WEBVTT 1 00:00:30.519 --> 00:00:34.399 Welcome back to the Pathway Chili. I'm Robin, I'm Jules. 2 00:00:34.600 --> 00:00:38.000 And I'm Ashley. Let's dive right into this week's case. 3 00:00:39.039 --> 00:00:44.759 April third, two thousand and four, Laucine, Kansas, While attending 4 00:00:44.759 --> 00:00:47.640 a party at a farmhouse, twenty three year old Alonso 5 00:00:47.719 --> 00:00:51.439 Brooks vanishes without a trace, and his body is discovered 6 00:00:51.439 --> 00:00:55.280 on the banks of a nearby creek. Nearly one month later, well, 7 00:00:55.280 --> 00:00:59.439 a forensic pathologist is unable to determine Alonzo's exact cause 8 00:00:59.479 --> 00:01:03.159 of death, rumors start circulating that he was a victim 9 00:01:03.159 --> 00:01:05.799 of a hate crime before his body was placed at 10 00:01:05.799 --> 00:01:10.239 that location. In twenty twenty one, after Alonzo's body is 11 00:01:10.280 --> 00:01:13.840 exhumed and given a new autopsy, it is announced that 12 00:01:13.920 --> 00:01:17.519 his death has officially been reclassified as a homicide, but 13 00:01:17.599 --> 00:01:21.159 there are still no conclusive answers about how he was killed. 14 00:01:22.359 --> 00:01:25.959 After that, the path went Chile. So this week we're 15 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:28.000 going to be exploring a case which was featured on 16 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:31.319 the Netflix reboot of Unsolved Mysteries, the two thousand and 17 00:01:31.319 --> 00:01:35.040 four Unexplained Death of Alonzo Brooks, or I guess we 18 00:01:35.079 --> 00:01:38.359 can now officially call it the Murder of Alonzo Brooks. 19 00:01:39.159 --> 00:01:40.879 This is the story of the young man who went 20 00:01:40.920 --> 00:01:44.159 missing after attending a party at a farmhouse in rural Kansas, 21 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:46.560 before his body was discovered on the banks of a 22 00:01:46.599 --> 00:01:50.599 nearby creek nearly one month later. While Alonzo's exact cause 23 00:01:50.599 --> 00:01:53.439 of death cannot be determined, there was no direct evidence 24 00:01:53.439 --> 00:01:55.840 of foul play, but since Alonzo was one of the 25 00:01:55.840 --> 00:01:59.040 only persons of color attending this party in a predominantly 26 00:01:59.079 --> 00:02:02.599 white area, the authorities did explore the possibility that he 27 00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:05.519 was the victim of a hate crime. There was also 28 00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:08.639 some controversy over the fact that the area where Alonzo's 29 00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:11.599 body was found had been extensively searched during the twenty 30 00:02:11.639 --> 00:02:15.240 seven day period he was missing, leading to speculation that 31 00:02:15.319 --> 00:02:18.719 someone planted his body there at a later time. It's 32 00:02:18.759 --> 00:02:22.000 now been over five years since the Unsolved Mysteries Netflix 33 00:02:22.039 --> 00:02:24.840 reboot was launched, and a number of their episodes have 34 00:02:24.960 --> 00:02:27.719 featured cases where a victim's death was officially ruled to 35 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:30.560 be a suicide or an accident, but their loved ones 36 00:02:30.560 --> 00:02:33.319 were certain that they had been murdered and were seeking justice. 37 00:02:33.759 --> 00:02:36.680 One of the biggest criticisms the reboot has received is 38 00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:39.479 that it has often been accused of twisting its narratives 39 00:02:39.719 --> 00:02:43.000 and leaving out key details about these stories which do 40 00:02:43.120 --> 00:02:47.360 point towards the death being suicide or an accident after all. However, 41 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:50.039 the Alonzo Brooks case may be the exception to this, 42 00:02:50.240 --> 00:02:53.919 because shortly after the Unsolved Mysteries episode aired, his body 43 00:02:54.000 --> 00:02:57.560 was exhumed for a new autopsy and new evidence was uncovered, 44 00:02:57.759 --> 00:03:01.000 which led the authorities to officially reclaimed sify his death 45 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:04.199 as a homicide. Of course, this took place just over 46 00:03:04.240 --> 00:03:06.240 four years ago, and there have not been any new 47 00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:09.759 developments in the investigation since then, but at the very least, 48 00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:12.000 we now know that there is an actual crime to 49 00:03:12.080 --> 00:03:15.680 solve and a perpetrator or perpetrators to bring to justice. 