The incident comes after Los Angeles police say that Hannah Kobayashi, a Hawaiian woman who went missing after landing at Los Angeles International Airport last month, walked across the border into Mexico without any signs of foul play. Her family released a statement. On Tuesday, he thanked those who helped with the search efforts.
Leah Pidgeon, Kobayashi’s aunt, said she was not informed of Kobayashi’s whereabouts until several hours before Monday’s press conference led by LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell.
“While I have not personally seen the footage, I believe the LAPD has done sufficient investigation to confirm that it was her,” Pidgeon said in a statement.
The Los Angeles Police Department said investigators reviewed surveillance video from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that showed Kobayashi alone with luggage on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at about 12:13 p.m. The footage showed him “clearly” crossing the border into Mexico on foot.
There has been no communication with her since then, and authorities say Kobayashi may have left his phone somewhere in Los Angeles.
However, the aunt still insists that it was “not for her” to cut off contact with her family.
“Hannah never mentioned her plans to travel to Mexico, and no one in her life knew she was going to Mexico,” Pidgeon said. “What concerns me even more is that she is completely disconnected from her cell phone, social media, and her own world.”
Los Angeles Police Department Chief McDonnell said Kobayashi had hinted on social media that he wanted to “distance himself from modern internet connectivity.”
Law enforcement officials also told NBC Los Angeles’ investigative reporter Eric Leonard that this is not the first time Kobayashi has gone missing, as he has disappeared before. The sources did not elaborate on when or where they occurred.
“I want to be clear: this search is not over yet. Learning that Hannah crossed the border will not give me the answers I need and it will break my heart. It doesn’t make me feel any better,” added Pidgeon, who has spoken to NBC Los Angeles and other media outlets since Kobayashi was first reported missing.
The family’s highly publicized search effort took a tragic turn on November 24 when Kobayashi’s father, Ryan, 58, committed suicide. He was found near a parking lot at Los Angeles International Airport, from where he may have jumped.
A statement from the family at the time said: “Hannah’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, tragically took his own life after 13 days of tireless searching throughout Los Angeles. This loss has caused immeasurable pain to the family. “It made things even worse.”
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