Chanel Maya Banks' Disappearance Was Publicity Stunt, Private Detective Says

Chanel Maya Banks is trying to revive a failed acting career, and she's manufacturing drama with her family to do it ... so says a private eye her family members hired to find her.

Private detective Sonny Elliott tells TMZ ... Chanel's mom, Lutchmin Judy Kumar, hired him to find her daughter -- and, he thinks they were totally genuine in their love and concern for Chanel.

Elliott says unless Judy and Chanel's cousin Danielle are the greatest actors on Earth, then this is clearly a woman "trying to save an acting career that ended during the Obama administration."

Sonny says Chanel has blocked Judy and Danielle on her phone and blocked Danielle on social -- so, the family has no way to harass her as she alleged in a recent restraining order filing.

Elliott gave us his perspective on why Chanel went to Texas too, BTW ... saying she originally went out there to write about a religious cult, and somehow ended up getting sucked into it. Chanel, for her part, claimed she originally went to TX to get baptized by her favorite pastor.

Sonny claims her family hired him because they love her and were concerned about her ... and, Chanel's reaction points to being a publicity stunt in his eyes.

We spoke with Danielle BTW ... who says, "This is all for the last 15 minutes of fame and we now believe she wants publicity, maybe hoping to bring more people to the 'church' or high control group aka a cult."

We broke the story ... Chanel filed for a restraining order against Judy and Danielle last week -- but, a court declined to issue a temporary restraining order in this case, based on the "uncorroborated allegations presented."

In her initial filing, Chanel claimed her mom and cousin threatened her husband, stole items from her home, and have continued to harass her since. A hearing where Chanel can argue her case in front of a judge is set for January 16.