50 00:03:16.360 --> 00:03:19.000 The details of how Alonso was killed and how his 51 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:21.080 body wound up on the banks of that creek are 52 00:03:21.120 --> 00:03:23.400 still unclear, so we're going to have a lot to 53 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:24.960 analyze on this episode. 54 00:03:25.840 --> 00:03:28.280 This is so interesting, especially when you talk about the 55 00:03:28.280 --> 00:03:30.719 fact that there was a twenty seven day period that 56 00:03:30.759 --> 00:03:34.199 he was missing and then his body finally shows up 57 00:03:34.240 --> 00:03:38.039 in a place where it was extensively already searched, and 58 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:42.479 he was still ruled a suicide or an unknown death originally. 59 00:03:42.360 --> 00:03:44.400 Just an accidental death like they thought then he might 60 00:03:44.439 --> 00:03:46.840 have been intoxicated and passed out, so they did not 61 00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:50.199 initially suspect foul play, but in recent years they have 62 00:03:50.280 --> 00:03:52.680 officially reclassified it as a homicide. 63 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:56.280 Yeah, that's really interesting because if they had extensively searched 64 00:03:56.280 --> 00:03:58.919 that and this body shows up twenty seven days later, 65 00:03:59.199 --> 00:04:01.439 and you say, well, I bet he was intoxicated and 66 00:04:01.479 --> 00:04:04.000 stumbled off and passed away, there would be so many 67 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:06.599 question marks of how did he get there and was 68 00:04:06.639 --> 00:04:10.479 he intoxicated For twenty seven days, I'm assuming people didn't 69 00:04:10.520 --> 00:04:14.280 really raise suspicion about that search not resulting in a body, 70 00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:17.759 and then twenty seven days later it just happened to 71 00:04:17.759 --> 00:04:20.319 turn up. But that seems like an incredible red flag 72 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:22.759 to me. That says he didn't just stumble away that night, 73 00:04:22.839 --> 00:04:24.240 or he would have been easily located. 74 00:04:24.879 --> 00:04:27.680 As we're going to talk about, this area was extensively searched, 75 00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:30.439 and it seems like a weird coincidence that when Alonzo's 76 00:04:30.439 --> 00:04:33.639 family decided to perform their own independent search of the property, 77 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:37.279 that's when the body magically turns up, which questions wasn't 78 00:04:37.279 --> 00:04:38.439 really there the whole time? 79 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:40.920 This one really stuck with me when I saw it 80 00:04:41.040 --> 00:04:44.399 on Unsolved Mysteries, and I think, Ashley, it's going to 81 00:04:44.439 --> 00:04:46.560 stick with you if you haven't already seen it, just 82 00:04:46.680 --> 00:04:50.800 because of so many bizarre elements and the fact that 83 00:04:50.879 --> 00:04:54.639 Alonzo was a black man, and how a lot of 84 00:04:54.680 --> 00:04:57.639 the people that he was dealing with that evening were white, 85 00:04:57.680 --> 00:05:01.000 and so there's a race element that kind of underscores 86 00:05:01.079 --> 00:05:02.000 this entire case. 87 00:05:03.839 --> 00:05:06.279 Actually, I know you've watched the Unsold Mysteries reboot. Do 88 00:05:06.319 --> 00:05:08.079 you recall watching this episode? 89 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:11.439 I vaguely remember, I think seen an episode. I want 90 00:05:11.480 --> 00:05:13.199 to say he was wearing a flannel shirt walking up 91 00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:15.279 to the house party or something like that, But I 92 00:05:15.800 --> 00:05:18.720 don't remember this case in the specifics. I really don't 93 00:05:18.759 --> 00:05:21.639 remember a body not being discovered for twenty seven days. 94 00:05:21.639 --> 00:05:24.439 That alone would raise hairs on the back of my neck. 95 00:05:24.519 --> 00:05:27.560 But I want to say I might have watched it, 96 00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:29.800 but I surely don't recall the specifics. 97 00:05:31.439 --> 00:05:34.639 Our story begins in Kansas in two thousand and four, 98 00:05:35.240 --> 00:05:38.560 and our central figure is twenty three year old Alonzo Brooks. 