There was a huge and long-lasting search for a 30-year-old woman from Maui who went missing in Los Angeles last month, raising concerns about human trafficking and murder. On Monday, investigators said she was seen crossing into Mexico and is now considered a “voluntary missing person.”
Hannah Kobayashi took a trip on November 8 from Maui to Los Angeles.
Investigators said she purposely missed her connecting trip to New York, where she had planned to see an aunt.
The woman from Maui was seen the next day at The Grove for a LeBron James event. Her family said they got worried texts from her.
Then, around 10 p.m. on Nov. 11, she was seen with someone else at the Pico Metro Station near Crypto.com Arena.
As the weeks went by and the search got tougher, with more family members going to L.A. to look for her, they said in public that they thought Hannah might have been hurt by someone else.
On the other hand, police said Kobayashi was seen on LAX cameras on November 11 when she got her checked-through bags for New York.
An LAPD news release said, “The investigation also showed that Kobayashi knowingly left LAX with her bags and traveled to Union Station.” “She used her passport to buy a bus ticket to a place close to the Mexico border at Union Station.”
Police from the LAPD’s Missing Persons Unit went to the border between the U.S. and Mexico on December 1 to look at surveillance tape of the 30-year-old entering Mexico from San Ysidro on November 12.
It was still being looked for in L.A. while she was in Mexico. Ryan Kobayashi, her father, was found dead in a parking lot near LAX on November 24. This caused a terrible turn in the family’s search.
The LAPD said he killed himself.
Ryan talked to KTLA a few days before he died to try to get in touch with his daughter.
He said, “I miss her.” “I just want her to know that and do anything to get in touch.”
Detectives said at Monday’s news conference that the 30-year-old woman said before she left Maui that she wanted to disconnect from modern technology. They also said that it is still not clear if she still has her cell phone.
Additionally, the police said Kobayashi is not a suspect in any crimes and that listing her as a voluntary missing person strikes a balance between protecting her privacy and making sure that any investigations are carried out in a way that is legal and moral.
At the news conference, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said, “Our top priority is making sure Ms. Kobayashi is safe and healthy.” “We want Ms. Kobayashi to let us know she is safe by calling her family, the police, or someone at the U.S. Embassy,” Our hearts go out to her family and friends who are worried about her, but she has the right to privacy. The people who care about her could send her an easy message.
