The family of Hannah Kobayashi, a Hawaiian woman who went missing two weeks ago after missing a flight at Los Angeles International Airport, has not given up on the search for her loved one.
Kobayashi’s father was found dead near Los Angeles on Sunday in what police believe was an apparent suicide, but Kobayashi’s relatives are facing yet another tragedy.
The body of Ryan Kobayashi, 58, was found in a parking lot in the 6100 block of Century Boulevard. According to the Los Angeles County coroner, Kobayashi died of blunt force trauma.
“The search for Hannah continues,” said Kobayashi’s aunt, Larry Pidgeon. “I know everyone’s focused on Ryan’s death, but Ryan would have wanted us to continue searching for his daughter. Despite everything, we’re still here, and Now more than ever we need the public’s help.”
Here’s everything we know about this case.
Who is Hanna Kobayashi?
Maui resident Hannah Kobayashi, 30, left Hawaii for LAX on November 8th. However, by the time the plane arrived in Los Angeles, she did not have time to catch a connecting flight to John F. Kennedy International Airport. New York City Airport, according to Pigeon.
The missing woman is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall, approximately 140 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes, a knife tattoo on her forearm, and freckles on her face, according to a Los Angeles Police Department news release. There is.
Kobayashi was booked on the same flight as her ex-boyfriend. Kobayashi’s sister, Sidney, said they decided to keep their itinerary because they couldn’t get a refund, but they planned to go their separate ways after arriving at JFK.
Where in Los Angeles did Mr. Kobayashi go?
According to Pigeon, Kobayashi went to Taschen Bookstore near The Grove on Nov. 9 after missing her flight and sent photos of the book to relatives. The family then went to a bookstore using the photo data and confirmed with the employee that she was there. Kobayashi also filled out his Maui address on the newsletter form.
According to Pigeon, Kobayashi attended the “LeBron XXII Trial Experience” event held at the Nike store in Grove on November 10th, and also appeared in the pop-up event’s promotional video. Kobayashi also posted a black and white photo on Instagram about it.
“We believe she was staying in the area around The Grove,” Pidgeon said. “The area is quite touristy with lots of shops, bookstores and museums, so I think she was just visiting the area and felt safe. ”
What was the text message Kobayashi’s family received from her?
Until Nov. 11, Kobayashi was sending regular messages to her family, telling them she couldn’t wait to get to New York and that getting on another plane was a nightmare.
Then, on November 11, another of Kobayashi’s aunts began receiving “alarming” text messages from Kobayashi, expressing concern that someone had stolen her identity and all of her property. says Pigeon. His family became worried and tried to contact him, but there was no response.
“She used words like ‘hung’ and ‘baby’ and said ‘someone is trying to steal my funds,'” Pidgeon said. “She doesn’t talk like that. It was just insane and the family was alarmed.”
Kobayashi’s cell phone was last turned on at 4 p.m. on November 11 at Los Angeles International Airport, but has not been turned on since then.
Where was Kobayashi last seen?
According to Pigeon, on November 11, Kobayashi was seen on a surveillance camera boarding the subway with an “unidentified person.” Kobayashi then changed stations with the same person and was seen getting off the train at Pico Station around 10 p.m.
Pidgeon declined to provide Kobayashi’s physical description because he did not want to impede the police investigation.
“It’s alarming. It makes no sense. Pico Station is not near any hotels,” Pidgeon said, adding that the woman in the video was “100% her.”
According to Pidgeon, the Los Angeles Police Department said Kobayashi had tried to book a flight to John F. Kennedy with an American Airlines ticket agent before his family received the text message sent from Kobayashi’s cell phone. He reportedly said that he was there.
Her family reported her missing on November 12th.
In a Nov. 18 Facebook post, the family wrote that video footage of Kobayashi near Pico Station said “Hannah does not appear to be in good condition and it is clear that she is not alone.”
What does the LAPD say about this incident?
LAPD detectives are investigating Kobayashi’s disappearance as a missing person’s case, but there were no updates available Tuesday morning, said Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Jeff Lee.
Anyone with more information is asked to contact the LAPD at (877) 527-3247.
Pidgeon said police had “a ton of really good leads” that she couldn’t share. But she said police believe Kobayashi is still in Los Angeles.
“At this point, it’s been 15 days since she went missing and no one has heard from her, so we can’t rule anything out at this point,” Pidgeon added. “We’re looking at kidnapping and human trafficking. That’s something the family has had to understand over the past few weeks, but what does that mean for us to lose hope or give up?” Not.”
The Los Angeles Police Department also informed the family that they were expanding the case and adding more personnel to the investigation. Pidgeon said she feels “a great sense of relief” that police do not believe Kobayashi left of her own volition.
“Hannah is a 30-year-old woman, and unfortunately, unless you’re disabled, a minor, or an elderly person with dementia, they won’t take your complaint seriously,” Pigeon said. Said. “The Los Angeles Police Department did not take the case seriously until a week after she went missing.”
Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Lee declined to say whether the department considers Kobayashi a “voluntary” disappearance, saying, “That’s all speculation.” We’re not going to comment on that. ”
What does the family say about the father’s death?
Pidgeon said Ryan Kobayashi arrived in Los Angeles on Nov. 12 to help search for his daughter. He spent days searching streets, including Skid Row.
“I don’t think anyone knows what it’s like to not know where your daughter is,” Pidgeon said. “He died of a broken heart, but people are saying he had something to do with it. This is really cruel and needs to be shut down.”
Pidgeon said the family wanted to dispel conspiracy theories that Ryan was somehow involved in their daughter’s disappearance.
“We want Ryan’s legacy to be that he was a father who couldn’t deal with this,” Pidgeon said. “I wish there was something we could have done because he was having a mental breakdown. He was one of the kindest, most loving men we’ve ever met. ”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to provide assistance to Ryan’s fiancée, Li Jenna.
“Ever since Hannah disappeared, he has lived his worst nightmare and now our family is grappling with unimaginable grief following his death,” Ryan’s niece Emi Coe said. wrote.
The Kobayashi family is also raising money through GoFundMe to support search efforts and cover Ryan’s funeral costs.
“We ask the public to be kind and considerate towards us,” Pidgeon said. “Ryan was reading a social media post. The whole family is watching, so please be kind and considerate. Please put yourself in our shoes.”
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