'I am alive:' Actress Chanel Banks shares new video after family casts doubts on her whereabouts

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles actress Chanel Maya Banks, who had been reported missing and not seen by family since Oct. 30, took to social media Thursday to reassure fans that she's safe after family members shared doubts about her whereabouts.

"As you can see, I am alive," said the 36-year-old in a video posted on Thursday on an Instagram account under her name.

Earlier this week, the Los Angeles Police Department said Banks, known for her roles in the television shows "Gossip Girl" and "Blue Bloods," was unharmed and no foul play is suspected in her reported disappearance, adding that the case was closed.

Additionally, messages were posted that claimed abuse by her family and indicated she had willingly left "to escape my cage."

After being informed of the LAPD's update, Banks' cousin Danielle-Tori Singh said it was "fake news" and vowed to continue distributing flyers describing Banks as missing.

During a news conference on Friday, Singh said she and her family are satisfied knowing that Banks is alive but Singh believes the actress is "not well."

She also believes her cousin may be involved in some sort of cult.

"We know how these things go. This is not the first time a woman has gone missing in L.A. and saying, 'Don't contact me,' and the parents lose her, and they find they have to hire a private investigator," said Singh. "Chanel is not the first person to have gone through this. We know how these things go. We know she's a part of a cult. We know this organized group is not allowing her phone because of all the things that have been written on social media without the facial recognition ... there's so many holes in that story."

Banks has not directly addressed those claims but in an Instagram story posted on Thursday, she told her followers that she will posting her "official interview" soon.

"Follow my [YouTube] I'll be posting my official interview ... and in the days to come ... answers to ALL of your questions," she said.

Singh thanked the law enforcement agencies who helped find her cousin but said she believes Banks "is not well."

"All we wanted from the beginning, and we said this time and time again, was proof of life," she said. "I am satisfied that she is alive based on that YouTube video from the church retreat ... she's alive. She may not be well. We don't know if they're letting her move around. We don't know if she's constantly under surveillance but she has said in several posts that this retreat is about getting closer to God and not having technology."

Singh also issued an apology to Banks' husband, whom she previously claimed was not cooperating with the initial investigation. She also said a GoFundMe she created during the search has been frozen.

"I am shaken, obviously, by what has happened, and when I did meet with him and see him and talk with him on Sunday, November the 10th, I did say to him that if it comes out that he has nothing to do with her disappearance, I will apologize, and I am a woman of my word and I am willing to take responsibility for my actions," she said. "I hope and pray that he can forgive me and forgive our family. But as a [family member of a missing female] obviously, the first person that you're going to assume did something is the husband. I now know that he had nothing to do with this and he is just as much in the dark as we were."

On Tuesday, Singh told ABC7 that a tip led police to a home in Texas, where a woman came to the door and identified herself as Banks. Police later showed body camera video of the encounter to Banks' family, according to Singh, who said the woman was not Banks, adding that the woman in the footage did not look like the actress did the last time she was seen in a FaceTime call.

Before police said she was found, relatives had reported the 36-year-old actress and Playa Vista resident had not been heard from since late last month.

Authorities conducted welfare checks at her home, and her family said they recently entered the apartment where she had been living with her husband of one year and found her belongings and dog still there.

Singh, who arrived from Toronto to help with the search, said she's very close with her cousin. When even just a few days went by without hearing from her or being able to reach her, she and other family members grew worried.

"Five days without hearing from my cousin is red flags and alarm bells," Singh told Eyewitness News earlier this week. "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."

(The Instagram account under Banks' name, however, claimed "I have not spoken to Danielle in over 15 years much less every day or 48hrs as they've perjured.")

Banks' IMDB page lists appearances in shows such as "Blue Bloods," "Twelve" and "Gossip Girl." She at times acted under the name Chanel Farrell.

Singh said her cousin had been moving away from acting in recent years and was focusing on writing.