The family of Hannah Kobayashi, a woman who went missing in Hawaii, strongly disputes LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell’s statement that Kobayashi “deliberately” missed her connecting flight at Los Angeles International Airport.
Kobayashi went missing on Nov. 8 after boarding a flight from Hawaii to Los Angeles, where she ultimately took a connecting flight to New York, where she was scheduled to visit relatives. After she arrived at LAX, her family became worried and sent cryptic text messages suggesting that someone was trying to steal her money and identity. No one has heard from her since.
McDonnell briefed the Los Angeles Police Commission on the incident at a Nov. 26 meeting.
“On Friday, Nov. 8, 23-year-old Hannah Kobayashi missed her connecting flight from LAX to New York, which investigation determined was intentional,” McDonnell said.
Kobayashi’s sister Sidoni responded to the statement in a social media post, disputing the development of events and pointing out that McDonnell had incorrectly stated Kobayashi’s age as 30 years old. Kobayashi’s family also said that McDonnell gave an incorrect chronology of Kobayashi’s disappearance.
“Based on the information, the surveillance footage reviewed, and the information shared with us, these are the facts that my mom and I know. It appears that Hannah did not intentionally miss the flight,” Sidney said. Kobayashi wrote.
“We feel excluded from potentially important developments due to a lack of communication regarding some important details,” Sidoni Kobayashi said in a statement. “However, we remain hopeful and optimistic that the Los Angeles Police Department will do everything in its power to assist in the search for Hannah.”
According to Kobayashi’s family, he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on November 8, but missed his connecting flight to New York due to a short layover. Kobayashi stayed in Los Angeles overnight and appeared the next day at Taschen Bookstore at The Grove, an outdoor shopping mall in the Fairfax District.
Kobayashi was captured on video outside a Nike event near the Grove on Nov. 10 and was believed to have returned to Los Angeles International Airport, according to a statement from his family.
On November 11, Kobayashi was seen talking to a ticket agent at LAX. Then, around 9 p.m., she boarded the LAX Metro C line at the Aviation/Century station, her family wrote. She transferred at the Willowbrook/Rosa Parks station and was seen on video footage leaving the Pico station with an unknown person.
Kobayashi was again captured on video at the Greyhound Bus Terminal at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles around 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 12, according to his family.
Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Jeff Lee confirmed that the department is still investigating Kobayashi’s disappearance as a missing persons case. He said he had no updated information to share Monday morning.
Anyone with more information is asked to contact the LAPD at (877) 527-3247.
After Kobayashi’s disappearance, her father, Ryan, flew to Los Angeles to help search for his daughter. Elderly Kobayashi was found dead near Los Angeles last week in what police believe was an apparent suicide.
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.
“My heart goes out to the Kobayashi family at this time of unimaginable sadness,” McDonnell said at the Police Commission meeting. “We remain committed to locating Hannah and helping her family overcome this tragedy.”
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