Hawaii
Hannah Kobayashi who vanished a month ago is found safe
Missing Hawaii woman, Hannah Kobayashi, has been found safe more than a month after she disappeared, according to the family’s attorney. Her family said in a statement they were “incredibly relieved and grateful that Hannah has been found safe.” Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell told reporters on Wednesday that Kobayashi was unharmed and there was no evidence she was the victim of trafficking. Kobayashi had been declared a “voluntary missing person” after authorities reviewed surveillance video of her appearing to miss her connecting flight from Hawaii to New York in Los Angeles on November 8. She told family members she would sleep at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) after missing the flight. The next day, however, she texted that she was sightseeing in LA, with plans to visit The Grove shopping destination and other places.On November 11, her family reported receiving “alarming” text messages from her phone. Kobayashi’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, traveled from Hawaii to Los Angeles to assist in the search. However, he was found dead on November 24, two weeks after Hannah’s disappearance. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled his death as a suicide caused by multiple blunt-force injuries, leaving his family devastated.
Newsweek’s live blog is closed.
What happened to Hannah Kobayashi? A timeline
November 8, 2024: Hannah Kobayashi misses her connecting flight in Los Angeles, from Maui to New York. Police said they believe she tried to rebook her flight but the price was too high.
November 9, 2024: Kobayashi is seen at The Grove shopping mall in Los Angeles. She later returned to LAX and called her aunt, who she was due to visit in New York City, to tell her she was trying to book another flight.
November 10, 2024: Kobayashi returns to The Grove and is seen in footage of the LeBron XXII Trial Experience, at the Nike store.
November 11, 2024: Kobayashi returns to LAX. This is the last time her family hear from her. She spent the day with an unidentified man and was later seen leaving the airport with him and boarding the Metro. Police were able to track down the man who they ruled out as a danger. He told officers that he’d had dinner with Kobayashi and they’d discussed their lives. He described Kobayashi as a free spirit but did not appear to be in mental distress.
November 12, 2024: Kobayashi is seen in surveillance footage taking a bus to Mexico. She arrived at the border and crossed into Tijuana on foot around 12 p.m. local time. Her phone had been left in LAX.
November 24, 2024: Kobayashi’s father Ryan dies by suicide. His body was found in a parking lot near LAX after he flew to help the search for his daughter.
December 2, 2024: Kobayashi is declared a voluntary missing person after police reviewed footage of her crossing into Mexico.
December 11, 2024: Kobayashi is found. Her family confirmed in a statement that she was safe and well and asked for privacy to “take time to heal.”
GoFundMe for Kobayashi family has raised nearly $50,000
A GoFundMe, set up to assist with the search for Hannah Kobayashi, raised almost $50,000 before her family confirmed she had been found safe today.
The purpose of the GoFundMe was later extended to cover the costs of a funeral for Hannah’s father Ryan Kobayashi who died by suicide during her search.
The GoFundMe, which remains active today, raised $47,472 – 95% of it’s $50,000 goal.
In an update on December 3, after Hannah Kobayashi’s disappearance was ruled “voluntary” by police, her sister Sydni said the family were still “extremely concerned” and were hiring an attorney and a private investigator to locate her.
However, she did offer any donor who wanted a refund, to submit a claim by December 18th which “will be promptly honored.”
Father of Hannah Kobayashi died by suicide while she was missing
Ryan Kobayashi, center, is surrounded by friends and family while talking about his missing daughter Hannah Kobayashi outside Crypto.com Arena, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024 in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed her father’s death near LAX Airport as suicide caused by blunt-force injuries.
AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes
Hannah Kobayashi’s father died by suicide during his daughter’s disappearance.
Ryan Kobayashi, 58, was found dead in a car park near Los Angeles International Airport in the early hours of Sunday, November 24, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson told Newsweek
He had been in L.A. looking for his missing daughter after she missed her connecting flight from L.A. airport to New York on November 8.
