New lead uncovered in death of Kansas man featured in ‘Unsolved Mysteries,’ FBI says

The FBI has uncovered a new lead in the death of Alonzo Brooks, a Kansas man killed in a possible hate crime that was featured in Netflix’s “Unsolved Mysteries.”

Brooks, who lived in Gardner, went to a party with friends at a farmhouse in La Cygne, a small east-central Kansas town, in 2004. The 23-year-old went missing for nearly a month, despite search efforts by law enforcement, before his family discovered his body in a creek near the house within an hour of searching, according to the FBI.

After the case remained unsolved for years, the FBI began investigating it in 2019 as a possible hate crime and Brooks’ death was featured on “Unsolved Mysteries.” A $100,000 reward was announced in June.

Now the FBI has an update in the investigation. On Friday, the agency said investigators have talked to people not previously interviewed in the case and learned of a second party on the April night he disappeared.

“Through interviews, investigators have learned that a confrontation occurred at the nearby party, and many of the attendees left that gathering and joined the party at the farmhouse where Brooks was present,” according to the FBI.

Investigators want to speak with anyone who attended either party.

“Even the smallest bit of information that may seem insignificant standing alone could be vital to the investigators,” the FBI says.

The FBI is investigating the death as a potentially “racially motivated” crime as Brooks was one of only three African American people at the party. The friends who went to the party with Brooks left before him, leaving him with no ride home.

Brooks’ body was exhumed in July amid the investigation. However, the FBI has not said whether any new information was obtained.

This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 4:55 PM with the headline "New lead uncovered in death of Kansas man featured in ‘Unsolved Mysteries,’ FBI says."