Police in Los Angeles announced Wednesday that Hannah Kobayashi, the missing Hawaiian lady whose disappearance sparked a thorough search and a missing persons investigation, had been discovered safe.
Kobayashi disappeared in Los Angeles last month. She had intended to tour the city the following day after missing her connecting flight, but her family became so frightened by her repeated texts and their inability to contact her that they subsequently reported her missing.
Although authorities earlier stated that she went voluntarily missing and crossed the border into Mexico on her own volition, more information regarding her absence, where she went, and how she was located were not immediately available on Wednesday.
The Los Angeles Police Department released a statement saying, “We are pleased to hear that Hannah has been found safe.” We will conclude our investigation now that we have this new information, which makes it a private affair.
The first people to declare that Kobayashi was safe were her mother and sister, via their attorney, in a statement released on Wednesday.
“We are so thankful and relieved that Hannah is safe,” Brandi Yee and Sydni Kobayashi wrote. Our family has endured an unfathomable tragedy over the past month, and we respectfully request your privacy while we take some time to recover and digest everything that has happened. We would like to sincerely thank everyone who helped us through this challenging period. Your compassion and generosity have been invaluable to us.
During a halt at Los Angeles International Airport on November 8, Kobayashi, a young photographer from Maui, missed a connecting flight on her way to New York City for a new career and to see family. She texted her family the following day to let them know she was sightseeing in Los Angeles, but she had already informed them she was sleeping at the airport that night.
According to her aunt Larie Pidgeon, her family reported her missing to the police on November 11 after receiving cryptic, bizarre, and simply frightening text messages.
Late last month, Pidgeon told The Associated Press that she went black after the family began to press. According to Pidgeon, her phone simply died after the texts on November 11.
Hannah was found in Los Angeles by family, friends, and neighborhood volunteers. Ryan Kobayashi, Hannah’s father, was one of the people who flew in from Hawaii to assist with the search. The county medical examiner reports that he was discovered deceased on November 24 in a parking lot close to LA International Airport. In a statement released that same day, Kobayashi’s family stated that Ryan Kobayashi had died by suicide after enduring a terrible tragedy.
The day after her family reported her missing, on November 12, Hannah Kobayashi entered Mexico at the San Ysidro border crossing, approximately 125 miles southeast of Los Angeles, according to police. Following an examination of U.S. Customs and Border Protection security footage, authorities made the announcement.
According to Jim McDonnell, the head of the LA police department, Kobayashi voluntarily vanished since she wished to distance herself from contemporary connection.
–The Associated Press/Stefanie Dazio
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