TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains references to violence, racism, hate crimes, and murder On April 3, 2004, Alonzo Brooks was headed to a country house party (open with a new tab) outside Racign, Kansas, with friends. His mother, Maria Ramirez, remembers telling Alonzo, the youngest of five children and a "baby," to "watch out." Alonzo's friends were confused about who was taking whom home and accidentally left Alonzo at the party. He never made it home. (Open in new tab) He was only 23 years old. The case was featured in Netflix's "Unsolved Mysteries" reboot, which was released on the streaming service on July 1. Multiple agencies searched the area but found nothing. A month after Brooks disappeared, his family was finally given permission to search the area and within an hour found his body by a nearby creek.

Alonzo's body was decomposing and the coroner ruled his death undetermined.

Alonzo's father said of the search for his son. 'Billy Brooks Sr. said. 'To find my son like that. Words cannot describe the pain."

The tragedy and the ensuing investigation did not lead to charges or arrests of the suspects.

This episode raises the possibility that Alonzo's death was a hate crime. People at the party made racial slurs against Alonzo. His friends, who are white, said in the episode that they witnessed an altercation between Alonzo and another person.

Interviews conducted at the time were fruitless and yielded no information as to Alonzo's whereabouts or what happened to him.

His mother, Maria, believes Alonzo was racially targeted. 'I am Mexican and his father is black. So he is mixed race.' They 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."

Brooks was apparently only one of three blacks at the party, but the episode notes that the party took place in an area that was largely white.

After his death, Alonzo's family created a Facebook page, Justice for Alonzo Brooks, to work on leads and discussion of the case. Kansas-based filmmaker Josh Pratt has also been working on a film and podcast (opens in new tab) about Alonzo for the past few years.

Perhaps most importantly, 16 years later, there is renewed interest in the case (opens in new tab), perhaps thanks to an episode of "Cold Case" The FBI announced on June 11, 2020, that it would reopen the investigation; the FBI has offered a $100,000 reward for information regarding Brooks' death leading to his arrest. A $100,000 reward (open in new tab) is being offered for information leading to the arrest. 21]

"It is not logical to assume that Alonzo's death was a suicide or that he accidentally tumbled into a relatively shallow creek in Linn County and left his boots and hat behind. They are currently following several leads.

Ramirez said, "Somebody knows what happened to my son ...... I think a lot of people know. I only hope that now they have the courage and grace to come forward."

He said.

McAllister stated: "The time for the truth to come out is past. The code of silence must be broken. Alonzo's family deserves to know the truth and it is time that justice is served."

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