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Hannah Kobayashi Case: LAPD Issues Major Update connected Her Whereabouts
Hannah Kobayashi’s household is inactive searching for answers.
After the Los Angeles Police Department declared the 30-year-old—who was declared missing by her household Nov. 8—a “voluntarily” unaccounted person, her sister Sydni Kobayashi spoke out.
“We're conscionable arsenic confused,” she said during an quality alongside her family’s lawyer Sara Azari on NBC News Now Dec. 3, “and conscionable arsenic frustrated much than thing now.”
Sydni noted that portion the LAPD said successful a Dec. 2 quality conference that they person not uncovered immoderate grounds of Hannah being trafficked oregon a unfortunate of foul play, she remains suspicious that her sister could beryllium successful danger—emphasizing again that Hannah’s deficiency of interaction to her household is profoundly retired of character.
As she enactment it, “She ever kept adjacent to maine much than anyone successful our lives.”
The lawyer besides pushed backmost connected the LAPD’s determination to state Hannah voluntarily missing, particularly considering the Kobayashi family’s lingering concern.
“It takes a batch much digging and probe to beryllium capable to accidental it's voluntary,” she said. “They conscionable reached this conclusion—without showing them immoderate footage.”
Meanwhile, LAPD authorities accidental Hannah “appeared fine” successful footage from Nov. 12, wherever they accidental she was seen walking done the San Ysidro larboard of introduction to Mexico. They besides alleged that Hannah’s societal media included “indications that determination were immoderate desires oregon posts that would beryllium accordant successful idiosyncratic who would person the tendency to disconnect from their phone.
Sydni besides included a connection directed astatine her sister, urging her to travel location if the LAPD’s conclusions are correct.
Hannah Kobayashi/Instagram
“I can't accent capable however loved you are, however supported you are," Sydni told her sister during her NBC News Now appearance. “We're truly disquieted astir you. No substance what concern you're in, you ever person a location to travel to.”
Sydni’s caller statements travel aft the Kobayashi household reacted to the LAPD’s classification of Hannah’s missing idiosyncratic case, urging the nationalist to proceed the hunt for their loved one.
“We are profoundly grateful for the urgency and dedication instrumentality enforcement has shown successful investigating Hannah’s disappearance,” they said successful their connection to NBC News. “Our household remains hopeful that Hannah is harmless and urges everyone to proceed the search. The hunt is acold from over, and we are committed to doing everything imaginable to bring her location safely.”
E! News has reached retired to the LAPD regarding the Kobayashi family’s statements but has not yet heard back.
Keep speechmaking for each update to Hannah’s lawsuit truthful far.
(E! and NBC News are some portion of the NBCUniversal family.)
Hannah Kobayashi/Instagram
Hannah Kobayashi Arrives successful Los Angeles
On Nov. 8, Hannah Kobayashi flew from Maui to Los Angeles, wherever she was expected to drawback a connecting formation to New York's JFK International Airport, according to L.A. police.
Hannah was booked connected the aforesaid formation arsenic her ex-boyfriend. Her sister Sydni Kobayashi said, per the Los Angeles Times, that they couldn't get a refund connected the seats but had agreed to spell their abstracted ways upon accomplishment successful New York, wherever Hannah was going for a performance and a photography job.
Hannah ended up not boarding her flight retired of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) for reasons unknown, per an LAPD quality release. Her bag, meanwhile, was checked done to her last destination, and she requested it beryllium sent backmost to LAX.
Surveillance video reviewed by constabulary showed the 30-year-old picking up her container astatine LAX connected Nov. 11.
Walter Bibikow/Getty Images
Hannah's Whereabouts successful L.A.
Upon accomplishment successful L.A., Hannah visited the Taschen bookstore astatine The Grove buying halfway connected Nov. 9 and texted a comparative a photograph of a book, her aunt Larie Pidgeon told the Los Angeles Times. Hannah besides filled retired a newsletter form, utilizing her Maui address.
Family members utilized the photograph information to way Hannah to Taschen, Larie explained, wherever they confirmed with employees that Hannah had been there. (Larie said she was 1 of the relatives who traveled from Maui to look for her niece.)
On Nov. 10, Hannah attended the LeBron XXII Trial Experience held astatine the Nike store astatine The Grove and posted a photo of Jordan-clad feet the aforesaid day, tagging the LA Times and putting her determination arsenic "City of Angels, Los Angeles CA."
"We deliberation she was staying astir The Grove," Larie told the Times. "It's a beauteous touristy country with a batch of shops, bookstores and museums, truthful we deliberation she was conscionable successful that country sightseeing and felt safe."
LAPD Missing Persons Unit
Hannah's Texts Take a Concerning Turn, Family Reports Her Missing
Hannah's substance messages to household members had sounded normal, including laments that she hadn't been capable to get different formation yet, according to Larie.
