Hannah KobayashiThe missing Hawaiian woman whose disappearance sparked a massive search and missing persons investigation in Los Angeles has been found safe, police announced Wednesday.
Kobayashi disappeared last month in Los Angeles. Further details about her disappearance, as well as where and how she was found, were not immediately available Wednesday, but police previously said she had voluntarily crossed the border with Mexico.
“We are pleased to learn that Hannah has been found safe and sound,” the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement. “Now that we have this new information, this has become a private matter and we will conclude our investigation.”
Kobayashi’s mother and sister, in a statement through their lawyer, were the first to announce Wednesday that she had been found safe.
“We are incredibly relieved and grateful that Hannah was found safe and sound,” wrote Brandi Yee and Sydni Kobayashi. “The past month has been an unimaginable ordeal for our family, and we kindly ask for your privacy while we take time to heal and process everything we have experienced. We would like to express our sincere thanks to everyone who has supported us during this difficult time. Your kindness and concern matter to us.
Kobayashi, an aspiring photographer from Maui, was traveling to New York on November 8 for a new job and to visit relatives when she missed a connecting flight during a layover at Los Angeles International Airport . She told her family she was sleeping at the airport that night and texted them the next day to say she was sightseeing in Los Angeles.
Her family reported her missing to law enforcement on Nov. 11 after relatives received text messages that were “strange and cryptic, just alarming,” according to her aunt Larie Pidgeon.
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“Once the family started pushing, they went dark,” Pidgeon told The Associated Press late last month. After the Nov. 11 texts, her phone “just went off,” Pidgeon said.
Family members, friends and local volunteers searched for Hannah in Los Angeles. Hannah’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, was among those who came from Hawaii to help with the search. He was found dead on November 24 in a parking lot near Los Angeles International Airport, according to the county medical examiner. Kobayashi’s family confirmed Ryan Kobayashi’s death in a statement the same day, saying they had “endured a devastating tragedy” and that he had taken his own life.
Police said Kobayashi entered Mexico at the San Ysidro border crossing, about 125 miles (201 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles, on Nov. 12, the day after her family reported her missing. Authorities made the announcement after viewing security video from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Kobayashi disappeared voluntarily as it sought to “move away from modern connectivity,” Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said previously.
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