Hawaii

Missing Hawaii woman seen crossing into Mexico, police say

Published

1 year ago

December 3, 2024

Missing Hawaii woman seen crossing into Mexico, police say

A Hawaii woman who vanished after landing in Los Angeles three weeks ago disappeared voluntarily as she sought to “step away from modern connectivity” and was last seen crossing into Mexico, police said at a news conference.

Hannah Kobayashi, 30, appeared unharmed as she walked alone with her luggage into a tunnel at the San Ysidro crossing about 125 miles (201km) south-east of Los Angeles around noon on 12 November the day after her family reported her missing, LA police said Monday. Authorities made the discovery after reviewing surveillance video from the US Customs and Border Protection late on Sunday.

The Los Angeles police chief, Jim McDonnell, said there was no evidence Kobayashi was being trafficked or was otherwise a victim of a crime. Investigators conducted “extensive” witness interviews and reviewed video surveillance but have found no evidence of foul play. Kobayashi’s disappearance is now classified as a “voluntary missing person”.

“We’ve basically done everything we can do at this point. She’s left the country and in another nation now,” he said, adding that if she returned to the US, law enforcement would be notified.

McDonnell said Kobayashi had a right to her privacy, but urged her to reach out to her family or law enforcement.

“A simple message could reassure those who care about her,” McDonnell said. He explained that the missing person case would remain active until her safety was confirmed by law enforcement.

Kobayashi went missing after the budding photographer from Maui did not make a connecting flight to New York on 8 November to travel for a new job and to visit relatives. She told her family she would sleep in the Los Angeles international airport that night.

Family members assumed she was on standby for another flight, according to her aunt, Larie Pidgeon. The next day, Kobayashi texted them to say she was sightseeing in Los Angeles, planning to visit The Grove shopping mall and downtown LA, Pidgeon said.

On 11 November the family received “strange and cryptic, just alarming” text messages from her phone that referenced her being “intercepted” as she got on a Metro train and being scared that someone might be stealing her identity, her aunt said. Her disappearance set off an extensive search and attracted significant media attention.

Her father, Ryan Kobayashi, who had been in the search party along with volunteers, was found dead by apparent suicide on Sunday 24 November in a parking lot near LA international airport, police and her family said.

McDonnell said during a police commission meeting last Tuesday that detectives determined Hannah Kobayashi missed her connecting flight intentionally. Kobayashi’s sister, Sydni Kobayashi, disputed his statement in a social media post.

Police said on Monday that after Hannah Kobayashi was seen in various locations around LA, she requested that her luggage, which had been checked to New York, be sent back to LAX. She then returned to the airport to retrieve it on 11 November and did not have her phone when she left again, according to police.

Investigators found that she had “expressed the desire to step away from modern connectivity”.

Police also identified and questioned a man that Kobayashi was seen with on the Metro. He was “cooperative” and said he met her at LAX, police said.

Sydni Kobayashi did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Members of the public who were in the “Help Us Find Hannah” Facebook group, which garnered the interest of more than 25,000 participants, shared a post from the group on Monday that said the family would be shutting the group down after “threats against their lives and the lives of their small children”.

The post also said Sydni Kobayashi and her mother would not be responding to any messages.

The Los Angeles police department said in a statement that it would not continue the investigation into Mexico but encouraged her to contact police or the US embassy so that officials can “confirm her wellbeing”.

During the news conference, McDonnell reflected on all that the family had endured these last few weeks.

“My ask would be to anybody considering doing this, think about the people you’re leaving behind, your loved ones who are going to be worried sick about you,” he said.

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Hawaii

Hawaii News Now launches new and improved mobile news app

Published

5 hours ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Hawaii News Now launches new and improved mobile news app

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Breaking news! We’ve just launched our new and improved Hawaii News Now mobile news app.

The updated app features a fresh layout designed to make it easier to find the stories and information that matter most to you.

Access all of our newscasts, specials, podcasts and more with a few quick taps.

New features include:

Latest news at a glance. Scroll through the latest headlines right on your home screen.
Light or dark mode. Choose the look you prefer in your app settings.
Easy access to live streams. Tap the Live icon at the bottom to watch our newscasts, streaming shows, and breaking news live streams.

All your favorite features are still there. Tap the hamburger menu in the upper left corner to access our traffic map, program guide, HI Now Daily lifestyle content, and more.