99 00:05:39.319 --> 00:05:42.560 Alonzo was born in Tapika to an African American father, 100 00:05:42.680 --> 00:05:47.319 Billy Brooks Sor and Mexican mother, Maria Ramirez. He was 101 00:05:47.360 --> 00:05:50.279 the youngest of their five children and described as being 102 00:05:50.399 --> 00:05:53.920 a quote surprise baby since he was born many years 103 00:05:53.959 --> 00:05:57.680 after his brother and three sisters. At some point, Billy 104 00:05:57.800 --> 00:06:01.319 Senior and Maria got divorced and she got remarried and 105 00:06:01.399 --> 00:06:04.800 moved to the town of Gardner, while Alonzo remained into 106 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:07.319 Peka and worked with his father until he was in 107 00:06:07.360 --> 00:06:11.680 his early twenties. He ultimately decided to relocate to Gardner 108 00:06:11.720 --> 00:06:13.959 and move in with his mother and got a job 109 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:18.600 as a custodian for a stepfather's janitorial company. Alonzo was 110 00:06:18.639 --> 00:06:21.600 always described as a home body who loved spending time 111 00:06:21.600 --> 00:06:24.519 with his family. While he was a bit shy, he 112 00:06:24.600 --> 00:06:27.360 was also known for being a very nice person who 113 00:06:27.399 --> 00:06:31.399 got along with everyone and never caused any trouble. On 114 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:34.199 the evening of April third, Alonzo and his circle of 115 00:06:34.199 --> 00:06:37.279 friends made plans to attend a party, as one of 116 00:06:37.319 --> 00:06:40.040 them was leaving to join the military and they wanted 117 00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:43.759 to celebrate his departure. The party would take place at 118 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:47.240 a rural farmhouse on Highway K one fifty two just 119 00:06:47.319 --> 00:06:51.439 outside Lacene, a small town located in Lynn County with 120 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:55.879 a population of around one thousand, one hundred people. Lucene 121 00:06:55.920 --> 00:06:58.800 is forty seven miles south of Gardner, so the group 122 00:06:58.839 --> 00:07:02.279 of friends would travel to party in separate vehicles, and 123 00:07:02.360 --> 00:07:05.279 since Alonzo did not drive, he hitched a ride with 124 00:07:05.319 --> 00:07:09.399 a friend named Justin Sprague. Before he left, Alonzo told 125 00:07:09.399 --> 00:07:12.000 his mother that he would return home later that night, 126 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:14.800 but this would turn out to be the last time 127 00:07:14.959 --> 00:07:18.639 she ever saw him alive. When Alonzo and his friends 128 00:07:18.720 --> 00:07:21.959 arrived at the farmhouse for the party, they apparently thought 129 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:25.079 it would only be a small gathering, but throughout the 130 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:27.600 course of the evening, it's believed that upwards of one 131 00:07:27.680 --> 00:07:30.519 hundred people showed up and trickled in and out of there. 132 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:34.560 The attendees appeared to be between the ages of sixteen 133 00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:38.199 and twenty five, and while Alonzo and his friends recognized 134 00:07:38.199 --> 00:07:40.720 a few of them from Gardner, they did not know 135 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:45.240 most of the people. Regardless, everyone described Alonzo as being 136 00:07:45.279 --> 00:07:48.439 more outgoing than usual at the party, as he drank 137 00:07:48.480 --> 00:07:50.600 a lot of alcohol and appeared to be having a 138 00:07:50.639 --> 00:07:55.199 great time. However, one of Alonzo's friends, Daniel Boone, would 139 00:07:55.279 --> 00:07:58.199 later describe an incident in which he noticed that Alonzo 140 00:07:58.360 --> 00:08:02.120 had gotten into an argument with enough partygoer until Daniel 141 00:08:02.199 --> 00:08:05.759 managed to intervene and pull Alonzo away before the confrontation 142 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:06.759 could get physical. 143 00:08:08.319 --> 00:08:10.519 Okay, so we know a couple things are going on here. 144 00:08:10.519 --> 00:08:12.600 There's a lot of people that they do not know 145 00:08:12.759 --> 00:08:16.480 at this party. Like you said, it's also Alonzo stands out. 146 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:19.079 He's the only black man who's there and there's one 147 00:08:19.120 --> 00:08:23.279 hundred people in this very white farm ruled town. So 148 00:08:23.720 --> 00:08:26.519 are there people at that party who are not welcoming 149 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:29.839 of Alonzo? There's a high possibility of that. Is there 150 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:32.399 also the idea that this person who he gets into 151 00:08:32.440 --> 00:08:35.360 a fuss with wants to get revenge or wants to 152 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:39.519 retaliate against him. What do we know about Justin and Daniel. 