In 2004, 23-year-old Alonzo Brooks never returned home after attending a party just outside rural La Cygne, Kansas. While he had gone with a friend, the friend had gotten lost after driving around for cigarettes — he told Alonzo to go home with another friend. The next day, Alonzo's family grew concerned that he had not come home. Soon, they discovered his hat and boots by the farmhouse where the party took place.
A month later, his family and friends found his body in a creek near the farmhouse after organising a search party. No cause of death was ever determined, but his family believe that his death was racially motivated — Brooks was one of three Black people at the predominantly white party. Witnesses reported racial slurs, threats, and fights targeted at Brooks the night of his disappearance. There were even rumours that people resented Brooks's presence at the party.
The FBI is investigating the case as a "potential racially motivated crime." There is now a $100,000 reward being offered for information in connection with Brooks's death.