In what appears to be an attempt to “disconnect,” a 30-year-old Hawaiian woman at the heart of a Los Angeles missing person search voluntarily walked into Mexico, according to authorities on Monday.
At a press conference Monday night, Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell announced that the case against Hannah Kobayashi of Maui has been reclassified as one involving a “voluntary missing person,” although it will remain open until authorities are certain she is safe.
According to McDonnell, there is no proof that Kobayashi was the victim of foul play or human trafficking.
During the news conference, Lt. Douglas Oldfield, who works in the police department’s Missing Persons Unit, stated that detectives looked through Kobayashi’s social media profiles and concluded that she “wanted to disconnect.”
“By looking at her past social media, we then saw indications that there were some desires or posts that would be consistent in somebody who would have the desire to disconnect from their phone,” he explained.
Detectives can’t claim to be “100% right” about their conclusions, he said, but they are aware that she abandoned her phone at Los Angeles International Airport.
The news conference followed NBC Los Angeles’ allegation that family members were taken aback when McDonnell informed the Los Angeles Police Commission last week that Kobayashi had landed in Los Angeles on November 8 and purposefully missed a trip to New York City.
Kobayashi picked up her suitcase on November 11 after it was redirected from New York City back to Los Angeles, according to McDonnell, who made the announcement on Monday.
She lost contact with family members in Los Angeles after that missed trip, which caused them to become concerned and ultimately report her missing to the FBI and the Los Angeles International Airport Police Department, they have alleged.
According to family members interviewed last month, Kobayashi’s text messages claiming someone was attempting to steal from her and security footage of her in Los Angeles with an unidentified man increased her level of anxiety.
The man captured on security footage with Kobayashi in Los Angeles was located, according to police on Monday, and complied with investigators, who came to the conclusion that there was no misconduct.
According to NBC Los Angeles, family members were also shocked that McDonnell had misreported Kobayashi’s age as 23 in his routine report to the police commission. According to the station, they also claimed that he mistook the date on which she was reported missing.
We sincerely appreciate the promptness and commitment of law enforcement in their investigation into Hannah’s disappearance. Our family encourages everyone to keep searching and is still hopeful that Hannah is safe. We’re determined to do all in our power to get her home safely, but the search is far from over,” the family stated in a statement.
We ask the public and law enforcement to remain focused on finding Hannah and to refrain from drawing speculative inferences. We want answers and a resolution that guarantees her safety. We sincerely appreciate your ongoing support in our efforts to raise awareness and provide accurate information regarding her case.
In a chronology shared on the private “Help Us Find Hannah” Facebook page, sister Sydni Kobayashi stated that Kobayashi arrived at LAX from Honolulu at 9:53 p.m. on November 8 with plans to board a flight to New York City at 11 p.m.
According to her family, Hannah Kobayashi wanted to become an artist and a photographer, so she intended to visit the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and take in the city’s art scene.
However, Pidgeon stated in an interview last month that Kobayashi didn’t have enough time to travel from her arrival gate to the departure gate, which caused her to miss her connecting flight to New York.
According to relatives, Kobayashi spent her time sightseeing in Los Angeles while they thought she was waiting for a suitable trip to New York.
The following day and the day after that, she visited The Grove shopping center in the Beverly Grove neighborhood, which is approximately 12 miles north of Los Angeles International Airport, but she always returned to LAX, according to the Facebook timeline.
NBC News confirmed that Kobayashi’s Instagram account contained a picture that seems to have been taken at or close to The Grove.
Along with the unnamed male, she was spotted talking to a ticket agent at the airport on November 11 before boarding a Metro train to South Los Angeles and then to downtown Los Angeles, according to police.
Family members claimed that she sent them texts that day that worried them due to their content and a voice that didn’t seem to be her own.
Kobayashi’s aunt Pidgeon posted on Facebook, “Hannah’s last message to us was alarming – she mentioned feeling scared, and that someone might be trying to steal her money and identity.”
According to the Facebook timeline, she was spotted the following morning, November 12, at a downtown Greyhound bus stop that was confirmed to be hers, alone.
According to Pidgeon, it was the final day that any family member knew where she was.
According to McDonnell, Kobayashi was reported missing on November 13; however, on November 15, the LAPD assumed responsibility for the case. The FBI was helping with the inquiry, according to an FBI spokesperson.
On Monday, police reported that they had examined U.S. Customs and Border Protection footage of Kobayashi entering Mexico at a land port in the San Ysidro district of San Diego around 12:13 p.m. on November 12.
According to McDonnell, the police chief, Kobayashi has done nothing illegal and is perfectly entitled to travel in that direction; yet, he advised her to contact her family members since they are concerned.
“She has a right to her privacy, and we respect her choices, but we also understand the concern her loved ones feel for her,” he stated. “A simple message could reassure those who care about her.”
According to police, her father committed suicide close to Los Angeles International Airport on November 24, after family members had met in Los Angeles to look for Kobayashi.
Ryan Kobayashi, 58, passed away from multiple blunt force trauma injuries, according to the Los Angeles County medical examiner.
“I m very sorry to the family for all that they ve been through,” added McDonnell.
The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline can be reached by calling 988 if you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis. For further resources, visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources, text HOME to 741741, or contact the network (formerly the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) at 800-273-8255.
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