Hannah Kobayashi found ‘safe’, family says
The family of Hannah Kobayashi, a woman from Hawaii who police said was voluntarily missing, announced in a statement that she has been found safe.
“We are incredibly relieved and grateful that Hannah has been found safe,” the statement reads. “This past month has been an unimaginable ordeal for our family, and we kindly ask for privacy as we take the time to heal and process everything we have been through.”
The family did not specify where she was found or her current location.
Ms Kobayashi travelled from Maui to Los Angeles on 8 November and was supposed to travel on to New York to visit her aunt, but she never boarded the flight for the second leg of her journey.
Surveillance camera footage showed her leaving the airport and at various locations around Los Angeles with an unidentified man, who was later questioned by law enforcement.
After days of an extensive search operation, the Los Angeles Police Department reclassified Kobayashi as a voluntary missing person. Police said surveillance footage showed she crossed the border into Mexico independently and they were halting the search for her.
Authorities say Ms Kobayashi used cash and her passport to purchase a bus ticket at Union Station in Los Angeles, to get to the southern US border where she crossed by foot into Tijuana, Mexico.
Once she arrived in Los Angeles, Ms Kobayashi’s family members said they received unusual text messages from her phone before all communication ceased.
On 11 November, her mother texted to ask if she had arrived in New York, to which Ms Kobayashi replied, “no”. She also sent messages to friends expressing fears for her safety and concerns that someone was attempting to steal her identity.
But her friends and family had not heard from her since, and police believe she did not bring her phone into Mexico.
Her family initially expressed concern that she might have been a victim of human trafficking.
Photos surfaced during the search that appeared to show Ms Kobayashi in a beach wedding, leading to speculation about a possible green card marriage scam.
However, police said the investigation had not turned up any evidence that Ms Kobayashi was the victim of foul play, or that she was being trafficked.
“She has a right to her privacy, and we respect her choices, but we also understand the concern loved ones feel for her. A simple message could reassure those she cares about,” said Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell.
Hannah’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, also travelled to Los Angeles to help in the search for his daughter, but he was later found dead in a parking lot near LAX.
The medical examiner determined the cause of death to be suicide.
