CONTENT WARNING: This article mentions suicide.
Every once in a while, a true crime case grips the internet in real-time. The latest? The baffling case of missing American woman Hannah Kobayashi who police believe disappeared on her own free will, but whose family believe something more sinister is going on.
News of Hannah’s disappearance first picked up steam on TikTok after the 30-year-old missed her connecting flight from Los Angeles to New York on November 8. Instead of getting on the next plane, Hannah stayed in LA and began sending strange texts to her family.
Three days later, her phone was turned off and her family contacted the police. After an investigation, police labelled her as a “voluntarily missing person”. However, her family have been dissatisfied with the police investigation, and are now taking matters into their own hands.
Now, there are reports that Hannah has crossed the border into Mexico. So, what is actually going on? Here is everything we know.
Everything We Know About Hannah Kobayashi
Who is Hannah Kobayashi?
Hannah Kobayashi is a 30-year-old photographer from Maui, Hawaii. According to her aunt Larie Pidgeon, Hannah just made a career move into photography and was heading to New York to photograph a show in Brooklyn and visit family members.
When did Hannah Kobyashi go missing?
Hannah was reported as missing by her family on November 11, three days after she failed to board her connecting flight to New York. Hannah had been traveling from Hawaii to NYC via LA, but never made the second flight.
On November 10, she texted her family to say she was going sightseeing and was spotted attending a LeBron James event at The Grove Shopping Centre. On the same day, Hannah’s Venmo showed two transactions to people unknown to her.
On November 11, she returned to LAX to supposedly redirect her luggage, which had ended up in New York. CCTV footage shows she was at the airport.
That same day, Larie said she began receiving “strange and cryptic” texts from her niece.
“She mentioned feeling scared, and that someone might be trying to steal her money and identity,” Larie said, via KTLA News. “Strange, cryptic messages — things about the matrix, it was so unlike her. And then all of a sudden, no more communication.”
According to the ABC, Hannah texted a friend claiming that she “got tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds” and suggested she’d been fooled by “someone I thought I loved”.
“Deep Hackers wiped my identity, stole all of my funds, & have had me on a mind fuck since Friday,” she reportedly wrote in another text.
Hannah’s sister Sydni told ABC7 Eyewitness News that the language in the text didn’t sound like Hannah.
“I personally don’t think that was my sister. She doesn’t use the word ‘hun.’ ‘Love’ and ‘babe,’ but never ‘hun.’ Even her close friends have said the same,” she said.
On November 12, Hannah’s family filed a missing persons report with California police, worried that she’d fallen victim to violence or human trafficking. Sydni and their father, Ryan, flew to LA to help search for her and eventually found surveillance footage of Hannah walking around the LA Metro station on November 11.
On November 24, Hannah’s father Ryan, 58, was found dead in a parking lot near LAX. It was later confirmed by the local county coroner that he died by suicide.
“Suicide is not something that was even spoken of,” Larie told USA Today.
“It wasn’t even a concept that we would think would happen. He just died of a broken heart. Being on the streets and seeing what the possibilities of where his daughter could be. No sleep. The speculating rumours that are going around. It just took a toll on him.”
What are the police saying?
On December 2, On December 2, LA police officially declared Hannah a “voluntarily missing person”, claiming she had chosen of her own free will to disappear.
“Investigators noted that before departing Maui, Kobayashi expressed the desire to step away from modern connectivity,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said in a press conference.
“Our priority is ensuring Miss Kobayashi’s safety and well-being, and we urge Miss Kobayashi to contact her family, law enforcement or personnel at the US embassy that she is safe. She has a right to her privacy but we also understand the concern her loved ones feel for her.”
Police also stated that they had footage of Hannah crossing the border from California to Mexico.
“The footage clearly shows 30-year-old Hannah Kobayashi crossing the United States border on foot into Mexico,” McDonnell continued.
“She was alone, with her luggage.”
As a result, Hannah has been classified as a voluntary missing person and police will be notified if she enters the US again.
What is her family saying?
In response to the LAPD’s update, Hannah’s family don’t agree with the police’s main working theory and believes she is still in harm’s way.
“We are deeply grateful for the urgency and dedication law enforcement has shown in investigating Hannah’s disappearance,” they said in a statement, via The Los Angeles Times.
“Our family remains hopeful that Hannah is safe and urges everyone to continue the search. The search is far from over, and we are committed to doing everything possible to bring her home safely.”
Hannah’s sister Sydni says that she isn’t satisfied with the police’s findings and is demanding to see the footage of Hannah making her way across the Mexican border.
“We’re just as confused and just as frustrated more than anything now,” Sydni told NBC News.
“They just reached this conclusion … without showing them any footage,” Sara Azari, the family’s lawyer added. “It takes a lot more digging and investigation to be able to say it’s voluntary.”
Speaking to CNN, Azari said the Kobayashi family are now making plans to head to Mexico to continue their search.
“They’re very concerned because Mexico is not a safe place, at least not near the border. Even if Hannah was safe as of November 12, there’s no telling that she’s safe today,” she said.
“My heart is still broken, and my worry for Hannah has not lessened,” Larie said. “It has been 21 days since I last heard from her — 21 days of silence, of fear, and of questioning what could have led to this.”
Meanwhile, Hannah’s cousin Emi claimed that she discovered Hannah was still alive from watching the news.
“This situation has been both a roller coaster and nightmare for our family and after I learned on the news last night that Hannah left intentionally, it only adds to the sadness and anger,” she said via a GoFundMe, which she says is to raise money for Ryan Kobayashi’s grieving partner.
“Uncle Ryan should be here with us today to know that Hannah is still alive and hopefully safe in Mexico.”
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The post What Happened To Hannah Kobayashi? Everything We Know About The Baffling Missing Person’s Case appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
