Alonzo Brooks’ Body Exhumed After Cold Case Featured On ‘Unsolved Mysteries'
The body of Alonzo Brooks has reportedly been exhumed from its Topeka, Kansas grave after the 23-year-old’s cold case was featured on Unsolved Mysteries.
Brooks, who is Black, died sometime between April 3 and May 1 of 2004, when his remains were discovered. During the Unsolved Mysteries segment that premiered on Netflix on July 1, witnesses recounted Brooks’ disappearance after he attended a party with three friends in a rural Kansas community.
According to E! News, a Kansas City FBI spokesperson said the exhumation took place on Tuesday (July 21) and it’s one of the first steps in an “ongoing investigation.”
In 2019, the FBI announced they were reopening Brooks’ case, nearly 16 years after his body was discovered in a creek a month after he was reported missing from La Cygne, Kansas. In June, authorities state they are offering a $100,000 reward for information regarding his death.
According to PEOPLE, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said in a statement last month that there should be people who know what happened to Brooks.
"Likely multiple people know what happened that night in April 2004," he said. "It is past time for the truth to come out. The code of silence must be broken. Alonzo's family deserves to know the truth, and it is time for justice to be served."
Brooks’ friends say they left him at the party and the following day his mother reported him missing. A search then ensued.
For a month, authorities searched the surrounding area of where the party took place and were only able to find his boots and a hat. When they permitted Brooks’ family to search the area on their own, they found the 23-year-old’s body the same day. An autopsy couldn’t determine his cause of death.