But connected Nov. 11, Larie continued, per the Times, Hannah texted different aunt that she was acrophobic her individuality and each her wealth had been stolen, aft which nary 1 could get ahold of her.
"She was utilizing words similar 'hun' and 'babe' and saying 'someone's trying to bargain my funds,'" Larie said. "She doesn’t speech similar that. It was conscionable retired of quality and the household sounded the alarm."
They were "strange, cryptic messages—things astir the matrix, it was truthful dissimilar her," Larie told KTLA. "And past each of a sudden, nary much communication."
The past clip Hannah had her telephone turned connected was astatine 4 p.m. connected Nov. 11 astatine LAX, wherever constabulary said she picked up her bag.
Her household reported her missing the pursuing day.
Mitch Diamond/The Image Bank/Getty Images
The Last Sighting of Hannah successful L.A.
Hannah's household shared Nov. 18 that they had seen surveillance footage showing her getting disconnected a bid astatine the Pico Metro presumption adjacent Crypto.com Arena successful downtown L.A. astatine 10 p.m. connected Nov. 11.
"It is evident that Hannah does not look to beryllium successful bully information and she is not alone," her household wrote connected Facebook.
According to police, Hannah made her mode to Union Station, astir 3 miles distant from the arena, wherever she utilized her passport to acquisition a autobus summons to a spot adjacent the California-Mexico border.
On Nov. 12, constabulary said, she boarded a autobus to San Ysidro. The assemblage has been dubbed the "Gateway to the Americas" arsenic it's the astir confederate metropolis successful California and a fashionable border-crossing spot.
Hannah Kobayashi/Instagram
The Kobayashi Family Pleads for Help Finding Hannah
Family members staged a rally and passed retired fliers connected Nov. 21 adjacent the downtown spot wherever Hannah was past seen
"Please, delight bash not halt saying her name, Hannah Kobayashi," her aunt Larie said astatine the event, per KTLA. "Your full household is here. The full satellite is looking for you. If you tin and you person access, delight scope retired to us. We’re not mad."
Added Hannah's father, Ryan Kobayashi, "She's a beauteous miss wrong and outside. Just scope out, if you tin astatine all."
He told NBC4 astatine the rally, "It’s each parents’ nightmare. We don’t cognize wherever to start, wherever to begin. It’s similar a atom of soil successful the ocean."
Eric Thayer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Hannah's Father Is Found Dead
Ryan Kobayashi, who was successful municipality from Maui to look for Hannah, jumped to his death from a parking operation adjacent LAX connected the greeting of Nov. 24, according to police, who responded to a study of a deceased antheral astatine the 6100 artifact of Century Boulevard astatine 4 a.m.
The L.A. County Medical Examiner's study stated that Ryan suffered aggregate blunt unit traumatic injuries and the manner of decease was suicide.
"It's each parent's nightmare," Ryan told NBC4 astatine the Nov. 21 rally. "We don't cognize wherever to start, wherever to begin. It’s similar a atom of soil successful the ocean."
The RAD Movement, a nonprofit advocator for families of missing people, said successful a connection Ryan had been successful L.A. for 13 days searching for his daughter.
"This nonaccomplishment has compounded the family’s suffering immeasurably," the radical stated, portion besides emphasizing that determination was inactive a missing pistillate to look for and it was "crucial for everyone to stay vigilant successful their efforts to find Hannah."
Speculation that Ryan had thing to bash with Hannah's disappearance was cruel and needed to beryllium unopen down, Larie told the LA Times. "He died of a breached heart," she said.
Hannah Kobayashi/Instagram
Police Say Hannah Is successful Mexico, Change Status to "Voluntary Missing Person"
The LAPD announced Dec. 2 that they past had eyes connected Hannah crossing the borderline from San Ysidro into Mexico connected Nov. 12, unsocial and carrying her luggage.
Investigators from the department's Missing Persons Unit went to the borderline Dec. 1 and viewed surveillance video from U.S. Customs and Border Protection that showed her walking into Mexico, constabulary said.
Hannah is present considered a voluntary missing person, according to the LAPD, which noted that she is not a fishy successful immoderate transgression activity, nor has their probe uncovered immoderate grounds of quality trafficking oregon foul play.
"Our precedence is ensuring Ms. Kobayashi's information and well-being," LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said astatine a quality conference. "We impulse Ms. Kobayashi to interaction her family, instrumentality enforcement oregon unit astatine the U.S. Embassy to fto america cognize she is safe. She has the close to privacy, and we respect her choices, but we besides recognize the interest her loved ones feel. A elemental connection could reassure those who attraction astir her."
In a connection to NBC News, Hannah's household said they remained hopeful that she was harmless and they were inactive looking for her.
"The hunt is acold from over," they said Dec. 3, "and we are committed to doing everything imaginable to bring her location safely. We privation answers and a solution that ensures Hannah’s information and impulse instrumentality enforcement and the nationalist to enactment focused connected uncovering her and to debar speculative conclusions."
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