The search for Hannah Kobayashi made national headlines thanks to many questions left unanswered with loved ones wondering if she was taken against her will. The budding photographer from Hawaii was on her way to New York City last month to experience the art scene and visit relatives.
However, after missing her connecting flight from Los Angeles, her family says she disappeared. Now, after weeks of investigation, the Los Angeles Police Department provided some answers during a press conference Monday, Dec. 2.
“I wanted to provide you an update on the ongoing search for 30-year-old Hannah Kobayashi, who was reported missing last month. As the family is aware, late yesterday, after traveling to the U.S.-Mexico border, we reviewed video surveillance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which clearly shows Kobayashi crossing the United States border on foot into Mexico,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said. “She was alone with her luggage and appeared unharmed. At this time, Kobayashi’s case has been classified as a voluntary missing person.”
The LAPD said there is no evidence of Kobayashi being a victim of trafficking or any other crime. They said their findings are a result of conducting extensive witness interviews, reviewing video surveillance and collaborating with local and federal law enforcement agencies on the case.
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Police said Kobayashi intentionally missed her flight from LAX to New York on Nov. 8. Her family at the time believed it was because she didn’t have enough time to get to the arrival gate.
That night she told her family she’d be sleeping at the LA airport.
On Nov. 9, Kobayashi texted her family she was going to sightsee around the city with stops at The Grove shopping mall and downtown LA. Police said video footage over the next several days showed her at various locations around LA.
Then on Nov. 11, her family said they started receiving “strange” “cryptic” and “alarming” text messages from her phone. The messages referenced Kobayashi being “intercepted” while she got on a Metro train. Her family said she was scared someone might be stealing her identity.
Police said on this day she was seen with an unidentified man who they later questioned. He told authorities he met Kobayashi at LAX and has been “cooperative” with their investigation.
Police also explained what happened to her luggage. They said though Kobayashi checked her luggage to New York, she requested it be returned to LAX. On Nov. 11, she returned to the airport to pick up her bags, but police said she did not have her phone when she left the airport.
Authorities said her social media posts led them to believe she “wanted to disconnect.”
Then on Nov. 12, according to her family’s timeline on the “Help us Find Hannah” Facebook group, Kobayashi was seen on a Greyhound bus by herself.
Police said it was on this day Kobayashi bought a train ticket from LA’s Union Station to San Diego’s San Ysidro point of entry where she walked into Mexico alone with her luggage at 12:13 p.m.
“We’ve basically done everything we can do at this point. She’s left the nation, left the country and in another nation now. So as I mentioned in the earlier comments, that if she comes back into the U.S., law enforcement will be notified of that and, you know, try and do whatever we can if there’s a need to at that time,” McDonnell said.
On Nov. 13, Kobayashi was reported missing, and a search party set out to look for the 30-year-old. This included her father Ryan who flew to LA from Hawaii.
On Nov. 24, police said he was found dead in a parking lot near LAX. The family confirmed he died by suicide. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said the 58-year-old died as a result of injuries from multiple blunt force trauma.
Chief McDonnell said he is sorry for what the family is going through. While he said Hannah Kobayashi has a right to her privacy, he encouraged her to reach out to her family.
“A simple message could reassure those who care about her,” the police chief said.
