() – More than three weeks after the disappearance of Hannah Kobayashi and calls from her family for information, Los Angeles police declared the 30-year-old woman voluntarily missing after video cameras revealed she crossed the border on foot into Mexico.
The Hawaii native traveled from Maui to Los Angeles on Nov. 8, with plans to take a connecting flight to New York City the same day, but she did not board the flight, her sister Sydni Kobayashi said.
Described as an artistic and creative soul, Hannah Kobayashi was headed to New York, where she planned to take photos at a DJ show in mid-November in Brooklyn.
His family has described the days after his disappearance as filled with worrying signs, including unusual financial transactions and multiple sightings.
Los Angeles police have said investigators determined Kobayashi intentionally missed her flight to New York and maintained contact with the family and was active on Instagram in the days that followed.
But in social media posts made before leaving Maui, Kobayashi suggested he had a strong desire to separate himself from modern connectivity, police stated in early December.
Below is a chronology of the series of events following Kobayashi’s disappearance:
November 8: Hannah Kobayashi flew from Maui to Los Angeles International Airport with plans to fly to New York City. She had the same itinerary as her ex-boyfriend, with whom they had initially planned to take a flight to John F. Kennedy International Airport. The ex-boyfriend, unlike Kobayashi, boarded his connecting flight. Surveillance cameras show Kobayashi leaving the plane wearing a black hoodie and tie-dyed leggings.
November 9: Kobayashi was spotted at a Taschen bookstore in The Grove shopping center in Los Angeles. That same day he made Venmo transactions for two unidentified people.
November 10: A YouTube video surfaced of her at the LeBron XXII Trial event at the Nike store in The Grove. She shared a photo from that event on his Instagram account.
November 11: It was the last day anyone was in contact with Kobayashi. He texted his mother, telling her he hadn’t arrived in New York. He also sent alarming messages to a friend, saying: “Hackers deleted my identity, stole all my funds and have me in a mental fog since Friday,” and another: “They tricked me into giving away all my funds.”
Surveillance footage from that day shows Kobayashi at a downtown Los Angeles subway station near the Crypto.com Arena, accompanied by an unidentified person. His family said he “does not appear to be in good condition.”
Police also stated that Kobayashi checked his luggage to New York, but requested that it be returned to the Los Angeles airport. That day, Kobayashi was seen collecting her luggage at a baggage carousel at the Los Angeles airport before heading to Union Station to buy a bus ticket to San Ysidro, an area of San Diego near the US-Mexico border.
November 12: At 12:13 p.m., Kobayashi crosses the US-Mexico border on foot. “She was alone, with her luggage, and seemed unharmed,” McDonnell testified on December 2.
November 15: The Los Angeles Police Department creates a missing person poster for Kobayashi, saying that she had last been seen at the airport and that she had freckles and a tattoo on her forearm.
November 24: Hannah’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, is found dead around 4 am on West Century Boulevard near the airport. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Office rules his death a suicide. “After tirelessly searching for Hannah in Los Angeles for 13 days, Ryan Kobayashi tragically took his own life,” the Kobayashi family said in a statement. Hannah’s aunt, Larie Pidgeon, told that ‘she died of a broken heart.’”
November 26: At a Board of Police Commissioners meeting, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell provides an update on the Kobayashi case, saying investigators determined that Hannah Kobayashi intentionally missed her Los Angeles flight. Angeles to New York. Investigators also noted that upon arriving in LA, Kobayashi “maintained contact with her family and remained active on Instagram” in the following days.
December 1: Investigators from the Los Angeles Police Department’s Missing Persons Unit travel to the U.S.-Mexico border, where they view U.S. Customs and Border Protection surveillance video of Kobayashi crossing the border.
December 2: The Police announce that they classified Kobayashi as a voluntarily missing person and report that the investigation will not continue in Mexico.
“Kobayashi’s classification as a voluntarily missing person reflects a careful balance between respect for his right to privacy and the absence of concrete evidence indicating a crime,” the Los Angeles police stated in a press release.
Law enforcement will be notified if Kobayashi re-enters the U.S. and “will do whatever is necessary,” McDonnell said, adding that there is currently no reason for authorities to detain or arrest her.
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