HONOLULU (KHON2) – The missing woman from Maui – Hannah Kobayashi – whose search and story has captivated Hawaii and the world, has recently been reported to have been found somewhere in Mexico.
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However, Hannah’s sister said that after speaking with her on the phone, Hannah told her that she did not want to go back to Maui.
Sydni Kobayashi took to social networks to clarify the situation.
His statement read:
It’s been one month since our family was exposed, and the pain we suffered was exposed for the whole world to see.
From the beginning, my immediate family did not know where Hannah was. Until yesterday, we were still in the dark as to where he was. There was only speculation. When Hana went missing the first time, our dad and his best friend flew to LA as soon as they got the news.
Shortly thereafter, my aunt and uncle from New York joined my father and his best friend in the search. At this time, my mother and I were staying at home in case Hannah would return to Maui or Oahu. We kept in touch with my father and our whole family during this whole time. Later, Larie and Jason joined the search, followed by me.
Larie, a self-proclaimed social media influencer, immediately began participating in many interviews and became the go-to point of contact for the media. Although my mother and I did not support this, it happened. There were many times when my mother and I asked Larie to respect our feelings and to tone down what she was writing and interviewing. Our first priority was to find Hannah, not create a media circus.
When a loved one goes missing, you just go into panic mode. Your body adapts to fight or flight, and unless you’ve experienced it, you can’t really understand the physical, mental, and emotional pain it takes. You don’t know right or wrong because no one can ever prepare this for you.
Couple that with the incomparable pain of the court of public opinion and the irreversible scrutiny that followed, and it’s a challenge no one is prepared to face. The past 31 days have been absolute hell for us, and I have a feeling they will be for a while, even as we try to transition back to some semblance of normalcy.
Each day brought unbearable uncertainty as to whether my sister was alive or dead. Losing my father to suicide during this tragedy was more than my soul and heart could bear. I am human. Despite the differences any family has – and we all do – my son, the family, and I loved him dearly.
In all this, we never lied. We are honest and coming from the beginning. There were times when we received messages from the public or from Larie—whom I no longer see as family—it seemed that they were wrong or that the truth was incomplete. I tried my best to handle the messages I received, but with hundreds of messages flooding in every hour, it quickly became overwhelming, prompting us to seek help.
My mother and I remained very open and did not mislead or exploit anyone. While GoFundMe lists my mother as a beneficiary, we kept all receipts to show where the money was spent: to find my sister. When my father passed away suddenly, I added his funeral expenses and preparations to support him as a close relative.
At this time, my mother and I have not seen Hana. We have no real evidence of his whereabouts, except that he is somewhere in Mexico. We just talked to him on the phone, and he said he was found safe by Larie, but at this point, he doesn’t want to go back to us.
As you can imagine, we are both very relieved and happy that my sister is alive and seems to be fine, but we also have mixed and overwhelming feelings of exhaustion, brokenness, and loss. We are asking the public to respect our privacy and give us a little grace while we are still in pain. There are still many unknowns, and many that still need to be addressed.
In due time, the truth will come out, and we will all get the answers we truly deserve. I stand by the decisions I made for my family, and we know where our hearts stand in this. I would never wish this kind of experience on anyone, especially not back-to-back.
Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to those who have supported us and helped us endlessly, who have not shown judgment since day one, and who have stood behind us. We are truly grateful for your support, love, and light.Sydney Kobayashi
The family’s GoFundMe page set up for Hannah’s search and rescue is no longer accepting donations and they have added that anyone requesting a refund can request another.
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The page has raised more than $47,000 in the past month.
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