153 00:08:39.639 --> 00:08:42.799 They're the two buddies who are mentioned just a second ago. 154 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:46.440 Justin drove him and Daniel is the one helping intervene 155 00:08:46.440 --> 00:08:49.799 in this fight. Did either of them get concerned at 156 00:08:49.799 --> 00:08:51.480 the end of the night when they couldn't find Alonzo. 157 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:54.519 He didn't drive, so they had to know that he 158 00:08:54.559 --> 00:08:55.919 couldn't get home without them. 159 00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:59.679 Well, I'm going to start talking about that momentarily. But Daniel, 160 00:09:00.440 --> 00:09:02.840 Justin and another friend of theirs named Tyler would be 161 00:09:02.919 --> 00:09:06.200 interviewed on the Unsolved Mystery segment, and they provide more details, 162 00:09:06.639 --> 00:09:08.240 and it sounds like there was just kind of a 163 00:09:08.279 --> 00:09:12.159 horrible miscommunication that happened where they assumed that Alonzo was 164 00:09:12.200 --> 00:09:14.240 going to get a ride with somebody else, but it 165 00:09:14.279 --> 00:09:16.480 didn't happen, and then at one point he just seemed 166 00:09:16.519 --> 00:09:19.080 to vanish without a trace. And that's the big mystery 167 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:21.919 is what ultimately happened to him and why did he 168 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:25.919 not turn up until twenty seven days later. So, like 169 00:09:25.960 --> 00:09:28.559 I just said, when the case was featured on Unsolved Mysteries, 170 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:32.159 Daniel Foon and another friend of Alonzo's named Tyler Bogard 171 00:09:32.200 --> 00:09:35.399 agreed to be interviewed. They both discussed leaving the party 172 00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:38.360 at different points throughout the night and saying goodbye to Alonzo, 173 00:09:38.720 --> 00:09:40.440 but said there appeared to be nothing out of the 174 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:43.799 ordinary when they last saw him. Alonzo was supposed to 175 00:09:43.799 --> 00:09:46.000 get a ride home with Justin Sprague, but when the 176 00:09:46.039 --> 00:09:48.720 two friends both ran out of cigarettes, Justin offered to 177 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:51.120 step out and drive somewhere in order to buy some. 178 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:54.519 There's been a lot of dispute about what happened next, 179 00:09:54.600 --> 00:09:56.879 and we'll discuss this in more detail later on in 180 00:09:56.919 --> 00:10:00.000 the episode, but for now, here's the version of events 181 00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:04.159 that Justin shared during his interview on Unsolved Mysteries. According 182 00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:06.960 to Justin, after he drove away from the farmhouse, he 183 00:10:07.039 --> 00:10:09.279 took a wrong turn on some gravel roads and got 184 00:10:09.320 --> 00:10:12.000 lost until he wound up getting his car stock about 185 00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:15.639 thirty minutes away from Lacine. Since Justin did not want 186 00:10:15.679 --> 00:10:17.440 to go to the trouble of finding his way back 187 00:10:17.480 --> 00:10:20.000 to the farmhouse, he used his cell phone to call 188 00:10:20.039 --> 00:10:23.320 another friend of his at the party named Adam. Justin 189 00:10:23.399 --> 00:10:25.879 wanted Adam to tell Alonzo that he had got lost, 190 00:10:26.120 --> 00:10:28.720 and Justin said that he could even hear Alonzo joking 191 00:10:28.759 --> 00:10:32.480 about it in the background. Justin said that Adam promised 192 00:10:32.519 --> 00:10:34.879 him he would give Alonzo a ride home, but for 193 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:38.440 reasons that are still not entirely clear, this never took place. 194 00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:41.840 It seems like Alonzo and Adam lost track of each 195 00:10:41.879 --> 00:10:44.639 other or there may have been a miscommunication of some sort, 196 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:48.559 but Adam wound up leaving without him. Media outlets at 197 00:10:48.559 --> 00:10:50.879 the time reported that a fight took place at the party, 198 00:10:50.960 --> 00:10:53.679 sometimes between two and three am on the morning of 199 00:10:53.679 --> 00:10:56.440 April the fourth, though it could not be confirmed if 200 00:10:56.440 --> 00:10:59.559 Alonzo was involved. In it. They reported that the last 201 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:01.919 time a lot was seen with some time between three 202 00:11:02.120 --> 00:11:04.960 and four am, But what actually happened to him would 203 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:06.879 become a major unsaw mystery. 