The family of Hawaiian woman Hannah Kobayashi, who disappeared more than two weeks ago, disagrees with new allegations in the Los Angeles Police Department investigation.
The 30-year-old resident of Oahu, Hawaii, was planning a vacation to visit her aunt in New York City and flew from Maui to Los Angeles International Airport on Nov. 8, her aunt previously told Fox News Digital. told. She was scheduled to board a connecting flight to New York at 11 a.m. with a 42-minute layover, but she did not take the flight. Her family doesn't know why.
Kobayashi's family said he returned to the airport on November 11, but did not board the plane, despite having prepared a detailed itinerary and booked a hotel in New York City. . Her family reported her missing that day after they received a series of strange text messages and then lost communication.
The family of a woman who went missing while on a cross-border holiday says she was receiving cryptic messages from a phone that didn't look like hers.
Hannah Kobayashi is seen on surveillance footage from LAX on Nov. 8. Her family said there is additional surveillance footage that shows her with an unknown man at the Pico subway station on Nov. 11, but it has not yet been released to the public. . (Missing Persons in America/Facebook)
At Tuesday's Los Angeles Police Commission meeting, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said detectives determined the photographer intentionally missed his connecting flight.
“On Friday, Nov. 8, 23-year-old Hannah Kobayashi missed her connecting flight from LAX to New York. After investigation, it was determined that this was intentional,” McDonnell said, giving the woman's age incorrectly. Ta.
“On November 15, our Missing Persons Unit took over responsibility for the investigation. Detectives are diligently reviewing video surveillance and employing a variety of investigative techniques to locate Hannah, while “The family is continuing their personal search efforts,” he said, adding that authorities “will continue to do our best to investigate.” Looking for Hannah. ”
Hawaii woman's mysterious text messages immediately cause concern after disappearance
Before Kobayashi lost contact completely, she sent cryptic emails to friends and family, writing, “I was tricked into giving away almost everything.'' [her] funds. ” (Larry Pidgeon)
Kobayashi's family said they were unaware of the department's progress in the investigation until they were sent the video of McDonnell's speech. In a statement on social media, the missing woman's sister, Sidoni Kobayashi, disputed that Kobayashi intentionally missed the flight and pointed out inaccuracies in McDonnell's chronology of events. did.
“Based on intelligence, surveillance footage reviewed, and information shared with us, these are the facts that my mother and I know. Hannah intentionally Looks like I didn't miss my flight.''
“We feel that we are being excluded from potentially important developments due to a lack of communication regarding some important details,” the statement added. “The information resulting from these investigations has not yet been communicated directly to my mother and me by the Los Angeles Police Department Chief or the detectives involved in Hannah's case.”
Kobayashi's family said last week that the Los Angeles Police Department had reason to believe she was still in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Police Department could not be reached for comment.
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Hannah Kobayashi, 30, was heading to New York City to visit her family. (From Hanna Kobayashi Instagram)
“However, we remain hopeful and optimistic that the Los Angeles Police Department will fully support the search for Hannah,” her sister continued.
Kobayashi's aunt, Larry Pidgeon, said Kobayashi's mother reported her missing on Nov. 11, the day her cellphone lost contact with family and friends. Through their own investigation, the family viewed surveillance footage from the day Kobayashi was seen with an unknown man near the Pico subway station in downtown Los Angeles.
“Pico Station is located in a very unsafe area. [and] It was late at night,” Pidgeon said. “We became more cautious because it's not a place Hannah would go to. There's no reason for her to go to a high-crime area. Even if she says, 'I'm tired and I need to go get a hotel room.' Even though there are 18 hotels near the airport…you would need two transfer stations to get to this station.”
Her family said the photographer was seen in someone else's social media video taken Nov. 10 at The Grove shopping complex. According to her aunt, Kobayashi charged an employee at the same complex the next day and used her Hawaii address to sign up for a book club at the TASCHEN bookstore.
Witnesses told the family that Kobayashi was “in good spirits” and “had some time to explore Los Angeles,” Pidgeon said.
Hannah Kobayashi, 30, was last seen on surveillance footage at the Pico subway station on Nov. 11 with an unknown man, but she was on a Nov. 8 flight from Los Angeles to John F. Kennedy. I did not board the plane. (Larry Pidgeon)
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However, no new clues have been obtained since November 11th.
Kobayashi's father, Ryan Kobayashi, 58, was found dead in an apparent suicide after jumping from a parking lot around 4 a.m. on Nov. 24, the Los Angeles Police Department said on Fox News. Digitally acknowledged.
“We remain committed to locating Hannah and helping her family overcome this tragedy,” McDonnell said at the Police Commission meeting.
Despite further tragedy hitting the family, Kobayashi's aunt told Fox News Digital last week that the family is “hanging on by a thread, but we're not giving up.”
Kobayashi's family said anyone with information is asked to call the RAD Movement hotline at 619-904-0840.
