The story of the ‘missing’ Gossip Girl actress Chanel Maya Banks has taken another bizarre turn as her family have doubled down on their claims that the woman found by police in Texas is not her.
Following a two-week search for the star who plays Sawyer Bennett in the hit Netflix show, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) located a 36-year-old in Texas on Monday, claiming they had found the actress unharmed.
The Gossip Girl actress has since revealed that left her family in order to be baptized by Pastor Robert Clancey, who recently preached about the ‘end times’.
But her family have doubled down on the fact they do not believe the woman cops found – or the woman posting online – is Banks.
The star’s cousin, Danielle-Tori Singh took to her Instagram story to share: ‘I have the still from Texas PD body cam footage that was shown to us on Monday Nov 11 at the Pacific Police Station in LA.
‘This is the woman they’re telling us is Chanel. We have told them this is not Chanel. They didn’t listen to us and closed the case.
‘That’s why @ohhheychanel won’t post a video saying she’s safe because it’s not Chanel,’ Singh ended the explanation, after flying in from Toronto to help with the search.
Singh previously said LAPD’s update was ‘fake news’ and that the woman they found and claimed to be Banks is an ‘imposter’.
Chanel Maya Banks’ family have doubled down on their claims that a woman, 36, LAPD found on Monday is not the Gossip Girl star
Banks appeared on three episodes of Gossip Girl in 2009 playing the role of Sawyer Bennett
Banks’ family do not believe the woman found in Texas is the actress. Pictured: Banks’ mom Judy Kumar, 59, and cousin Danielle-Tori Singh
She added that she will continue distributing ‘Missing Persons’ flyers, ABC7 reports.
It comes after Banks took to social media on Wednesday night with a statement in which she made the series of strong allegations against her family.
An Instagram account associated with Banks posted four frames from a notes app screenshot in which she commented on the issues at hand.
It was not immediately clear if Banks penned the posts herself on the account, which is verified and has a total of 70 posts in more than three-and-a-half years, KTLA reported.
Jimenez told the station over the phone that Banks ‘had decided she didn’t want to talk to the family anymore due to past issues that they had’.
She purportedly said on the social media site: ‘My name is Chanel Banks I’m a 36 year old American nobody,’ adding her family members ‘are all so very ‘concerned’ about my current whereabouts.’
Banks, who also appeared on a 2010 episode of Blue Bloods, acknowledged speaking with law enforcement amid the probe into her alleged vanishing.
‘I have met with the Police and verified that not only am I okay, but I’m finally free from my … family,’ Banks said.
She alluded to her religious faith as a factor to cut off contact with some of her relatives.
‘They say, once you’re free in Christ Jesus, you’re free indeed, so I told my husband six days ago I was going to get baptized by one of my favorite pastors Pastor Robert Clancy,’ Banks wrote. ‘He drove me to the airport and then I was off for a week.’
She continued, ‘God said: ‘I’m going to give you some money and I was shocked when it appeared just like He said!’
Banks took to social media on Wednesday night with a statement in which she made the series of strong allegations against her family. Pictured on her TikTok account
Banks’ cousin previously said LAPD’s update was ‘fake news’ and that the woman they found and claimed to be Banks is an ‘imposter’. Pictured: Banks on her TikTok
Banks appeared on a 2010 episode of Police drama Blue Bloods
Banks said God told her to move, so she took a first-class flight ‘to the Promise Land.’
The actress also said she was ‘releasing a clarion call to those in high places who still have a soul and want to keep it in such a time as this. Reach out. Help me.’
Banks said she ‘found out hours before leaving’ that some of her relatives ‘were vehemently pursuing a CONSERVATORSHIP [i.e.] complete legal control.’
She added that ‘there will be no more lies’ and that ‘everything in the darkness must come to light … thus says the Lord.’
Banks ended her statement in saying: ‘PLEASE DO NOT DONATE TO ANY GO FUND ME THAT SAYS I’M MISSING I AM NOT MISSING.’
Relatives of the actress had previously reported her missing, claiming her husband Carlos Jimenez hadn’t been helping them in their search.
Police subsequently said that 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 claims they last heard from her on October 30 when she texted her cousin Danielle-Tori Singh, who is leading the fundraiser for her urgent return.
The actress had been living at an apartment in Playa Vista with her husband of one year before her family members suddenly stopped hearing from her, Singh told ABC7.
Singh claims that a tip led police to a residence in Texas and a woman who identified as Banks answered the door.
The family however, after viewing police body camera footage from the encounter, claim that woman was not Banks.
Authorities in California had carried out four welfare checks at the actress’s Playa Vista property this month alone but Banks was not home on any of the occasions, KTLA reported.
When the family visited the home, they discovered that her belongings were still at the location, including her ’emotional support’ dog and car. However, her phone and laptop were not found.