44 year old Tonita Michelle Brooks was last seen walking in the downtown area of Durham, North Carolina on September 23, 2019. She has never been heard from again.

Tonita lived a transient lifestyle staying at the homeless shelter in Durham and various homes but she kept in touch with her family and children on a regular basis and they often saw her walking on Holloway Street. In a September 2022 article, Corporal Green of the Durham Police Department remarked he would Tonita walking while he was on his way to work as his travels also used Holloway Street.

Tonita's family describe her as a free spirit and a sweetheart commenting "she'll meet you and you'll think you knew her forever." Tonita's family reported her missing on October 25 after noting they had not seen or heard from her in weeks which was uncharacteristic of her.

Tonita's brothers began searching for her in the surrounding area of Holloway Street where she frequently walked in the area between north Alston Avenue and Raynor Street but no one recalled seeing her.

Tonita's brother, Michael Brooks, described his sister as having the "mind frame of a preteen" with a childlike, trusting disposition commenting that "she would recognize danger, but she wouldn’t know how close she actually is to being hurt." Tonita's three children lived with Michael at the time of her disappearance and his sister's disappearance worries him to the point of not sleeping well. Tonita's other sibling, Lewis Brooks, thinks his sister has been harmed because "I know if she was around and knew we were looking for her, she wouldn’t put us through that."

Since Tonita went missing her grandmother, whom she was close to and called every day, and her son have both died. Tonita did not show up for either funeral and may be unaware of the deaths.

Tonita remains missing. Her nickname is Lil Bit. She walks with a noticeable limp and may wear her hair in cornrows. She suffers from epileptic seizures and her left arm is paralyzed. She also has a scar on her abdomen and may wear her hair in cornrows. If you have any information, please contact Durham Police Department at 919-560-4600.

Links:

https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/durham-county-news/durham-family-police-ask-for-help-locating-missing-woman/

https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/durham-nc-family-police-ask-for-help-locating-missing-woman-tonita-brooks-45.2955495/

https://durhamnc.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=2659&ARC=3831

https://charleyproject.org/case/tonita-michelle-brooks

https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/durham-county-news/durham-police-ask-for-help-locating-woman-last-seen-in-september-2019/

https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/durham-county-news/missing-murdered-unsolved-where-is-tonita-brooks/