The mystery over the fate of a young actress who appeared in several episodes of “Gossip Girl” and on “Blue Bloods” became more confusing Wednesday amid reports that she had been found safe in Texas, but her cousin who has been spearheading search efforts insisted the woman is still missing.
Chanel Maya Banks, 36, who lives in Playa Vista, was reported missing Nov. 8, with her family reporting that their last contact with her was on Oct. 30. According to a GoFundMe page established by Banks’ cousin, Danielle-Tori Singh, a series of welfare checks were made at her apartment on Nov. 7-8, but she was nowhere to be found.
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Police Department stated that the agency had been notified by authorities in Texas that Banks had been found safe. An LAPD representative told City News Service there was no crime involved, and the case has been classified as closed.
Once media reports began circulating that Banks had been found, Singh took to social media Wednesday, posting an 8-minute video on Facebook denouncing the reports and insisting that her cousin is still missing.
She said a woman was located in Texas apparently in possession of a “10-year-old expired New York City driver’s license” with Banks’ name on it. But Singh said the woman is not her cousin.
“Please don’t stop looking for my cousin,” she said in the video. “… My cousin has not been found. Please continue looking for her.”
Singh said she has seen video and audio from body cam footage showing the woman found in Texas, and she insisted it is not Banks. She said the woman in the video “could not answer one personal question, not about our family, not about herself.”
The GoFundMe page established by Singh to help bankroll the search effort had raised more than $4,100 as of Wednesday morning.