SPARTA, Mich. -- Despite her best efforts to convince the federal government otherwise, the Social Security Administration had Sarah Jewell listed as dead. It created all sorts of problems for her.
The FOX 17 Problem Solvers are happy to report she's 'alive,' and everything else has fallen back into place.
"I don't really know how it's going to work, and I probably won't know until I try to do something. Right now they say it's corrected, and they say I'm alive," the 25-year-old said.
In late April, the FOX 17 Problem Solvers interviewed Jewell after her mother reached out for help.
“Apparently, someone back in November of 2014 had put in, had filed that my social security number was deceased," Jewell said in the April interview.
That entry had a domino effect. The IRS kept her tax return, she couldn't renew her driver's license, and her credit cards canceled automatically.
It even impacted her ability to earn a living as a certified pharmacy technician because it delayed her state license. Nobody from Lansing to Washington, D.C. would help her out.
So the Problem Solvers jumped in and started making phone calls to help bring her back to life. Jewell got a letter from the IRS tax advocate who noted FOX 17's calls in their letter. Congressman Justin Amash and U.S. Senator Gary Peters also reached out to the newsroom to offer assistance.
According to the federal government, Sarah Jewell is now officially alive again.
"I know this wouldn't have gotten resolved as quick as it has without your help," she said.
The Social Security Administration told the Problem Solvers this is rare and doesn’t happen often. (Out 300 million Americans, it happens to roughly 9,000 people per year.) But if you ask Sarah, it was enough to create a lot of headaches for her. Thankfully, Jewell's life is back on track.
