Yet another twist has emerged in the search for Hannah Kobayashi, the 31-year-old who disappeared after missing a connecting flight at LAX earlier this month.
Kobayashi’s aunt, Larie Pidgeon, announced Tuesday night that police are investigating a mysterious Venmo payment she made on Nov. 9—the same day she was scheduled to arrive in New York for a “bucket list” trip and photo shoot.
The payments—an undisclosed amount—were sent to Jonathan Taylor and Veronica Almendarez within an hour, his account shows. Almendarez’s payment included a letter with a bow and arrow emoji for his payment, with him writing his payment to Taylor simply as “reading.”
Hannah Kobayashi sent the Venmo money shortly before she disappeared.
The US Sun reported that the source said the money was for tarot card readings, which is something the “spiritual” Kobayashi believed to be. Internet sleuths have tracked down a TikTok account believed to be Taylor’s and filled it with comments, but it has since become private.
Before the November payment, Kobayashi had only made government payments to the remittance team four times this year. He has no prior financial history with Taylor or Almendarez.
No one has been named in his disappearance.
Pidgeon told Day that the family is aware of the secret payment and said it is part of the police investigation in Kobayashi. The LAPD has not publicly disclosed Kobayashi’s Venmo account and has remained largely mum about its investigation.
Pidgeon told the Daily Beast this week that family members are focusing their efforts on downtown Los Angeles after police told them there is reason to believe he is still somewhere in the metro area of 18 million.
Hannah Kobayashi was captured by security cameras on November 8 inside the Los Angeles International airport.
The last sighting of Kobayashi came on November 11, when security cameras caught him at a Metro station and he returned to the airport, although authorities insist he did not board the plane. Before that, cameras captured Kobayashi and others at a mall in downtown Los Angeles and near the Crypto.com Arena, where the Lakers play. The family says he hasn’t been heard from for weeks, though, and his cell phone is either dead or turned off.
Adding to the lover’s confusion is what Kobayashi did before he went off the grid. Unfortunately, the up-and-coming photographer reportedly sent messages to loved ones that didn’t sound like his usual expressions.
“He talked about being scared, and that someone might be trying to steal his money and his identity,” Pidgeon said to KTLA. “It’s strange, hidden messages – things about the matrix, it was different from him. And then suddenly, there is no more communication.”
Pidgeon immediately rushed to Los Angeles from his home in northern California to look for his nephew when he stopped answering the phone. Other loved ones did the same, with his aunt flying in from New York and his father flying in from his hometown of Maui.
Events in Los Angeles have been organized to gather support for Hana’s search and raise awareness of her mysterious story.
Another tragedy struck the family over the weekend after Kobayashi’s father, 58-year-old Ryan Kobayashi, took his own life in a parking lot at LAX. His body was found at 4am on Sunday — 13 days after he first arrived in the city to search.
Pidgeon told the Daily Beast that the elder Kobayashi died of a “broken heart” after tirelessly watching over Hana day and night.
“He couldn’t take it,” Pidgeon told the Beast. “He loved his daughter forever.”
These two tragedies did not stop the 45-year-old Pidgeon’s determination to find his grandson. The distraught aunt fears that Kobayashi may have been kidnapped or sold outside of Los Angeles, but for now, she is still focused on exploring every inch of the city in addition to passing on and holding meetings. He said earlier that Ryan Kobayashi had been scouring the city’s haunted neighborhoods – including the infamous Skid Row – in the hope of any information.
Pidgeon is not alone in his efforts. People across the county stepped in to help with the search, with GoFundMe raising nearly $40,000 by Wednesday afternoon.
“Hana, we are searching tirelessly for you,” Pidgeon said in a plea shared by the Beast. “We are keeping hope alive. We are sharing your name. We are making people listen to you. We love you with everything we are and I want you not to lose hope because we’re not losing hope until we find you.”