The story of ‘missing’ Gossip Girl actress Chanel Maya Banks has taken another strange turn as her family has doubled down on their claims that the woman found by police in Texas is not her.
After a two-week search for the star who plays Sawyer Bennett in the hit Netflix series, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) located a 36-year-old man in Texas on Monday, saying they had found the actress unharmed.
The Gossip Girl actress has since revealed that she left her family to be baptized by pastor Robert Clancey, who recently preached about the ‘end times’.
But her family has doubled down on the fact that they don’t believe the woman cops found, or the woman she posted online, is Banks.
The star’s cousin, Danielle-Tori Singh, took to her Instagram Story to share: ‘I have the Texas Police Department body camera still image that they showed us on Monday, November 11 at the Pacific Police Station in Los Angeles.
This is the woman we are told is Chanel. We have told you that this is not Chanel. They didn’t listen to us and closed the case.
“This is why @ohhheychanel won’t post a video saying she’s safe because she’s not Chanel,” Singh finished the explanation, after flying from Toronto to help with the search.
Singh previously said the LAPD update was “fake news” and that the woman they found and claimed to be Banks is an “imposter.”
The family of Chanel Maya Banks has doubled down on their claims that a 36-year-old woman discovered by Los Angeles police on Monday is not the Gossip Girl star.
Banks appeared in three episodes of Gossip Girl in 2009 playing the role of Sawyer Bennett.
Banks’ family does not believe the woman found in Texas is the actress. Pictured: Banks’ mother Judy Kumar, 59, and cousin Danielle-Tori Singh.
He added that he will continue handing out ‘Missing Persons’ flyers, ABC7 information.
It comes after Banks took to social media on Wednesday night with a statement in which she made a series of strong accusations against her family.
An Instagram account associated with Banks posted four frames of a screenshot of the Notes app in which she commented on the topics in question.
It was not immediately clear whether Banks wrote the posts herself on the account, which is verified and has a total of 70 posts over more than three and a half years. KTLA reported.
Jimenez told the station by phone that Banks “had decided she didn’t want to talk to the family anymore because of issues they had in the past.”
She allegedly said on the social media site, “My name is Chanel Banks, I’m a 36-year-old American nobody,” adding that her family members “are very ‘concerned’ about my current whereabouts.”
Banks, who also appeared in an episode of Blue Bloods in 2010, acknowledged speaking to authorities amid the investigation into her alleged disappearance.
“I met with the police and verified that not only am I okay, but I’m finally free of my…family,” Banks said.
He alluded to his religious faith as a factor in cutting off contact with some of his relatives.
“They say that once you are free in Christ Jesus, you are truly free, so six days ago I told my husband that he was going to be baptized by one of my favorite pastors, Pastor Robert Clancy,” Banks wrote. “He took me to the airport and then I was away for a week.”
She continued: ‘God said, ‘I’m going to give you some money and I was surprised when it showed up just like He said!’
Banks took to social media Wednesday night with a statement in which she made a series of strong accusations against her family. In the photo on his TikTok account.
Banks’ cousin previously said the LAPD update was “fake news” and that the woman they found and claimed to be Banks is an “imposter.” In the photo: Banks on her TikTok
Banks appeared in a 2010 episode of the police drama Blue Bloods.
Banks said God told her to move, so she took a first-class flight “to the Promised Land.”
The actress also said she was “issuing a wake-up call to those in high places who still have a soul and want to preserve it at a time like this.” Extend your hand. Help me.’
Banks said she “discovered hours before she left” that some of her family members “were vehemently seeking GUARDIANSHIP (i.e.) complete legal control.”
He added that ‘there will be no more lies’ and that ‘everything that is in darkness must come to light…thus says the Lord.’
Banks ended her statement by saying, “PLEASE DO NOT DONATE TO ANY GO FUND ME THAT SAY I’M MISSING, I’M NOT MISSING.”
Relatives of the The actress had previously reported her disappearance, claiming that her husband Carlos Jiménez had not helped them in their search.
Police later said Banks, a resident of Playa Vista, California, had been located unharmed in Texas on Wednesday and that no foul play was suspected in the now-closed case.
Banks’ family says they last heard from her on October 30, when she texted her cousin Danielle-Tori Singh, who is leading fundraising for her urgent return.
The actress had been living in an apartment in Playa Vista with her husband for a year before her relatives suddenly stopped hearing from her, Singh said. ABC7.
Singh claims a tip led police to a residence in Texas and a woman identified as Banks answered the door.
However, the family, after viewing police body camera footage of the encounter, claims that woman was not Banks.
California authorities had conducted four welfare checks at the actress’ Playa Vista property this month alone, but Banks was not home on either occasion, KTLA reported.
When the family visited the home, they discovered her belongings were still there, including her dog and her “emotional support” car. However, his phone and laptop were not found.