The mystery man who spent nine hours with photographer Hannah Kobayashi before she disappeared told investigators she was a “free spirit” but was otherwise completely normal, according to a report. It is said that it looked like this.
The day before she flew into Mexico, Kobayashi and the man ran into each other outside LAX, walked through downtown L.A. together, talked and laughed all the way to Union Station, and fell asleep together.
When he woke up in the morning, the 30-year-old photographer was gone.
The man was one of the first people authorities tracked after she was reported missing after police saw the two of them on a security camera.
“He was the last person to see her when she didn't know where she was for a while,” said Lt. Doug Oldfield of the Los Angeles Police Department's Missing Persons Unit. told People magazine.
“So we had to spend several days working on this to make sure nothing bad happened,” he says.
After analyzing hours of footage, police determined he was not a threat. He was always smiling, and Kobayashi sometimes yelled for help as he passed LAPD officers.
Investigators say they spoke with the man twice, the first time around 9pm local time on November 11, when she was leaving the airport. She told police she was looking for directions to the station.
The two decided to walk together, and as they talked, a bond was instantly formed.
“Given the amount of time we spent together, he was a good listener,” said Missing Persons Unit Detective Omar Franco.
“She just kept talking about her life on Maui, her personal life, her love life, etc., and he just listened to her.”
The man described Kobayashi as a “free spirit,” but told police Kobayashi seemed completely normal and not afraid.
She didn't seem scared and even talked about plans to go to New York — she was scheduled to fly out to see her boyfriend three days ago, but didn't get on the plane.
When they arrived at the station, they ate dinner together and passed out in the waiting room.
Kobayashi woke up early in the morning by herself, packed her things, and went for a “walk.”[ed] I left alone,” Franco told the magazine.
“We were able to corroborate these things,” Oldfield said.
She bought a bus ticket around 6:10 a.m. on Nov. 12, arrived at the border four hours later, and entered Tijuana around noon, police said.
Her cell phone was left behind at LAX for reasons still unknown.
Police cleared the “gentleman” of any wrongdoing and there is no suspicion that Mr. Kobayashi was the victim of any crime.
Kobayashi's whereabouts are still unknown, but there is a possibility that she was involved in a marriage fraud carried out by an Argentinian.
According to reports, the photographer is believed to have landed at Los Angeles International Airport with her new husband, Alan Cacace, and his girlfriend Marianna. Los Angeles Magazine.
Officials believe the aspiring photographer may have been swindled out of money after marrying a man whose green card visa scheme fell through, the outlet said.
Kobayashi's mother, Brandi Yee, allegedly found immigration documents at her daughter's home in Hawaii indicating that she was working with or in contact with an immigration attorney.
Tensions in the family have been torn apart since Kobayashi's self-disappearance and her father's tragic suicide.
Last week, the family rift between Kobayashi's younger sister, Sidney, and her aunt, Larry Pidgeon, was revealed to the public.
Sidney accused Pidgeon, who had become her de facto updater, of not representing her family.
“It's really unfortunate that we have to ask the family questions,” Sidoni told News Nation. “The fact that she has committed illicit activities and wants to end the relationship… [our effort]it's her responsibility. ”
Pidgeon hit back at her niece, who told the Post in a national TV interview that “Sydney is throwing her under the bus” for her desire for the spotlight.
“They want to be the face. They want to be everything… It's really sad,” Pidgeon said.
The rift followed the death of Kobayashi's father, who police say jumped from an airport parking lot after arriving in Los Angeles to help search for his daughter.
