Authorities announced Monday that a missing Hawaii woman was seen on camera crossing into Mexico four days after she landed at a Los Angeles airport and one day after she was last heard from.
In a press conference Monday evening, the LAPD said footage from Customs and Border Protection shows the 30-year-old photographer, Hannah Kobayashi crossing the southern border on foot on November 12 near Tijuana around 12:15 p.m.
Police officials claim Hannah Kobayashi intentionally skipped her flight
Courtesy Larie Pidgeon
“She was alone, with her luggage and appeared unharmed,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said at the briefing streamed by ABC 7. “At this time Kobayashi’s case has been classified a voluntary missing person.”
Police also said that investigators also believe she dumped her phone at some point after reaching LAX on Nov. 8th.
McDonnell stressed there is no evidence Kobayashi is a victim of sex trafficking or any foul play after skipping out on her connecting flight to New York.
He said, “Additionally the investigators noted that before departing Maui, Kobayashi expressed the desire to step away from modern connectivity.”
“Our priority is ensuring Ms. Kobayashi’s safety and well-being and we urge Ms. Kobayashi to contact her family, law enforcement or personnel at the US Embassy to let us know that she is safe.”
The police reaffirmed that she deliberately skipped the connecting flight from LA to her dream destination, New York City, for reasons that remain unclear, although her family contested this claim earlier on Monday.
Kobayashi’s sister Sydni had said in a statement: “Based on information, surveillance footage reviewed and information shared with us, these are the facts known to my mother and I: It does not appear that Hannah intentionally missed her flight.”
She also said, “The lack of communication surrounding some important details has left us feeling excluded from potentially crucial developments. However, we do remain hopeful and optimistic that the Los Angeles Police Department is doing everything in their power to assist us in locating Hannah.”
Kobayashi’s family members said she sent odd text messages before her disappearance, raising concerns among her loved ones.
According to the LA Times, her family stated that she arrived at LAX on November 8, but was seen on various surveillance videos three separate times throughout the California city until November 12.
Kobayashi’s loved ones filed a missing persons report on Nov. 11 after they lost all contact with her.
McDonnell stressed there is no evidence Kobayashi is a victim of sex trafficking or any foul play after skipping out on her connecting flight to New York.
Tragically, her father, Ryan Kobayashi, one of several family members who traveled to Los Angeles to assist in the search was discovered deceased in a parking lot near LAX, with officials ruling the death as a suicide.
A message to a family representative about the latest development Monday evening was not immediately returned.
Kobayashi’s aunt, Larie Pidgeon told The New York Post two weeks ago that the family was “extremely worried” for her safety.
“The LAPD has taken this report seriously from the moment we received it,” Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said at Monday’s news conference.
“And we expended a lot of resources to include a trip this past weekend to the US-Mexico to collaborate with our partners there.”
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