And with First Alert Weather Days coming up, you’ll want to stay prepared. Tap the Weather icon to jump straight into the HNN Weather App for radar, video forecasts and more.

If your phone is set to automatically update apps, simply open the app, click through the intro screen and start exploring.

Be sure to enable notifications to get First Alert push alerts and breaking news as it happens.

If an ad pops up, tap “Continue” in the upper right corner to proceed.

If you’re still seeing the old version, head to your app store to update:

Apple users can click here.
Google/Android users can click here.

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Hawaii

NJ’s Jake Thistle to be featured on ‘American Idol’ Hawaii episode

Published

17 hours ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

NJ’s Jake Thistle to be featured on ‘American Idol’ Hawaii episode

Aloha, New Jersey.

Asbury Park rocker Jake Thistle will be featured on the Monday, March 9 episode of “American Idol.” It’s the ‘Ohana Round episode, which will have the Top 30 hopefuls performing for industry tastemakers as well as peers, family members and friends at Disney’s Aulani Resort in Hawaii.

Jacquie Lee of Colts Neck is also in the Top 30.

The tastemakers include social media personalities Kaniyia Brown and Terry McCaskill; dancer Sasha Farber; musician Anthony Gargiula; actress Loren Gray; singer Cheryl Porter; Grand Ole Opry announcer Kelly Sutton; and Rolling Stone editor Shirley Halperin, an East Brunswick native.

Thistle sang an earnest and soulful version of Sam Fender’s “Seventeen Going Under” on the Thursday, Feb. 23 Hollywood Week episode.

Lionel Richie said “I like him” after he pumped his fist during the rendition.

“You’re so ready for this,” said Luke Bryan of Thistle.

Music legends Lyle Lovett with John Hiatt are also fans of Thistle, a Paramus native.

“We’ve know Jake since he was a youngster and we’ve watched him grow and if you ever get a chance to hear Jake thistle play you will be glad you did,” said Lovett Wednesday, Match 4 from the stage of the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown.

Thistle thanked the music stars on social media.

“Both of them have been hugely important to my development as a songwriter and musician, and I was honored they took the time!” Thistle said.

The 21-year old has been a regular on Asbury Park stages and Bruce Springsteen-related shows in the area. Thistle has even shared the same stage as the Boss.

“American Idol” airs 8 p.m. Mondays on ABC and subsequently streams on Hulu.

Subscribe to app.com for the latest on the New Jersey music scene.

Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at cjordan@app.com

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Hawaii

Hawaii Foodbank Kauai provides help for TSA workers – The Garden Island

Published

1 day ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

Hawaii Foodbank Kauai provides help for TSA workers – The Garden Island

The Hawaii Foodbank Kauai rolled out its recently dedicated Mobile Pantry refrigerated transporter to provide more than 150 emergency food packages for local Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Coast Guard workers caught up in a partial government shutdown.

The two agencies are part of the Department of Homeland Security, whose budget is frozen by congressional concerns over controversial actions by two other DHS agencies, ICE and CBP. Workers will not be paid until the budget is approved, although many are still required to work in essential positions.

In the meantime, some Kauai workers are struggling to keep their families fed without a full paycheck, and amid uncertainty as to how long the shutdown will last.

To help out, Hawaii Foodbank Kauai vehicles rolled up to the TSA administrative offices in Lihue, equipped to provide more than 150 emergency food packages. The packages included fresh milk, eggs, bread and produce, including apples, oranges, eggplants and cucumber. There was also frozen chicken and an assortment of canned goods.

“With the current socioeconomic landscape, many families are still struggling to make ends meet,” stated the 2024 Hunger Report that was released by the Hawaii Foodbank on Wednesday, coinciding with the launch of the statewide food drive by Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke.”Hawaii has seen an increase of roughly 25 percent in prices for food at home — making it more difficult for families to access nourishing meals.”

The Hunger Report said during the last fiscal year, an average of more than 154,000 people on Oahu and Kauai turned to Hawaii Foodbank for help each month.

Tisha Remigio, the Hawaii Foodbank Kauai assistant manager who was helping with the emergency food distribution, was uncertain if there would be more food distributions for TSA workers and the USCG team.

“It’s up to them,” Remigio said.

For more information on the services available, and to donate to the Hawaii Foodbank, visit the website at www.hawaiifoodbank.org.

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