Missing ‘Gossip Girl’ Actress Chanel Maya Banks Found Safe And Unharmed

UPDATE: Chanel Maya Banks, a 36-year-old Los Angeles actress who in her 20s appeared in Gossip Girl, Blue Bloods and the 2010 Joel Schumacher feature film Twelve starring Chace Crawford and Rory Culkin, has been found safe and unharmed after news accounts spread word that she’d been missing since October 30.

The latest development in the case has just been reported by TMZ and ABC, both citing law enforcement sources. Foul play is not suspected in the case.

Banks performed under the name Chanel Farrell in the 2009-2010 TV appearances. In Gossip Girl, she played the recurring character Sawyer Bennett.

According to family members, Banks, who has been living in the Playa Vista area of L.A., had not been heard from since October 30. Law enforcement conducted welfare checks at the apartment Banks shares with her husband but could not locate her.

On a GoFundMe page, Banks’ cousin Danielle-Tori Singh wrote that two such welfare checks were undertaken – on November 7 and November 8 – and Banks was not in the apartment. According to Singh, Banks, who has pivoted from acting to writing in recent years, has been married for one year.

According to Singh, “On November 10 my aunt and I were able to get into the apartment and all of her belongings are still there. The only items we did not locate are her phone and laptop. She also does not go anywhere without her little dog, which also has been left behind. She also does not have her vehicle because it’s parked in her garage. She would NEVER go anywhere without telling her mom or myself.”

Banks’ cousin notes that the actress’ husband has told the family that Banks “does not want to be found” and that “she will reach out when she’s ready.”

The family, Singh writes, has been told by the LAPD that they found no signs of foul play.

Singh writes that the family has resorted to GoFundMe because they “need money for hotels, food, rental car and gas. We are not from Los Angeles. I flew in from Toronto, Canada and her mom flew here from New York. Chanel has no family or friends here and would NEVER go somewhere without telling her mom. Please help us find my cousin.”

In an interview with Los Angeles’ ABC7 Eyewitness News, Singh said, “Five days without hearing from my cousin is red flags and alarm bells. 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.”