Brooke Henson went missing from her home in Travelers Rest, South Carolina on July 4, 1999. She had left the house after a disagreement with her boyfriend, Ricky "Shaun" Shirley, who was considered a person of interest in her disappearance due to his criminal record and volatile relationship with Henson. Henson was last seen walking to a store to buy cigarettes, but never returned home.

In 2006, a woman named Esther Elizabeth Reed was discovered to have been using Henson's identity to attend Columbia University in New York City. Reed was a serial identity thief who was arrested in 2008 and sentenced to four years in prison for fraud and identity theft. The authorities believe she had nothing to do with Henson's disappearance and now suspect foul play.

Henson's loved ones say it was uncharacteristic of her to leave without warning and Shirley died in 2019, but the case remains unsolved with a suspect in custody, but not publicly named or charged.