Hannah Kobayashi: Everything you need to know as missing woman found safe after almost a month

Missing woman Hannah Kobayashi has been found safe almost a month after her disappearance, her family have said.

The 30-year-old from Hawaii seemed to vanish after arriving in Los Angeles from Maui on 8 November and missing a subsequent connecting flight to New York.

Her disappearance launched a widespread and high-profile search, during which Kobayashi’s father travelled to LA where he reportedly died by suicide.

Police claimed that Kobayashi had “voluntarily” gone missing and she was seen crossing the border into Mexico.

While her family did not say where she was eventually located, they revealed in a statement on 11 December, shared by their attorney, that she was “found safe”.

“We are incredibly relieved and grateful that Hannah has been found safe,” their statement read.

“This past month has been an unimaginable ordeal for our family, and we kindly ask for privacy as we take the time to heal and process everything we have been through.”

“We are happy to learn that Hannah has been found safe,” the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said in a statement. “Now that we have this new information, this has become a private matter and we will wrap up our investigation.”

Kobayashi successfully flew from Hawaii to California but failed to get on a connecting flight to New York where she was due to photograph a DJ performance.

She told her family that she had missed her flight and was sleeping at Los Angeles airport. The following day she told them she was going to go sightseeing in LA.

However, her family and friends began receiving “strange and cryptic, just alarming” messages sent from her phone that made them fearful for her welfare, her aunt Larie Pidgeon said.

“Deep Hackers wiped my identity, stole all of my funds, & have had me on a mind f**k since Friday,” said a message to a friend, according to screenshots her sister shared with CNN.

Another said, “I got tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds,” adding, “For someone I thought I loved.”

Imagery showed her walking around LA days after her missed flight and her social media appeared to corroborate that she was in the area.

Kobayashi was reported missing on 11 November and a search party was launched. Police later found that she had been spotted crossing into Mexico.

Police revealed she had taken her bags from LAX airport on 11 November and deemed her disappearance “voluntary”. Officials say she used cash to purchase a ticket to the US border with Mexico, where she crossed the San Diego San Ysidro crossing on foot on 12 November.

“She was alone with her luggage and appeared unharmed at this time,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said at a press conference at the time. “Investigators noted that, before departing Maui, Kobayashi expressed a desire to step away from modern connectivity.”

In late November, her father, Ryan, who had travelled from Hawaii to Los Angeles to search for his daughter, was found dead in what was ruled a suicide.

A GoFundMe page set up by Kobayashi's family to raise money to support the search, and which raised over $47,000, has issued an update saying that “any donor who would like a refund can submit a claim by December 18th, and it will be honored”.

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