Hannah Kobayashi, the Maui woman considered “voluntarily missing” by the Los Angeles Police Department after she disappeared last month and crossed the border into Mexico, has been found safe, her family announced Wednesday.
“We are incredibly relieved and grateful that Hannah was found safe and healthy,” Kobayashi's family said in a statement. “This past month has been an unimaginable trial for our family and we kindly ask for privacy as we take the time to heal and process everything we have been through.”
Kobayashi disappeared after missing her Nov. 8 connecting flight to New York at Los Angeles International Airport, according to her family. She was reported missing after her family said she sent them cryptic text messages suggesting her identity and money had been stolen.
Kobayashi's disappearance sparked a weeks-long search that culminated in Los Angeles police classifying her as a “voluntary missing person,” saying there was no evidence of criminal activity and video showed her crossing the border into Mexico. LAPD also said they did not believe Kobayashi was a victim of trafficking or crime.
On Nov. 12, the 30-year-old woman was seen using her passport and cash to get a bus ticket to Union Station to get to the San Ysidro border crossing, where she crossed into Mexico through a tunnel, authorities said. .
Kobayashi's case also generated conflicting accounts of what happened, between Kobayashi's family, who insisted that their relative was still missing and would not leave alone, and the police account, which stated that she traveled to Mexico alone and on his own account. willpower.
Kobayashi's father, Ryan, traveled from Hawaii to Los Angeles to help search for his daughter. His body was found on November 24 near LAX; Authorities considered his death a suicide.