204 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:10.639 Do you know if that fight that they described was 205 00:11:10.679 --> 00:11:13.720 the same one that Daniel Fune would say had happened 206 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:15.159 with Alonzo that he had to break up. 207 00:11:15.399 --> 00:11:17.639 I don't think so, because this took place a couple 208 00:11:17.759 --> 00:11:21.480 hours after Daniel already left, when apparently none of Alonso's 209 00:11:21.519 --> 00:11:24.320 friends with there, and Alonzo should have been the only 210 00:11:24.360 --> 00:11:27.679 one still there, but it's unclear if he was nearby 211 00:11:27.799 --> 00:11:28.960 when this fight took place. 212 00:11:29.720 --> 00:11:32.320 Interesting, okay, And we know that Justin wasn't even at 213 00:11:32.360 --> 00:11:35.720 the party, so he's excluded from this. Adam is the 214 00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:38.639 one who says he would take Alonzo home. But we've 215 00:11:38.679 --> 00:11:41.000 all been at a party where friend says like, now, man, 216 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:43.759 leave me, I'm going to hang out some more. No, man, 217 00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:46.159 I got another guy who will take me home, and 218 00:11:46.200 --> 00:11:50.480 you leave right against your better judgment. But we're assuming 219 00:11:50.519 --> 00:11:52.600 all the friends have nothing to do with this since 220 00:11:52.639 --> 00:11:56.080 they participated. I'm sure they were cleared by police as well. 221 00:11:56.840 --> 00:11:58.480 Yeah, I know we're going to talk about it later 222 00:11:58.559 --> 00:12:01.919 on that some details about Justin's story would have changed, 223 00:12:01.960 --> 00:12:03.799 but it does sound like he has a pretty solid 224 00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:06.240 alibi which shows that he was nowhere near the house 225 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:09.399 when Alonzo disappeared. And even though these friends have gotten 226 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:11.919 a lot of criticism on social media and read it 227 00:12:11.960 --> 00:12:14.840 for leaving Alonzo behind, I do not believe they were 228 00:12:14.960 --> 00:12:17.320 covering anything up more involved than his death. And I 229 00:12:17.320 --> 00:12:20.200 think they genuinely have no idea what happened to him. 230 00:12:20.519 --> 00:12:23.399 And I think sometimes when stories change, we have to 231 00:12:23.639 --> 00:12:28.200 question why. And it's not always because they're hiding some 232 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:32.200 kind of guilty knowledge. I think it's sometimes, in maybe 233 00:12:32.240 --> 00:12:36.200 the case of Justin here that he received criticism or 234 00:12:37.240 --> 00:12:40.559 people had come up with points like places in his 235 00:12:40.600 --> 00:12:42.960 story where they're trying to poke holes, and so he's 236 00:12:43.080 --> 00:12:48.120 trying to assuage any objections and edit his story ever 237 00:12:48.200 --> 00:12:51.240 so slightly, and that could come off as being deceptive 238 00:12:51.799 --> 00:12:54.840 when he's just trying to appear a certain way when 239 00:12:54.919 --> 00:12:57.080 he thinks that people are saying like, oh, he could 240 00:12:57.120 --> 00:12:59.080 be guilty or he could have something to do with that. 241 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:02.360 Yeah, And I think that's what happened, because as we're 242 00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:04.679 going to talk about, he was probably driving drunk that 243 00:13:04.799 --> 00:13:07.200 night and doing stuff he wasn't supposed to, so I 244 00:13:07.240 --> 00:13:09.600 can see him being motivated to change his story a 245 00:13:09.600 --> 00:13:12.240 bit to pain himself in the best possible light, But 246 00:13:12.279 --> 00:13:15.120 that doesn't mean that he was complicit in Alonzo's death. 