Hannah Kobayashi found safe a month after disappearance
Hannah Kobayashi, a Hawaii woman police believe “voluntarily” went missing while traveling from California to New York, has reportedly been located by her family roughly a month after her disappearance.
Kobayashi, who was first reported missing in mid-November, has been in contact with her family and assured them she’s safe, Hawaii News Now reported Wednesday.
“We are incredibly relieved and grateful that Hannah has been found safe,” they said in a statement asking for privacy as they sort through the “unimaginable ordeal” of her disappearance.
Her family did not provide details on when or where she was found, or how she made contact.
Kobayashi’s whereabouts were unknown until earlier this month when authorities learned she’d traveled from Los Angeles to Mexico by bus on the morning of Nov. 12. According to surveillance video, she arrived at the Mexico border and walked into Tijuana around noon.
The revelation caused police to relabel the 30-year-old photographer a “voluntary missing person,” saying there was no evidence to believe she was the victim of foul play.
The mystery of Kobayashi’s disappearance began when the Maui native missed a Nov. 8 connecting flight from Los Angeles to New York. She’s believed to have spent four days in the L.A. area before catching the bus to Tijuana while her family attempted to locate her.
Kobayashi reportedly raised concerns by messaging a friend to say “deep hackers” stole her identity and someone she “thought” she loved depleted her funds, according to CNN.
Her worried father, Ryan Kobayashi, traveled to California in search of his daughter but died by suicide roughly two weeks later. He appeared to have jumped from a parking structure near the Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 25.
Earlier this month, the LAPD said her voluntary disappearance was seemingly part of her desire to “disconnect.”
Her family said Wednesday they do not intend to release further details at this time, and the LAPD does not plan to hold any press conferences.
