On May 1, 2004, the body of Alonzo Brooks was found in
La Cygne, Kansas
La Cygne (pronounced ) is a city in Linn County, Kansas, United States, and situated along the Marais des Cygnes River. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,050. The city is named after the Marais des Cygnes River which is ...
, about a month after he was reported
missing
Missing or The Missing may refer to:
Film
* ''Missing'' (1918 film), an American silent drama directed by James Young
* ''Missing'' (1982 film), an American historical drama directed by Costa-Gavras
* ''Missing'' (2007 film) (''Vermist''), a Bel ...
after April 3, 2004.
Background
Alonzo Tyree Brooks was born on May 19, 1980, to Billy Brooks Sr. and Maria Ramirez. A native of
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka ( ; Kansa language, Kansa: ; iow, Dópikˀe, script=Latn or ) is the Capital (political), capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the County seat, seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the ...
, Brooks was of
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
and Mexican descent. At the time of his disappearance, he was 23 years old and working as a custodian for Countryside Maintenance in
Gardner, Kansas
Gardner is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, Johnson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 23,287. It is located inside of the Kansas City metropolitan area.
History
Gard ...
.
Disappearance
On April 3, 2004, Brooks traveled with three friends to a party in La Cygne, approximately south of Gardner. While at the party, racial slurs were allegedly uttered toward Brooks, possibly igniting tension between Brooks and the other individuals. As the party continued, Brooks's friends left the party at La Cygne at different times, accidentally leaving Brooks behind due to a perceived misunderstanding on how he would be getting a ride home to Gardner. The next day Brooks did not return to Gardner and was deemed to be missing.
Investigation
Following the night of the party, the Brooks family traveled to La Cygne to search for their son and contact the local authorities. Eventually, the Linn County Police Department turned the case over to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation after failing to locate Brooks. Both the KBI and FBI were unsuccessful in locating Brooks.
On May 1, 2004, the Brooks family was allowed to search the property for their son. On the first day of the search effort, Brooks' body was found on the banks of
Middle Creek adjacent to the house where he was last seen a month earlier.
Postmortem examination indicated that Brooks did not have any broken bones, any signs of blunt force trauma or injury, nor any of the biological signs of drowning in his lungs.
Consequently, the pathologist could not determine a cause of death.
On June 11, 2020, the FBI reopened the cold case and issued a $100,000 reward for information related to Brooks' death.
FBI determines homicide
Brooks's body was exhumed in July 2020 and transported to Dover Air Force Base for an autopsy and further investigation by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner. The examiner concluded in their report that Brooks's death was due to homicide.
Acting U.S. Attorney Duston Slinkard stated that while the FBI knew that Brooks died under very suspicious circumstances, the autopsy ultimately proved that his death was not an accident. Additionally, Slinkard stated that the FBI is doing everything that they can and that they will spare no resources in order to bring justice to those who were responsible for Brooks' death. In the autopsy, examiners stated that there were injuries that would not be consistent with decomposition.
Media
On July 1, 2020, Brooks' death was featured in the fourth episode "No Ride Home" of the
fifteenth season of ''
Unsolved Mysteries
''Unsolved Mysteries'' is an American mystery documentary television show, created by John Cosgrove and Terry Dunn Meurer. Documenting cold cases and paranormal phenomena, it began as a series of seven specials, presented by Raymond Burr, Karl ...
'' TV series. On November 16, 2020, Unsolved Mysteries stated the FBI had learned of a second party in La Cygne the night Alonzo Brooks disappeared. Attendees left the party after a fight broke out, then headed to the farmhouse where Alonzo was last seen.
See also
*
List of solved missing person cases
Lists of solved missing person cases include:
* List of solved missing person cases: pre-2000
* List of solved missing person cases: post-2000
See also
* List of kidnappings
* List of murder convictions without a body
* List of people who dis ...
*
List of unsolved deaths
This list of unsolved deaths includes well-known cases where:
* The cause of death could not be officially determined.
* The person's identity could not be established after they were found dead.
* The cause is known, but the manner of death (homi ...
*
Deaths of Arnold Archambeau and Ruby Bruguier
Just before dawn on the morning of December 12, 1992, Arnold Archambeau and Ruby Bruguier, aged 20 and 18 respectively, left a car Archambeau had been driving following an accident at an intersection near Lake Andes, South Dakota, United States. ...
, South Dakota couple's bodies found in 1993 near where they had disappeared from following a car accident three months earlier; cause of death determined to be exposure but police believe they died elsewhere and the bodies were moved back there.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Alonzo
2000s in Kansas
2000s missing person cases
2004 controversies in the United States
2004 deaths
2004 in Kansas
African-American history of Kansas
African-American-related controversies
Black Lives Matter
Deaths by person in Kansas
Formerly missing people
Law enforcement in Kansas
Linn County, Kansas
May 2004 events in the United States
Missing person cases in Kansas (state)
Race and crime in the United States
Unsolved murders in the United States