247 00:13:16.919 --> 00:13:20.000 So later that morning, one of Alonzo's friends called his 248 00:13:20.039 --> 00:13:23.480 residence and spoke to his mother. Maria had assumed that 249 00:13:23.519 --> 00:13:26.360 Alonzo returned home in the middle of the night, but 250 00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:29.279 when she checked his room, she discovered that Alonzo was 251 00:13:29.320 --> 00:13:32.200 not there and his bed had clearly not been slept in. 252 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:35.879 Alonzo's friend suggested that he might have spent the night 253 00:13:35.960 --> 00:13:40.279 at someone else's house, but Maria immediately became concerned, since 254 00:13:40.279 --> 00:13:42.399 he was out of character for him to do this 255 00:13:42.559 --> 00:13:46.879 without contacting her. When Maria called Alonzo's other friends, she 256 00:13:46.879 --> 00:13:49.799 could not find anyone who could confirm having given him 257 00:13:49.840 --> 00:13:52.759 a ride from the party, and no one seemed to 258 00:13:52.799 --> 00:13:56.559 know where he was. This prompted Justin and some of 259 00:13:56.559 --> 00:14:00.240 Alonzo's other friends to drive back to Lacine. They were 260 00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:03.759 also joined by Rodney English, a childhood friend of Alonzo's 261 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:07.000 from Topeka who had not attended the party who was 262 00:14:07.039 --> 00:14:10.600 concerned about his absence. They proceeded to perform a search 263 00:14:10.639 --> 00:14:13.840 of the area surrounding the farmhouse, but could not find 264 00:14:13.960 --> 00:14:18.000 any trace of Alonzo. A long driveway separated the house 265 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:21.320 from the highway, and while looking around there, Rodney came 266 00:14:21.360 --> 00:14:24.120 across Alonzo's hat and one of his boots in the 267 00:14:24.159 --> 00:14:27.919 ditch across the road. It wasn't long before Rodney found 268 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:30.799 Alonzo's other boot in a ditch on the opposite side 269 00:14:30.799 --> 00:14:34.279 of the road, several feet away. Since these items were 270 00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:36.879 lying out in the open, it did not appear that 271 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:40.440 anyone had made an attempt to conceal them, and Rodney 272 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:44.159 suspected that they were thrown from a moving vehicle. While 273 00:14:44.240 --> 00:14:47.360 Rodney and the rust of Alonzo's friends attempted to continue 274 00:14:47.360 --> 00:14:51.240 their search, a man driving an ATV suddenly showed up 275 00:14:51.279 --> 00:14:54.080 and told them to leave the property. While this was 276 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:57.519 going on, Maria attempted to contact the police and file 277 00:14:57.559 --> 00:15:00.919 a missing person's report for Alonzo, but was told that 278 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:03.600 she would have to wait at least forty eight hours. 279 00:15:04.879 --> 00:15:08.320 Oh goodness, that is so frustrating. I totally understand why 280 00:15:08.399 --> 00:15:11.240 they say that, but it's incredibly upsetting when you think 281 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:14.679 about the circumstances here and Maria saying, my son told 282 00:15:14.679 --> 00:15:16.679 me he was going to be home. He never didn't 283 00:15:16.720 --> 00:15:19.399 show up. His friends said that he was coming home, 284 00:15:19.720 --> 00:15:22.320 and he never showed up. And then you find the 285 00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:25.799 boots scattered in these different places in his hat. I mean, 286 00:15:25.879 --> 00:15:28.320 could someone be intoxicated and be silly and be in 287 00:15:28.360 --> 00:15:30.360 the back of someone's truck or something and just throw 288 00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:33.639 their shoes off. Maybe, But when you look at the 289 00:15:33.679 --> 00:15:37.360 fact that these boots are dispersed these two different areas 290 00:15:37.799 --> 00:15:41.679 and his hat's missing, I wonder if that sent off 291 00:15:41.720 --> 00:15:45.000 alarm belts automatically. My first default would not be some 292 00:15:45.080 --> 00:15:47.799 intoxicated kid just got rid of these things. Where's he 293 00:15:47.840 --> 00:15:49.960 going to walk without his boots? How's he going to 294 00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:52.799 get anywhere without his shoes on? Because if you're in 295 00:15:52.919 --> 00:15:55.600 rural farmland, you're sure not wanting to walk without shoes 296 00:15:55.639 --> 00:15:58.919 for miles or to get somewhere. I would have immediately said, 297 00:15:58.919 --> 00:16:01.039 this doesn't seem right. They're in different. 