Los Angeles County Medical Examiner listed his cause of death as multiple blunt force traumatic injuries and ruled the manner of death was suicide.
Kobayashi’s family called his death “a devastating tragedy” in a statement issued via missing persons support organization The Rad Movement.
“After tirelessly searching throughout Los Angeles for 13 days, Hannah’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, tragically took his own life,” the statement said. “This loss has compounded the family’s suffering immeasurably.”
Kobayashi family received death threats while she was missing
Ryan Kobayashi, center, holds a picture of his missing daughter Hannah Kobayashi outside Crypto.com Arena, Thursday, November 21, 2024 in Los Angeles.
Damian Dovarganes/AP Photo
Missing persons support organization The Rad Movement said the Kobayashi family had made a formal report to the FBI after receiving threats and made a decision to remove a Facebook page dedicated to locating Kobayashi.
“While Sydni and her mother believe the greater majority of the individuals on this page genuinely care, and are interested in helping find Hannah, the negativity and attacks on their family have become more than they can bear,” the organization said in a post on the page.
“As recent as yesterday, there were threats against their lives and the lives of their small children,” they said in the statement on December 2.
“This has prompted them to make formal reports to the FBI and make the difficult decision to remove this page.”
Why Hannah Kobayashi’s still listed as ‘missing’ after family confirmed she’s found safe
A missing person is officially stopped being listed as missing when police confirm their safety through a welfare check – typically an in-person contact to verify they are not in danger.
The L.A. Police Department’s missing persons unit said they had not yet seen Hannah Kobayashi, after her family said today she had been found safe.
Kobayashi will still show as a missing person until that safe and well check could be performed, but in this case, the Customs and Border Protection agency may be able to perform it when Kobayashi reenters the U.S. from Mexico.
‘We don’t have her side of the story,’ say police
A flyer with information on Hannah Kobayashi, currently missing, is displayed Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024 in Los Angeles. Her family received alarming messages from her phone before her disappearance, mentioning fears of identity theft and being “intercepted” on a Metro train.
AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes
L.A. police have said that while Hannah Kobayashi has no legal obligation to speak to them, they are urging her to get in touch.
“Everyone else is very invested in this now, and just what her thought process through all this was and what her end game or goal was,” Detective Franco told People.
Lt. Doug Oldfield, from the department’s missing persons unit, added, “We don’t have her side of the story.”
Where was Kobayashi found?
The family of Hannah Kobayashi have not confirmed exactly where she was found, police say.
But it is believed she is still in Mexico.
During the investigation into her disappearance, police discovered that she had crossed the border into Tijuana, Mexico on foot, on November 12.
She does not appear to have returned into the United States but she was able to get in touch with her family to confirm she was safe.
Police ‘haven’t seen Hannah Kobayashi themselves but won’t compel her to see them’
The L.A. Police Department say that haven’t seen Hannah Kobayashi but they “have no reason to compel her to see us.”
Lt. Doug Oldfield, from the department’s missing persons unit, told People that they discovered Kobayashi had been found from her family’s attorney.
“We have not seen her and at this point we have no reason to compel her to see us,” he told the outlet.
“It’s a big news story so she may decide to come with a lawyer, but she is not obligated to speak to us.”
He added that police do not have many further details about her disappearance.
Who is Hannah Kobayashi?
Hannah Kobayashi has been missing in Los Angeles since earlier in November. Her father died by suicide on Sunday.
Hannah Kobayashi, 30, is a budding photographer from Maui, Hawaii, whose disappearance last month triggered prompted a massive search.
She was heading to New York City, from Hawaii, on November 8 for a new job and to visit relatives when she missed the connecting flight in LA International.
Her “alarming” messages over the next few days panicked her family.
When she stopped responding entirely, they reported her missing.
Her father, Ryan Kobayashi, had flown to LA to help with her search but has since been found dead in a car park near the airport.
The LA county coroner’s office gave the cause of death as suicide.