Hannah Kobayashi was found alive
A missing Hawaii woman whose father killed himself during a frantic search for her has been found safe.
The Los Angeles Police Department announced Wednesday that Hannah Kobayashi is alive.
Ms Kobayashi’s disappearance last month after traveling to Los Angeles has sparked a massive search in California and a missing persons investigation.
It is not clear where he was found, but the police previously said that he had volunteered to cross the border into Mexico and would drop the missing persons case.
“We are happy to know that Hana has been found safe,” the LAPD said in a statement. “Now that we have this new information, it has become a confidential matter and we will close our investigation.”
Family ‘relieved and grateful’
Ms Kobayashi spoke to her family and assured them she was safe, according to ABC Eyewitness News.
In a statement, his family said they were “relieved and thankful” he was safe.
“This past month has been an unimaginable crisis for our family, and we sincerely ask that we not keep it a secret as we take time to heal and deal with everything we have been through.
“We want to thank everyone who supported us during this difficult time. Your compassion and concern mean the world to us.”
Hannah Kobayashi disappeared last month after traveling to Los Angeles
Ms Kobayashi, a budding photographer from Maui, embarked on a “bucket list” trip to New York on Nov 8. She had planned to see relatives, attend a folk festival in Brooklyn and complete a photography project.
Kobayashi is seen in different parts of LA
When she landed at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on her way to New York, Ms Kobayashi had 42 minutes to catch her flight. However, he never boarded the plane.
He told his family he had slept at the airport that night and texted them the next day saying he was sightseeing in Los Angeles.
In the following days Ms Kobayashi was seen in various parts of Los Angeles.
His family reported him missing to law enforcement on November 11 after relatives received “strange and scary” messages, according to his aunt Larie Pidgeon.
“When the family started clicking, it went black,” Ms Pidgeon previously said, adding that her phone “just died”.
Family members, friends and local volunteers launched a search party for Ms Kobayashi last month. Among them was Ryan Kobayashi, her father, who flew from Hawaii to Los Angeles to help track down his missing daughter.
He was found dead on November 24 after jumping from a parking lot near LAX, 13 days after arriving in California.
Ms Pidgeon told CNN she “died of a broken heart”.
Kobayashi was spotted crossing into Mexico
As the family grappled with the double tragedy of Ms Kobayashi’s disappearance and her father’s subsequent suicide, they were given new hope after police said the following week that she had crossed into Mexico on November 12, the day after her family reported her missing.
Security video from US Customs and Border Protection showed that Ms Kobayashi appeared “unharmed” as she walked across the border alone near Tijuana, about 125 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
Police urged Ms Kobayashi to contact her family to let them know she was safe before claiming she fell through the gate on purpose.
Authorities reported that the 30-year-old took her luggage from LAX days before she used the money to buy a bus ticket from Union Station to the border.
“So far, the investigation has not uncovered any evidence that Kobayashi is being sold or played. He is not a suspect in any crime,” the LAPD said at the time.
“Furthermore, the investigators found that before leaving for Maui, Kobayashi expressed a desire to leave the current relationship.”
Sources previously told NBC News that last month’s disappearance was not the first time Ms Kobayashi had gone missing.
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