Chanel Maya Banks has broken her silence after being found safe after having been declared missing.
Texas police have confirmed that the former Gossip Girl actress – who was deemed missing in Los Angeles two weeks ago – has been found safe and sound.
Members of Banks’ family had flown in to search for her after growing concerned that no one had heard from her since October 30, her cousin Danielle-Tori Singh previously told ABC 7 Eyewitness News.
“Five days without hearing from my cousin is red flags and alarm bells,” Singh told the outlet. “She doesn’t go more than 48 hours without speaking to me or her mom… That girl is more like a big sister to me.”
She also added that she had an inkling “something was up.”
After a two-week search, the Los Angeles Police Department managed to locate the 36-year-old in Texas on Monday.
Though they did not give further details about what she was doing when she was found, they confirmed that there was no foul play in her disappearance and that she was in good health.
However, her family did not seem to be convinced.
Singh stated that the LAPD’s update was “fake news” and that the woman is an “imposter”, adding that she will continue distributing missing persons” flyers, ABC7 reports.
On Tuesday, Singh said that police turned up to show body camera video of an encounter they had with Banks but according to Singh, the woman in the footage was not Banks.
She stated that her cousin did not look like that the last time she was seen on a FaceTime call.
“This is the woman they’re telling us is Chanel,” she said in an Instagram update. “We have told them this is not Chanel. They didn’t listen to us and closed the case.”
However, in a wild turn of events, Banks has taken to social media to confirm that she is in fact okay.
“As you can see, I am alive,” the actress said in a YouTube Short video, disproving claims by some of her relatives that she was still missing and being imitated by an imposter.
“Interview loading,” she said teasingly said, while she was getting ready with a glam team.
“I heard you were looking for me, now what?” Banks wrote on her Instagram account too, sharing the same video she uploaded to YouTube along with a carousel of behind-the-scenes pictures.
In other posts which have now been put into her highlights, she also hinted at there being some sort of abuse perpetuated against her which led her to “escape” her family.
“I have met with the police and verified that not only am I okay, but I’m finally free from my mother… and her family,” she wrote in the lengthy statement.
She also added that she was now speaking up in order to be a voice for others who are also suffering in a similar situation to her.