La Cygne is a city located in Linn County, Kansas. It has a population of just over 1000, It is situated in eastern Kansas and definitely has that small-town atmosphere. One notable feature is the La Cygne Generating Station, a coal-fired power plant that provides electricity to the region. The plant is one of the area's largest employers and significantly impacts the local economy. The city is also close to the La Cygne Reservoir, a popular outdoor spot for fishing and boating. The reservoir offers recreational opportunities. The main occupations in this town involve physical labor, so La Cygne is generally considered to be a blue-collar town. I thought it was interesting that the average commute for the residents of La Cygne is, on average, almost 34 minutes, which is quite a bit over the national average. I couldn't get the crime stats from neighborhood scouts like normal, but I did find that this town is relatively safer than most others. La Cygne has a violent crime rate of 15.6. (The US average is 22.7) and property crime is 22.4. When The US average is 35.4. However, in 2004 a young black man was at a party in this small town and never made it home alive. That is why we are navigating advocacy in Ly Cygne, Kansas, this week.

Alonzo Brooks was born on May 19, 1980, to parents Billy Brooks Sr. and Maria Ramirez. He was the youngest of five children in this family. He was born quite a few years after his four older siblings, so to say he was the baby of the family is an understatement. Alonzo grew up in Topeka, Kansas, and then, in his early 20s, moved to Gardner, Kansas, to live by his mother. She moved to this town after the divorce from Alonzo’s dad. Alonzo was 23 years old and working at Countryside Maintenance as a custodian. He was described as a mild-mannered and a good-humored guy. He was a homebody who would much rather hang out with his family than anything else. His mom would admit that she babied him, but that's because he was much younger than his siblings. I tried to find how tall Alonzo was, but from his pictures, he looks like a big teddy bear and he also has these kind eyes that have a softness about him no matter his size. Alonzo liked to watch sports with friends if he was feeling social but loved his lowkey life. So when Alonzo, whose nickname was Zo to those close to him, decided to go to a party with some friends about an hour away, it was weird but also not entirely out of character for this young man. So on April 3rd, 2004, friends Justin, Daniel, and Tyler picked Alonozo up and made their way to La Cygne (la seen). Tyler and Daniel were in a separate vehicle, though. This party would end up having about a hundred people between the ages of 16 and 25. Everyone, including Alonzo, seemed to be having a good time. Still, then there were apparently some people who were upset for the sole fact that Alonzo was a black man, so they started saying racial slurs, and there were reports that there was an altercation between one of these people and Alonzo that had to be broken up. Everything seemed to calm down, and everyone was once again enjoying the party. You know how it is when you get to a party that big you mingle, chat with other people, lose sight of your friends for a bit, then catch back up with them later. This is what was happening with Alonzo and his friends. They were all hanging out but not necessarily together, and eventually, all of Alonzo’s friends would leave for various reasons. Tyler and Daniel leave to go to another party around 12:30, and Justin says he went to get cigarettes but ended up breaking down and not returning. Justin told authorities he called another friend named Adam to ensure Alonzo got a ride home since he wouldn't be coming back to the party. However, this Adam would never find Alonzo, apparently, there were a bunch of misunderstandings and a lack of communication that night, or could it have been something more sinister?

The next day, when a friend calls Alonzo’s house, his mother, with whom he shares the house, answers the phone. She goes to get Alonzo out of his room only to find that he never comes home, and this is very out of the ordinary for Alonzo who was a person that only like to sleep in his own bed. Maria Alonzo’s mother got nervous, so she called a friend from Topeka named Rodney to go back out to the party house with Justin and Alonzo’s brother to see if they could find Alonzo.

While out at this party house, the men search and find one of Alonzo’s boots lying in the grass by the entrance to the property. This is terrifying because why would his boot be out there like that? Next, they find his hat and then the other boot across the road from the entrance.

I have a photo of where these items were located compared to where the house was that we will put on our website. Another friend of Alonzo’s named Dane and another brother named Stuart would go speak to the people inside the house and start asking questions about that night. Those people were less than helpful, saying they didnt know a thing. Maria, after hearing about the items found but no sign of Alonzo, made the official missing persons report with the Linn County Sheriff's Office. Police went out to the house and conducted a search but did not find anything. The KBI, or the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, takes over the case because they have the resources Alonzo’s disappearance needs, such as a canine unit and special investigators. By April 10th, about a week after Alonzo went to that house party, the FBI got involved in his missing person case. 40 FBI agents were assigned to the case. This is awesome; so many times, we hear of certain cases not being investigated the way other cases are, so the fact that this one is getting attention and being taken seriously is honestly how things should be. The reason the FBI got involved so quickly is because it was starting to look like Alonzo could have been the victim of a hate crime that was racially motivated, which would be a federal offense. And one of the reasons they needed so many investigators' help was the large number of interviews they had to conduct. Considering close to 100 people were at the party, that was a time-consuming but necessary process. They conducted aerial searches and ground searches, brought out scent dogs, and even searched large ponds in the area with no sign of Alonzo.

