CONTENT WARNING: This article contains references to violence, racism, hate crimes, and murder One of the saddest episodes of Netflix's "Unsolved Mysteries" is that of Alonzo Brooks (open in new tab). Alonzo Brooks was killed in what his family believed was a hate crime after his friends accidentally left him at a party venue an hour away from where he lived. Sixteen years later, the FBI is interested in the case and, as of mid-June, is offering a $100,000 reward (opens in new tab) for information leading to an arrest.

Interviews were conducted with people who attended a party in the rural, predominantly white town of La Cygne, Kansas, at the time, but apparently yielded no productive information.

After a fruitless police search, Alonzo's family was given permission to search the area a month after his disappearance and found his body within an hour. At the time, the coroner ruled Brooks' death undetermined, but according to an interview in the episode, one of the problems was the advanced decomposition of the body.

Brooks' mother, Maria Ramirez, recently reiterated that she believes this was a hate crime. 'I am Mexican and his father is black. 'So he is mixed race. He didn't target just one race. They didn't kill one race. They killed two people. He was targeted because of the color of his skin."

According to an NBC News article (opens in new tab), U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister learned of the case from "Unsolved Mysteries. He said, "It doesn't make sense to think that Alonzo's death was a suicide or that he somehow accidentally fell into a relatively shallow creek in Linn County, leaving behind his boots and hat, with no witnesses."

"The time to reveal the truth has passed. The code of silence must be broken. Alonzo's family deserves to know the truth and it is time justice is served."

"Sixteen years have passed, and we hope that as this time passes, someone with information will come forward," said FBI agent Leena Lamanna. 'Some of these children, who are now adults, may have been too scared to come forward before, some may not have known what they saw was important. But any information is important and can be a necessary piece of the puzzle to solve this case."

The DOJ and FBI are working together and have received several tips and are following up on several leads. According to the producer of the unsolved mystery, they have also received several leads (open in new tab) that they believe to be reliable and are passing them on to the authorities.

Alonzo would have been 40 in May. Anyone with information about this case can call 816-512-8200 or 816-474-TIPS or submit information online at tips.fbi.gov.