298 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:05.320 Location, yeah, exactly, because I could see someone becoming drunk 299 00:16:05.440 --> 00:16:08.120 enough to toss off their boots just as a lark. 300 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:11.320 But obviously they're not going to go very far without 301 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:13.879 them walking. So it makes you think either he left 302 00:16:13.919 --> 00:16:15.919 in a vehicle with someone else. But if that's the 303 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:18.840 case where is he because he doesn't really know anyone 304 00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:20.919 from the area, and none of his friends gave him 305 00:16:20.919 --> 00:16:23.840 a ride home, so that's why they were immediately concerned 306 00:16:23.879 --> 00:16:26.039 that it was probably someone else who tossed them from 307 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:29.639 a moving vehicle to dispose of evidence. On April the fifth, 308 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:33.360 Alonzo's brother Billy Brooks Junior and sister in law Cindy 309 00:16:33.759 --> 00:16:37.360 decided to travel to the farmhouse in Lacene. They learned 310 00:16:37.360 --> 00:16:39.399 that the house was a rental and the tenants were 311 00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:41.919 four men in their twenties who were not from the area, 312 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:45.200 but the place was empty when Billy and Cindy arrived. 313 00:16:45.559 --> 00:16:48.399 The identities of these four men have never been released publicly, 314 00:16:48.559 --> 00:16:50.720 but it's been reported that they were evicted from the 315 00:16:50.759 --> 00:16:54.519 house a short time after Alonzo went missing. Billy and 316 00:16:54.559 --> 00:16:58.279 Cindy tried searching through Lacene and the surrounding area for Alonzo, 317 00:16:58.360 --> 00:17:00.799 but cannot find him. No notice that they seemed to 318 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:04.920 draw suspicious looks from the local residents. They finally decided 319 00:17:04.920 --> 00:17:07.440 to travel to nearby Mound City in order to pay 320 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:10.680 a visit to the Lynn County Sheriff's office. Billy and 321 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:13.799 Cindy both spoke with Sheriff Marvin Stites, who did not 322 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:17.400 seem overly concerned about Alonzo's disappearance and said that he 323 00:17:17.480 --> 00:17:21.640 was probably just quote unquote out walking around. Well. Needless 324 00:17:21.680 --> 00:17:24.200 to say, Billy and Cindy did not believe this, since 325 00:17:24.240 --> 00:17:27.279 both of Alonzo's boots were found lying in separate ditches, 326 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:30.839 and he had recently suffered an ankle injury while playing basketball, 327 00:17:31.079 --> 00:17:33.799 which made it difficult for him to walk long distances. 328 00:17:34.599 --> 00:17:37.240 In spite of this, the sheriff's office did eventually agree 329 00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:40.519 to open a missing person's investigation for Alonso, and on 330 00:17:40.559 --> 00:17:42.839 April the seventh, they turned the case over to the 331 00:17:42.920 --> 00:17:46.440 Kansas Bureau of Investigation aka the KBI. 332 00:17:48.039 --> 00:17:49.880 Yeah, when you look here and you have this idea 333 00:17:49.920 --> 00:17:52.680 that he had recently suffered this ankle injury. So in 334 00:17:52.720 --> 00:17:55.680 addition to you're in a place you don't know, you're 335 00:17:55.720 --> 00:17:57.839 in a rural area. This isn't like, oh, we have 336 00:17:57.880 --> 00:18:00.839 these nice sidewalks, you know, and these really lovely places 337 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:03.759 to walk. No, he is miles away from where he's 338 00:18:03.759 --> 00:18:06.519 supposed to be, he doesn't know anybody there, and he 339 00:18:06.640 --> 00:18:09.440 has an injury, and you're telling me that this is 340 00:18:09.519 --> 00:18:13.559 just some drunk kiddo that stumbles away and gets lost 341 00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:17.599 and passes away because of it. Immediately it says, that's 342 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:21.759 not what happened. I don't like the idea that race 343 00:18:21.839 --> 00:18:24.200 could play a role here. You have people who are 344 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:27.640 ignorant and drinking and doing things that you know puts 345 00:18:27.680 --> 00:18:30.359 you in a heightened level. He's already getting into fusses 346 00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:32.359 with people at this party that he does not know. 347 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:35.720 And again with drug with you know, alcohol and maybe 348 00:18:35.799 --> 00:18:38.799 drugs being present. What does that do and how does 349 00:18:38.839 --> 00:18:41.359 that amp up people to feel pretty empowered to do 350 00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:44.720 whatever they want, especially when Alonzo's friends leave him and 351 00:18:44.759 --> 00:18:46.240 he's isolated and alone. 