On Monday, LAPD announced that Hannah Kobayashi was voluntarily missing and that she was seen on surveillance footage crossing into Mexico last month.
Hannah Kobayashi, the Hawaii woman who was believed to be missing in Los Angeles, was seen on surveillance footage crossing the border into Mexico after she vanished last month, authorities said Monday.
Kobayashi, 30, was reported missing after her family said she missed a connecting flight from Maui to New York City at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Nov. 8. She was then captured on surveillance video and images at various locations around Los Angeles over the next few days, according to police.
Larie Pidgeon, Kobayashi’s aunt, previously told USA TODAY that the family became alarmed after they received texts from Kobayashi that were out of character. The family said they last heard from Kobayashi on Nov. 11.
On Nov. 12, Kobayashi’s family said they filed a missing person report. The Los Angeles Police Department announced her as a missing person on Nov. 15.
Family members and friends flew to Los Angeles to form a search party following Kobayashi’s concerning behavior and lack of communication, with volunteers joining the effort as the case garnered national attention. On Nov. 24, her father, who had been trying to find his daughter, was found dead near LAX by apparent suicide, police said.
On Monday, the Los Angeles Police Department said Kobayashi was voluntarily missing. The announcement came about a week after LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said investigators determined that Kobayashi intentionally missed her flight.
During a news conference Monday, McDonnell said LAPD Missing Persons Unit investigators traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border on Sunday and reviewed surveillance footage from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The footage “clearly” showed Kobayashi crossing into Mexico on foot, according to McDonnell.
Footage shows Hannah Kobayashi crossing U.S.-Mexico border
According to McDonnell, investigators had conducted extensive witness interviews, reviewed surveillance footage, and collaborated with local and federal law enforcement agencies over the last three weeks.
Investigators later determined that Kobayashi had decided not to board her flight to New York City, which her family had disputed, the Los Angeles Times reported. While Kobayashi checked in her bag through to New York, LAPD said Kobayashi requested her bag be returned to her at LAX and surveillance footage showed her retrieving it from the baggage carrousel on Nov. 11.
Further investigation revealed that Kobayashi “knowingly” left LAX with her bag on Nov. 11, according to LAPD. She then traveled to Los Angeles Union Station — the main train station in the city — where she used her passport to buy a bus ticket for a destination near the California-Mexico border.
LAPD said Kobayashi traveled from Union Station to San Ysidro, California, the next day and crossed the border into Mexico.
Police: No criminal activity or foul play suspected
LAPD noted that while there has been speculation about the potential involvement of human trafficking or foul play, investigators have not uncovered “any evidence that Kobayashi is being trafficked or is the victim of foul play.” Police added that Kobayashi is also not a suspect in any criminal activity.
“Additionally, the investigators noted that before departing Maui, Kobayashi expressed a desire to step away from modern connectivity,” LAPD said. “The classification of Kobayashi as a voluntary missing person reflects a careful balance between respecting her right to privacy and the absence of concrete evidence indicating foul play.”
LAPD will not continue their investigation into Mexico but said if Kobayashi were to return to the U.S., law enforcement would be notified.
Kobayashi’s missing person case will remain active in the Missing and Unidentified Persons System until her safety is confirmed by law enforcement, according to police.
“Our priority is ensuring Ms. Kobayashi’s safety and well-being,” McDonnell confirmed. “We urge Ms. Kobayashi to contact her family, law enforcement or personnel at the U.S. Embassy to let us know she is safe. She has the right to privacy, and we respect her choices, but we also understand the concern her loved ones feel. A simple message could reassure those who care about her.”
Who is Hannah Kobayashi?
Kobayashi is described as 5 feet, 10 inches tall, and weighing about 140 pounds. She has brown hair, hazel eyes, and freckles on her face and normally wears glasses.
She also has a tattoo of a heart with a knife on her right forearm.
Friends described her as creative, entrepreneurial, and an aspiring photographer, CNN reported. She was planning to go to New York City to visit an aunt, and she was also going to take photos at a concert in Brooklyn in mid-November, her family told the news outlet.
Kobayashi was on the same New York-bound flight as her ex-boyfriend. They kept the tickets because they couldn’t get a refund and planned to go their separate ways after landing in New York, Kobayashi’s sister told the Times.
CNN reported the ex-boyfriend made the connecting flight, but that Kobayashi didn’t.
Contributing: Anthony Robledo, James Powel, and Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY
By Thao Nguyen USA TODAY