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Three weeks after a Hawaiian woman disappeared in Los Angeles, her family is vowing to continue the search in the shocking disappearance amid disturbing messages.
Hannah Kobayashi, 30, was last heard from Nov. 11 after she missed a connecting flight from Maui to New York City at Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 8, her family said.
On November 24, her father, who was trying to find his daughter, was found dead near A Airport by suicide, the police said.
Surveillance videos have shown him at stores and trains in Los Angeles, and mysterious messages and online payments since then have only added to the mystery of his disappearance.
On Wednesday, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said police believed Kobayashi missed his flight on purpose.
“Our hearts go out to the Kobayashi family at this unimaginable time of grief,” McDonnell said in a Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners meeting. “We remain fully committed to finding Hannah and supporting the family as they go through this difficult time.”
The LAPD did not return USA TODAY’s request for further updates on the investigation on Friday. USA TODAY also reached out to the family advocacy group.
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 as 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighing 140 pounds, according to an LAPD statement. He has brown hair, hazel eyes and freckles and often wears glasses. He has a tattoo of a heart with a knife on his right arm.
Friends described him as creative and entrepreneurial, and as an avid photographer, CNN reported. He had been planning to go to New York to visit his aunt, and would also take pictures at a concert in Brooklyn in mid-November, his family told the newspaper.
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 leave separately after landing in New York, Kobayashi’s sister told the Los Angeles Times.
CNN reported that her ex-boyfriend made a connecting flight, but he didn’t.
What did Kobayashi do after missing the flight?
The day after missing his flight, the LA Times reported that Kobayashi went to a bookstore at The Grove shopping mall, in Los Angeles’ Fairfax District. His aunt told the newspaper that she sent a picture of the book to her cousin. Using the data from the photo, the family then went to the bookstore and confirmed that he had been there and that he had filled out the mail form.
He also sent two payments on Venmo to two members of his family without their knowledge, CNN reported. Police said he continued to be active on Instagram.
On November 10, he appeared in a promotional video for the LeBron James Nike event at The Grove. He also posted a photo of the event on his Instagram, his last in public, where he tagged the LA Times.
About the messages before they disappeared
The family began receiving text messages after Kobayashi missed his flight, the family and police said. The messages were inappropriate from Kobayashi, his aunt, Larie Pidgeon, told USA TODAY. This included strange expressions and a lack of emojis.
In the text messages, Kobayashi said he did not feel safe, CNN reported. He sent a message that someone wanted to steal money and his ID. In another column, CNN reported that he wrote that he was “tricked” into giving up all his money. “There’s someone I thought I loved,” the follow-up message said.
CBS reported one of his messages said he had had a “very emotional awakening” and said he had returned to the airport but “might need help getting there.”
The last day his family met him was Nov. 11. In photos of the message shared by USA TODAY, Kobayashi said he was on his way to the airport.
“I have a safe way” and “I’ll take care of you,” he said, later adding “Matrix style.”
In follow-up messages, he said, “I’m safe”, “I love you”, “Don’t worry”, “For everything”, I will keep sending you, “Promise” and “Call you soon.”
On November 11, surveillance cameras showed Kobayashi at LAX but he never boarded the plane. Sometime after 4:30 p.m., he spoke with an American Airlines representative, Pidgeon said.
His phone was last turned on at LAX there.
Where was Kobayashi last seen?
That night, CCTV footage captured Kobayashi in downtown LA. He was at the Pico Metro light-rail station, near the Crypto.com Arena, with an unknown person.
On November 12, Kobayashi’s family said they filed a missing person’s report. The LAPD reported him as a missing person on November 15th.
The search for Kobayashi has drawn attention online and in Los Angeles, and volunteers have formed groups to search the streets for him.
Days later, police found her father, Ryan Kobayashi, dead in a parking lot near LAX on Nov. 24. Ryan was searching for about two weeks for his daughter near Los Angeles.
The family confirmed that he died of suicide. McDonnell, the police chief, said preliminary findings indicate it was a suicide.
Pidgeon told USA TODAY that the past few weeks had been difficult before he learned of his son-in-law’s sudden death.
“He just died of a broken heart,” Pidgeon said. “Being on the streets and seeing where his daughter might be. No sleep. Rumors of speculation going on. It just bothered him.”
Anyone with information about 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.
Assist: Anthony Robledo and James Powell
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hannah Kobayashi’s search continues three weeks after missing LAX flight