On May 1st, 2004, a large search party was organized with just over 50 participants, mainly Alonzo's friends and family. They went back to where it all started, the house party, and started the search there. Within an hour and a half of searching, Alzono’s family is who stumbled upon his deceased body caught in branches and brush in a creek.

This creek is just 100 yards from the party house. I am sure you guys are shouting while listening to this, asking how they could have had that many people searching for almost a month. With all the tracking dogs, the foot searches, the huge law enforcement presence, how in the freaking world did they not find him. Well, I am asking myself those same questions. This area had been searched before without anyone finding Alonzo. There are theories as to why he wasn't found that I will get into in just a bit, but as far as autopsy and condition of the body, Alonzo was found fully clothed, obviously without his boots or hat on. The family reported there wasn't a strong odor coming from his body, and they also said the cards in his wallet were dry even though the medical examiner said his body was in the water, most likely since the night of the party. The medical examiner would also rule his death undetermined because of the state of decomposition. They were able to say Alonzo didnt have any sign of blunt force trauma and no broken bones, they were also able to determine he didnt drown either. They were unable to determine if he had been strangled because of the state of the body when they found him. So, honestly, there is not much to go on, and sometimes, it is difficult to get resources in a particular case if it is not classified as a homicide.

For the next 15 years, nothing happened in Alonzo’s case, but in 2019 the FBI and the Kansas US Attorney's office reopened the case. With the technological advances over that decade and a half, law enforcement felt they had a decent shot at finding out what happened that night. In June 2020, the FBI announced a $100,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for Alonzo’s death. They also said they had new leads. This is when we learn of a second party that was close to the first party, and apparently, there was some type of altercation at this one as well. That is all we really know about this second party, and it's only because law enforcement was asking for the public's help and for those at the second party to come forward.

On July 22nd, 2020, authorities exhumed Alonzo’s body. I feel like this is a step rarely taken by police because I could only imagine the cost associated with this, and it's not a guarantee that they will find new evidence. However, in Alonzo’s case, they decided it had to be done so a new autopsy could be conducted in hopes of finding new evidence. The remains were sent to Dover Air Force Base for further analysis. This round, they found injuries that wouldn't have been caused by decomposition, and his death was ruled a homicide.

Now, I said I would get into the theories of why Alonzo wasn't found earlier, considering he was so close to the party house in an area that had been searched before. That creek had flooded three times in the 27 days Alonzo was missing. So could he have been dumped somewhere else, and because of the flooding, his body was pushed downstream? His family thinks he could have been kept somewhere and then moved to the creek. They even think it could have been like a cooler or freezer area, considering the state of the body when found. There is an episode of Unsolved Mysteries titled No Ride Home that aired about Alonzo’s case, and in it, friends and family members speak about Alonzo, including Justin, the friend who left him at the party. This is a very intense situation because Alonzo’s mom, Maria, is very upset at Alonzo’s so-called friends, and she can't understand why someone would leave their friend like that. They also say that Justin has changed his story multiple times. I don't know if that is true, but Justin has an alibi for that night. After his car broke down, Justin took out $200 from an ATM and then went to a strip club, where he was later kicked out. In the documentary, Justin stated, and I quote, “It is my fault. I left him. I don't have any right to be angry about anything his family feels about me, and regardless of how Netflix portrayed it and the truth not being shown 100 percent, that doesn't matter either.

'Regardless of the death threats and all the b******t, the fact of the matter is that it gets this back out into the public eye, which will eventually get it solved.'Nothing else matters besides getting 'Zo and his family the justice they deserve.'

So, I want to believe he had nothing to do with this, and he does have to live with the guilt of leaving his friend, but I also can see it from the mother's perspective too. Questioning everyone, even those who were closest to Alonzo. U.S. Attorney STEPHEN MACCALISTER made a statement when the case was reopening. He said, "It is a quiet place of profound sadness to one who knows its history, but no answers are there. I am convinced, however, that there are people who know the answers, people who have been keeping terrible secrets all these years and bearing a horrible burden." First of all, this dude has a way with words. Even though he is not in this position as us attorney any longer, it seems like he was a true advocate for Alonzo. That is where this case stands today. Luckily it's been reopened, and I do suspect police know a lot more than what they are saying.

Sources:

Kansas : Alonzo Brooks

Kentucky : Natasha Fugate Jones

Iowa : Donna Sue Davis