352 00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:49.440 And that's the thing is Alonso is a stranger. He's 353 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:51.759 not from the area, so the majority of people at 354 00:18:51.759 --> 00:18:53.920 that party wouldn't have known him before and may have 355 00:18:54.039 --> 00:18:56.000 just had an issue with the fact that a black 356 00:18:56.039 --> 00:18:58.440 man showed up there. And if he doesn't have his 357 00:18:58.480 --> 00:19:00.920 friends around to protect him, I'm sure the thinking that 358 00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:03.480 he could have gotten himself into some trouble if he 359 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:04.880 was alone. 360 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:06.880 And correct me if I'm wrong, Robin, And maybe we're 361 00:19:06.880 --> 00:19:10.839 going to talk about this later. But wasn't it in 362 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:14.960 the original? Not the original? It's the reboot of Unsolved Mysteries. 363 00:19:14.960 --> 00:19:17.920 But when they talked about the boots, wasn't a big 364 00:19:17.960 --> 00:19:20.559 deal made about the fact that the boots were found 365 00:19:20.680 --> 00:19:23.839 because I think his mom or somebody else had said 366 00:19:23.880 --> 00:19:27.400 something along the lines of these are the only footwear 367 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:30.640 that he wears. He even plays basketball in these boots. 368 00:19:32.039 --> 00:19:34.599 They might have. I don't recall that specific thing, but 369 00:19:34.640 --> 00:19:37.920 apparently they were very distinct. So they're thinking to themselves 370 00:19:37.960 --> 00:19:40.240 that if he's just leaving these laying around in a 371 00:19:40.279 --> 00:19:42.960 rural area, that's just not something that he would do. 372 00:19:43.039 --> 00:19:45.400 So that's why the instantly thought that something bad might 373 00:19:45.519 --> 00:19:46.680 happen to him. 374 00:19:47.799 --> 00:19:52.640 Well, rumors started circulating throughout the area that Alonzo's disappearance 375 00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:56.400 might have been race related, as Lucine was a predominantly 376 00:19:56.440 --> 00:19:59.799 white area and Alonzo was only one of three persons 377 00:19:59.839 --> 00:20:02.920 of color who had attended the party that night. Some 378 00:20:03.079 --> 00:20:06.480 witnesses would claim that after Alonzo's friends left the party, 379 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:10.519 a number of racial slurs and threats started getting tossed around. 380 00:20:11.400 --> 00:20:15.000 Alonzo was supposedly seen flirting with a white girl, which 381 00:20:15.039 --> 00:20:18.720 may have escalated some tensions, and one witness would claim 382 00:20:18.759 --> 00:20:22.640 they overheard someone say that Alonzo quote won't get out 383 00:20:22.640 --> 00:20:26.599 of here alive. Even though Alonzo was known for being 384 00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:30.200 an easygoing guy, his friends believed that he was capable 385 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:32.680 of getting mad and starting a fight if someone used 386 00:20:32.680 --> 00:20:35.960 a racial slur in his presence. For this reason, the 387 00:20:36.039 --> 00:20:39.000 KBI brought in the FBI to assist them with their 388 00:20:39.039 --> 00:20:43.279 investigation and look into the possibility that Alonzo may have 389 00:20:43.359 --> 00:20:46.880 been the victim of a hate crime. They conducted hundreds 390 00:20:46.920 --> 00:20:50.720 of interviews with witnesses who attended the party and extensively 391 00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:53.519 questioned Alonzo's friends who went there with him that night. 392 00:20:54.319 --> 00:20:56.519 So for me, when you talk about the friends, like 393 00:20:56.559 --> 00:20:59.160 you said they had left, at that point, there was 394 00:20:59.240 --> 00:21:02.279 confirmation that these friends had been in communication with one 395 00:21:02.319 --> 00:21:06.359 another that they had left. I was originally suspicious when 396 00:21:06.519 --> 00:21:10.160 Justin says he turned the wrong way, got lost and stuck. 397 00:21:10.640 --> 00:21:12.920 But then when you said that he called back and 398 00:21:13.079 --> 00:21:16.640 asked for people to help organize Alonzo getting home, and 399 00:21:16.680 --> 00:21:19.119 he could even hear Alonzo being silly in the background. 400 00:21:19.359 --> 00:21:21.559 It really relieved a lot of worry I had about 401 00:21:21.640 --> 00:21:26.240