my husband and both of my young daughters in the duck boat accident. I'm weak for words heart has been pulled out pray for me [sic]," one post says.

Another post asks people to show their support.

But everything here isn't as it seems.

When you look closer, this page shows two different women — and different families — in its profile and cover photos. That's odd.

The profile page was also created in July 2018. That's a red flag for the page suddenly appear the same month as this tragedy.

And as for the page’s claims that she lost her young daughters in the wreck, we can verify that’s false.

We checked the official list of the victims. Every victim has been identified and none of them are little girls.

When our Verify team took our concerns to Facebook, they confirmed the person who runs the page isn't who they say they are. Facebook took the page down so no one else would be duped.

Sheila Brown — or whoever she really is — should serve as a warning for all of us to do a little digging before we waste our time or our money on a fake account.

Help VERIFY

Help our journalists VERIFY the news. Do you know someone else we should interview for this story? Did we miss anything in our reporting? Is there another story you'd like us to VERIFY? Click here.

Before You Leave, Check This Out