Editor’s note: This article discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat on 988lifeline.org.
Three weeks after a Hawaiian woman disappeared in Los Angeles, her family vows to continue investigating the mysterious disappearance amid disturbing text messages.
Hannah Kobayashi30, was last heard from on Nov. 11 after missing a connecting flight from Maui to New York at Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 8, her family said.
On November 24, her father, who was looking for his daughter, was found dead near the Los Angeles airport by apparent suicide, police said.
Surveillance videos showed her at a Los Angeles mall and train station, and strange messages and online payments since then have only added to the mystery of her disappearance.
On Tuesday, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said police determined Kobayashi intentionally missed his flight.
“Our hearts go out to the Kobayashi family during this unimaginable time of grief,” McDonnell said at a meeting of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners. “We remain fully committed to finding Hannah and supporting the family as they navigate this tragedy.”
The LAPD did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for further updates on the investigation Friday. USA TODAY also contacted an organization representing the family.
Here’s what we know:
Hannah Kobayashi is seen on a security camera at Los Angeles International Airport on November 8, 2024.
Who is Hannah Kobayashi?
Kobayashi is described standing 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing approximately 140 pounds, according to an LAPD description. She has brown hair, hazel eyes, and freckles on her face and normally wears glasses. She has a tattoo of a heart with a knife on her right forearm.
Her friends described her as creative and entrepreneurial, and an aspiring photographer, CNN reported. She planned to go to New York to visit an aunt and was also going to take photos at a concert in Brooklyn in mid-November, her family told the outlet.
Kobayashi was on the same flight to New York as her ex-boyfriend. They kept the tickets because they couldn’t get a refund and planned to split up after landing in New York, Kobayashi’s sister told the Los Angeles Times.
CNN reported that the ex-boyfriend took the connecting flight, but she did not.
What did Kobayashi do after missing the flight?
A day after missing her flight, the LA Times reported that Kobayashi went to a bookstore at The Grove shopping center in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles. Her aunt told the newspaper she had sent a photo of a book to a relative. Using the photo data, the family then visited that bookstore and confirmed that they had been there and filled out a newsletter form.
She also sent two payments on Venmo to two people her family did not recognize, CNN reported. Police said she remains active on Instagram.
On November 10, she was identified in a promotional video for a LeBron James Nike event at The Grove. She also posted a photo from the event on her Instagramher last public post, in which she tagged the LA Times.
Concerning the SMS before disappearance
The family began receiving disturbing text messages after Kobayashi missed his flight, the family and police said. The messages did not match Kobayashi’s, his aunt, Larie Pidgeon, told USA TODAY. These included strange phrases and a lack of emojis.
In the messages, Kobayashi said she didn’t feel safe, CNN reported. She sent a text saying someone was trying to steal her money and her identity. In another text, CNN reported that she wrote that she had been “tricked” into giving away all of his funds. “For someone I thought I loved,” a follow-up message reads.
CBS reported that one of her messages said she had completed a “very intense spiritual awakening” and was heading back to the airport but “might need some help getting there.”
The last day her family made contact with her was November 11. screenshots of text messages shared with USA TODAY, Kobayashi said she was on her way to the airport.
“I have safe passage” and “I’ll keep you posted,” she said, later adding “a la Matrix.”
In follow-up messages, she said: “I’m safe”, “I love you”, “Don’t worry”, “For everyone’s sake”, I’ll keep you posted”, “Promise” and “I’ll call you soon.”
On November 11, surveillance cameras showed Kobayashi at LAX, but she never boarded a flight. Sometime after 4:30 p.m., she spoke to an American Airlines agent, Pidgeon said.
His phone was last turned on at LAX around this time.
Where was Kobayshi last seen?
That night, CCTV footage captured Kobayashi in downtown Los Angeles. She was at the Pico Metro light rail station, near the Crypto.com Arena, with an unidentified person.
On November 12, Kobayashi’s family said they filed a missing person’s report. The LAPD announced it as missing person on November 15.
Kobayashi’s research has received widespread attention online and in Los Angeles, and volunteers organized groups to search the streets for her.
Days later, police found his father, Ryan Kobayashi, dead in a parking lot near LAX on November 24. Ryan had been looking for his daughter for almost two weeks in the Los Angeles area.
The family confirmed that he committed suicide. McDonnell, the police chief, said preliminary findings indicate it was a suicide.
Pidgeon told USA TODAY that the past few weeks had already been difficult before learning of her brother-in-law’s sudden death.
“He just died of a broken heart,” Pidgeon said. “Being on the streets and seeing the possibilities of where his daughter could be. No sleep. The speculative rumors going around. It took a toll on him.”
Anyone with information on Kobayashi’s whereabouts is asked to call the Los Angeles Police Department at 1-877-527-3247 or The Rad movement at 619-904-0840.
Contributors: Anthony Robledo and James Powel
(This story has been updated to add new information.)
This article was originally published on USA TODAY: Search for Hannah Kobayashi continues three weeks after missing LAX flight
