‘Gossip Girl’ actress Chanel Banks found after missing for days, claims long-term abuse by family members

Actress Chanel Banks – who appeared in shows such as Gossip Girl, Blue Bloods, and Twelve – was reported missing by family members after not being in contact with her since Oct. 30.

Based on information shared on a GoFundMe page created by her cousin, Danielle-Tori Singh, authorities went to Banks’ apartment in Playa Vista, Los Angeles, to conduct welfare checks twice on Nov. 7, and then again twice on Nov. 8, but she was not there. On Nov. 10, Singh and an aunt gained access to Banks’ apartment and found the place undisturbed. Her vehicle was still at the parking garage, and her dog was also left behind, which was unusual. The only things they confirmed missing from the apartment were Banks’ phone and laptop.

Singh, who describes 36-year-old Banks as “like a big sister” to her, flew from Toronto to aid in the search. “She doesn’t go more than 48 hours without speaking to me or her mom,” she told the news. Furthermore, Singh claims that Banks’ husband of one year, Carlos Jimenez, was not helping in the search for his wife nor cooperating with the police, only stating that her wife “does not want to be found” and will contact her family once she’s ready.

On Nov. 13, an LAPD spokesperson told People that Banks had been found in Texas on Nov. 11 and the case was closed. “She is fine. No danger. She is OK. She has been taken out of the missing person system for us and we have closed our investigation,” the spokesperson reported.

There are conflicting statements between the parties

Investigators had bodycam footage of them knocking on a home in Texas and Banks answering the door. The encounter was shown to Banks’ family to let them know that she was alive and well. However, Singh said it was “fake news” and refused to believe the woman in the footage was her cousin.

Banks released an official statement to True Crime News via FaceTime. The outlet confirmed her identity via her driver’s license, which she willingly showed as proof that she was Chanel Banks. In a written statement, Banks claims that she has been “silently carrying the pain of the ritual… abuse, manipulation, and outright endless torment” at the hands of her family since she was a “defenseless baby.” She also said they manipulated and gaslighted her, even going as far as falsifying government documents to show she was struggling with her mental health whenever she attempted to leave.

Banks explained what happened during her absence, saying that she wanted to be baptized by one of her favorite pastors, the reason she left her home. Additionally, her husband knew her plans and was even the one who drove her to the airport. “For 36 crushing years, I’ve had to endure the most abominable abuses,” she wrote, stating that her cousin’s and mother’s statements to the press were lies. “I have not spoken to Danielle in over 15 years much less every day or 48hrs as they’ve perjured,” she wrote. 

Toward the end of her statement, Banks said right before she left, she discovered her family — as well as her husband’s — was “pursuing a CONSERVATORSHIP ie complete legal control to silence me.” Jimenez has since talked to NBCLA in a phone interview and confirmed Banks’ statement, except for the part involving his own family. Before his wife left, she explicitly told him not to tell her family and the police where she was. He was also shown the bodycam footage and photos of the woman found in Texas and verified that it was Banks. As of writing, Banks’ family members have not responded to the allegations against them.