Summary
Unsolved Mysteries season 1, episode 4, “No Ride Home” brings forward strong hints of a hate crime, bringing recent weeks in 2020 close to home.
This recap of Netflix series Unsolved Mysteries season 1, episode 4, “No Ride Home” contains information on the death of Alonzo Brooks.
How does Unsolved Mysteries, season 1, episode 4, “No Ride Home” open?
Maria Ramirez is the mother of Alonzo Brooks — he was the youngest of her children. He was her heart and they had a strong, tight, relationship. Alonzo’s sister says he was a fun-loving person. Alonzo also loved football. You get the sense early on that this is a sad story.
The Party
The story moves to April 3, 2004. Alonzo Brooks said he was going to a party with his friends. He told his mother that someone is joining the army service so it was a goodbye party. Before the party, Alonzo hurt his ankle. The party was in La Cygne — a tiny Kansas town. Unsolved Mysteries season 1, episode 4, “No Ride Home” hints that something sinister is afoot.
The party was a blast
Everyone at the party was 16-21 — Alonzo was having a good time. Alonzo and friends didn’t know many people at the party. One of his friends notes that Alonzo is usually quiet but this night he was outgoing.
The friends leave the party
At the party, Alonzo and another guy end up in a scuffle that his friends broke them up — some people at the party had a problem with skin color. Most of his friends left the party and Alonzo stayed with Justin. Justin went out to get some cigarettes and went the wrong way and ended up stuck in gravel — Justin asked his friend Adam to give him a ride home.
He didn’t return home
The next day Alonzo did not return home. All the friends ring each other asking where Alonzo is. Rodney English, Alonzo’s best friend, talks about how they used to always hang out and played sports — “He was like a brother to me”. Rodney and Alonzo’s friend try to look for Alonzo and return to the place of the party. They checked the fields and trees near the house — Rodney found Alonzo’s hat and boots.
An all white-dominant town
La Cynge is an all-white dominant town and Rodney asks why Justin left him there. Justin states that Alonzo was having a good time. The sheriff states that they had to get the KBI involved in finding Alonzo and then the FBI joins the investigating — it’s a suspected hate crime. A month later they let the family get involved searching for Alonzo. Unsolved Mysteries season 1, episode 4, “No Ride Home” hints at a racially motivated attack in an obscure part of Kansas.
The body is found
The family search party finds Alonzo down at the creek and he is dead — he was only 23 years old.
Little injuries
There were no penetrating injuries and no real sign of drowning — Alonzo could have been strangled but bugs had eaten away at the soft tissue. The family believes there was foul play. Rumors spread on the internet about what could have happened. Justin heard from the police that a couple more fights happened at the party — Alonzo and a white girl ended up flirting with each other and got too “friendly” and some guys at the party didn’t like it. A reminder that this is in 2004 — 16 years ago — and still many people claim that racism does not exist strongly in society.
How does Unsolved Mysteries, season 1, episode 4, “No Ride Home” end?
It didn’t make sense that the FBI or KBI didn’t find Alonzo’s body with helicopters, dogs, and more resources but the family looked for 30 minutes and found him. His brother noted that his face hadn’t lost his color when they found him and everything on him was intact — wallets and papers. The family believes the body was placed there. What happened in the 27 days they were trying to find him? The brother believes Alonzo was in a meat freezer so he didn’t decompose as fast.
In March 2019, the KBI released a statement — they state there is no evidence that a crime was inflicted on Alonzo and they closed the case. Friends and family believe there is more evidence out there — there were plenty of people at the party. This is a huge blow and a slap in the face for the family. Unsolved Mysteries season 1, episode 4, “No Ride Home” brings forward strong hints of a hate crime, bringing recent weeks in 2020 close to home.
