Chanel Maya Banks | Source: TikTok/ohheychanel
The cousin of a missing actress has spoken out about the situation and started a GoFundMe page for the entertainer, who got married last year (2023).
UPDATE:
LAPD spokesperson Charles Miller confirmed that Banks was found on Monday, November 11, in Texas and is no longer listed as missing. “No danger. She is OK. She has been taken out of the missing person system for us and we have closed our investigation,” officials
said
.
Previously reported:
Los Angeles-based actress Chanel Maya Banks, who is best known for appearing in the popular show “Gossip Girl,” has gone missing. According to her cousin, Danielle-Tori Singh, she and other family members
last had contact
with Banks on October 30.
Speaking to news outlet KTLA, Singh, who never imagined that her first voyage to the Golden State would be to try to find her cousin,
disclosed
, “The last text we got from her before her phone went off the grid was Oct. 30.” Singh then vowed, “I’m not going to leave California until I find my cousin.”
When five days had passed without Singh hearing from Banks, alarm bells went off. “She doesn’t go more than 48 hours without speaking to me or her mom,”
stated
Banks’ cousin. Singh, who considers Banks a big sister more than a cousin, has made numerous attempts to find the actress.
Chanel Maya Banks celebrating her birthday, posted on August 28, 2023 | Source: TikTok/ohheychanel
According to ABC7 Eyewitness News, the concerned family member has been distributing flyers throughout Banks’ neighborhood — an effort that Singh said has been thwarted by her cousin’s husband. “He is removing flyers off of posts and cars,”
noted
Banks’ cousin.
Chanel Maya Banks’ husband during his birthday celebration, posted on June 14, 2023 | Source: TikTok/ohheychanel
In addition to the flyers, Singh also
started a GoFundMe
page asking for the public’s help with finding her cousin. The page’s description provides more details about the ordeal.
Singh divulged that on November 7 and 8, a total of four welfare checks were performed at Banks’ apartment in Playa Vista, where she was nowhere to be seen. As such, Banks has been assigned an official missing person case number, which is 241414853.
The GoFundMe page also shines a spotlight on Banks’ husband, whom she married in 2023. “Her husband is being uncooperative with police,”
revealed
Singh, who confirmed the same statement to ABC7 Eyewitness News.
Chanel Maya Banks with her husband on their wedding day, posted on November 8, 2023 | Source: TikTok/ohheychanel
Singh also said that Banks’ husband is not willing to assist her or Banks’ mom in locating the actress. Two days after authorities had conducted the last welfare check, Singh and Banks’ mom were able to gain access to the missing talent’s apartment, where all her belongings were, except for her phone and laptop.
Chanel Maya Banks | Source: TikTok/ohheychanel
The cousin and mom noticed other peculiarities as well. “She […] does not go anywhere without her little dog, which also has been left behind. She also does not have her vehicle because it’s parked in her garage. She would NEVER go anywhere without telling her mom or myself,”
explained
Singh.
She went on to
share
, “We noticed on November 10 that her husband has a busted lip and marks and scratches on his neck and arms. Police were called on November 10 and they took pictures of his injuries, which he did not have two days ago when police did the last welfare check.”
Chanel Maya Banks with her husband. | Source: TikTok/ohheychanel
Adding an extra layer of eeriness to the situation, Singh said that when they ask Banks’ husband about the actress’ whereabouts, he maintains that “she does not want to be found,” and “will reach out when she’s ready.”
He also claims that he has neither seen nor heard from her since November 7. However, he failed to alert the police that Banks had gone missing.
“I’m creating this go fund me because we need to hire a private investigator. LAPD have told us because there’s no signs of foul play, and her husband has not committed any crime by with-holding information, there’s nothing they can do until they have evidence or probable cause to arrest him [sic],”
expressed
Singh.
However, KTLA reports that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) confirmed that they are
looking into Banks’ disappearance
.
Singh, who flew to Los Angeles (L.A.) from Toronto, also explained that she and Banks’ family need funds to cover their rental car and gas, food, and their stay in hotels. At the end of her GoFundMe statement, Singh stated that Banks has no family or friends in L.A. and
urged
, “Please help us find my cousin.”
“I can tell you in my soul, in my gut, something is not right… We’re crossing two weeks now without a word, without a sound. Nothing,”
pointed out
the worried cousin.
While Banks is mostly recognized as her character Sawyer Bennet from “Gossip Girl,” which starred
Blake Lively
, Leighton Meester, and Ed Westwick, to name a few,
the actress
has also appeared as Maria Romano in “Blue Bloods.” She also had a role as a woman named Shelly from the 2010 movie “Twelve.”
According to her cousin, Banks had been moving away from acting in recent years. She instead chose to focus on writing.
As her family continues to search for her, Singh wants her cousin to know that
she is loved
and that her family just wants to know that she is safe and free from harm. Our thoughts are with Banks’ loved ones and we hope that they will be able to find her unharmed soon.