Family of Chantel Brooks Keeps Search Alive With Benefit Concert, Upcoming SF Vigil

A benefit concert in Vallejo brought together Bay Area musicians and supporters Sunday to help fund the search for Chantel Brooks, who went missing in July, as her family prepares for a candlelight vigil outside her former SF workplace. The “Bring Chantel Home Benefit” concert took place at Noble Cinema Studios in Vallejo on Sunday, featuring performances by Bay Area hip-hop artists including Mistah F.A.B., who shared the stage with Brooks' brother Kevin Robinson, a rapper known as Footz the Beast, as KTVU reports . Proceeds from the event will help cover investigative expenses, search supplies, and efforts to keep Brooks's disappearance in the public eye. “Tonight we’re going to be here for my sister, but tomorrow we are still going to be searching for her,” Robinson said, thanking the community and media for supporting the family. Brooks, 37, was last seen on July 17. According to KTVU, she had finished her shift at Hotel Le Nain, a supportive housing complex in San Francisco's Tenderloin, shortly after midnight. Surveillance footage showed her leaving the building around 12:20 am wearing a brown multicolored hat, a red zip-up sweatshirt, gray sweatpants, and brown furry boots. She was subsequently captured on surveillance footage around 1:45 am approaching in her black Infiniti SUV outside the 24-hour CVS on East Travis Boulevard in Fairfield, where she lives. No one has reported seeing her since. SFGate reported last month that the Fairfield Police Department classified the disappearance as suspicious and said in an August 18 update that it believed the case involved foul play. The department reported conducting dozens of search warrants, coordinated ground searches with search-and-rescue resources through the California Office of Emergency Services, and extensive aerial drone searches. No suspects have been publicly identified. Friends have reported a history of domestic violence involving Brooks's boyfriend, who reportedly left town shortly after she disappeared. Her family has hired a private investigator and is also trying to locate her missing vehicle, which was last captured on a Flock camera in Oakland. The family has emphasized that its efforts are intended to assist police with the investigation. Per SFGate, her brother Calvin Robinson described Brooks as a hardworking woman who operated her own business called Glamour House and was passionate about beauty and empowering women. Kevin Robinson, Brooks's other brother, remembered her as the life of the party, someone who naturally brought people together and made sure nobody felt left out. “She would be the one mingling, introducing everybody and making sure everyone was having fun,” he said, speaking to SFGate. The brothers have been particularly concerned that Brooks's disappearance could receive less attention because she is a Black woman. As KQED reports , Black women and girls account for approximately 14% of the US female population but 40% of missing female cases, according to research cited by Hamilton College. Kevin Robinson said he had raised those concerns directly with Fairfield's mayor and police chief. In response, the police department has reportedly been sending the brothers an update on the investigation every Friday. “I want to just keep her face out there and keep her story out there and not, as a Black woman, let her face fade away,” Calvin Robinson told SFGate. The family has received support from people well beyond Fairfield, with volunteers joining search efforts and Brooks's story drawing attention from television personality Nancy Grace and rapper and actor Queen Latifah. One recent search focused on Lagoon Valley Park in Vacaville, after the family learned that Brooks's phone had last registered a location there, as SFGate reports. The 470-acre park includes hiking trails and a lake, and relatives and volunteers searched part of the property in October. The family said the size of the park meant they were unable to cover the entire area. The family is also seeking approval from Governor Gavin Newsom for a $50,000 reward for information leading to answers about Brooks's disappearance, per KQED. Calvin Robinson said he had met with Fairfield's mayor and police chief to discuss concerns about the pace of the investigation. The family is also reportedly considering bringing in a dive team and cadaver dogs to assist with searches. A fundraiser has been established to support the search, and the brothers hope to raise $50,000 to cover supplies for volunteers, including cooling stations and other equipment needed during searches, as well as private investigative assistance and continued efforts to locate Brooks and her vehicle. According to KTVU, a candlelight vigil marking four months since Brooks disappeared is scheduled for November 17 outside Hotel Le Nain in San Francisco, where she worked. Her brothers say they intend to keep sharing her story and pushing for answers for as long as it takes. “My brothers, our family and friends are not giving up on finding her safe,” Calvin Robinson said, speaking to SFGate. Anyone with information about Brooks's disappearance can contact the Fairfield Police Department's investigations division at 707-428-7600 or email [email protected] . Related: Missing SF Man Left Home Without Glasses, Shirt, Leaving Family Deeply Concerned