MURDER
CASE #: 2004-1
Alonzo Tyree Brooks
Status:
Open
Date of Offense:
Date of Offense:
Jurisdiction:
FBI
Offense Location:
La Cygne, Kansas
Reward:
up to $100,000
via FBI
Not from STC, Conditions and restrictions apply
Summary:
Alonzo Brooks attended a party at a rural house outside of La Cygne, Kansas, the night of April 3, 2004. When Alonzo didn’t return home from the party, his family called authorities in Linn County, Kansas. The Linn County Sheriff’s Department launched a search. Almost a month later, Alonzo was still missing when his family organized a search party of approximately 50 volunteers. On May 1, 2004, they found his body located in brush in a creek in Linn County.
Vital Statistics
Circumstances of Offense:
On April 3, 2004, Brooks traveled with three friends to a party in La Cygne, approximately 50 miles south of Gardner, Kansas. 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 in 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. Following the night of the party, the Brooks family traveled to La Cygne to search for their son and contacted 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.
Additional Details:
An autopsy was not able to determine the cause of death. Alonzo was 23 years old at the time of his death. He was described as being mild-mannered and a good-humored person. 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. As of 2021, the death of 23-year-old Alonzo Brooks, whose body was found in a Kansas creek in 2004, has been ruled a homicide after his body was recently exhumed as authorities investigated his case as a possible hate crime, according to a new report by a federal forensic examiner.
Case Last Updated:
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