Hannah Kobayashi searches continue today, a day after her father was found dead and nearly two weeks after her mysterious disappearance.
The 31-year-old Hawaii woman caught a flight from Maui on November 8 to New York City, but did not catch her connecting flight in Los Angeles.
Her loved ones say she was due to meet family in New York and had a handwritten itinerary stating “bucket list dreams become a reality,” but instead she has been seen only fleetingly on surveillance video while they have received alarming and out-of-character text messages from her phone.
Hannah is described as 5 feet 10 inches tall and approximately 140 pounds. She has brown hair, brown eyes and freckles on her face. She has a tattoo of a knife on one of her forearms.
The body of Kobayashi’s father Ryan was found on Sunday in L.A., where he had spent 13 days in the search for his daughter.
This timeline, below, plots how her mysterious disappearance has unfolded …
Where Is Hannah Kobayashi?
November 8: First Sighting at LAX
Kobayashi landed at LAX from Maui at 9.53 p.m. local time and was seen on surveillance footage leaving the aircraft dressed in a black hooded sweatshirt and tie-dye leggings.
She missed her connecting flight to New York because of a tight 42-minute layover, her family said.
November 9: First Sighting at The Grove
Kobayashi was sighted at The Grove shopping mall in downtown L.A. She spent considerable time in Taschen Books and asked to charge her phone,
“She went to the bookstore and asked employees to charge her phone. So she charged her phone there for an hour and a half while she got food,” her aunt, Larie Pidgeon, told Fox News on November 21, appearing alongside Kobayashi’s father. “She even filled out a mailing list with her Hawaiian address, and it’s in her hand writing.”
November 10: Second Sighting at The Grove
On Sunday, two days after she missed her connecting flight, Kobayashi returned to The Grove where she was seen in the background of a video from a Nike and LeBron James event.
She also posted a picture from the event to her Instagram page.
November 11: Strange Texts and Return to LAX
Kobayashi’s aunt, Larie Pidgeon, told USA TODAY that the strange and “super strange and alarming” texts began on the Monday after the connecting flight was missed.
“We started getting texts saying that she didn’t feel safe, that someone was trying to steal her funds, that someone was trying to take her identity,” Pidgeon said. “Weird things, calling us babe, things that weren’t quite the normal way that she speaks.”
“We started getting texts saying that she didn’t feel safe, that someone was trying to steal her funds, that someone was trying to take her identity,” Kobayashi’s aunt Larie Pidgeon told USA Today on November 17.
Kobayashi’s last texts were also absent of emojis, which her family told Fox News on November 21 was very unusual.
Hawaii News Now earlier reported, on November 15, that one message sent to Kobayashi’s friend read in part: “I got tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds.” A second message said: “For someone I thought I loved.”
Kobayashi’s sister, Sydni Kobayashi, told the news outlet the texts were “really weird.”
“It’s weird to me because it doesn’t sound like her, like there’s just something off about it,” she said. “So I wasn’t too sure. I don’t know if it’s her or if someone else was texting.”
Pidgeon told USA TODAY on November 19 that Kobayashi was seen on the Monday at LAX airport, talking to an American Airlines ticketing agent.
“It’s been confirmed that she was trying to basically get a direct flight. She was sick of standby,” Larie Pidgeon told Fox News two days later on November 21.
Her phone last pinged from LAX airport and has been turned off since, she added.
November 11: Pico Metro Station
On November 17, Kobayashi’s family revealed they had seen surveillance footage of Kobayashi leaving the Pico Metro Station, near LAX, with an unidentified person at 10.03 p.m. on November 11. This video has not yet been released to the public.
Describing this sighting, Kobayashi’s family said in a statement “it is evident that Hannah does not appear to be in good condition and she is not alone.”
November 12: Family Files Missing Person Report
The Los Angeles Police Department launches a social media campaign, asking anyone with information to come forward.
LAPD Missing Persons Unit – MPU, Los Angeles, California. 2,748 likes · 29 talking about this · 18 were here. Official account of LAPD Missing Persons Unit. Not monitored 24/7. Call 911 for…
November 14: More Texts Revealed
Pidgeon told KITV on the Thursday after the disappearance that one message from Kobayashi’s phone sent to her aunt in New York said: “I just finished a very intense spiritual awakening.”
Another text apologized for “craziness,” later adding “was definitely intercepted.”
November 24: Ryan Kobayashi Found Dead
Hannah Kobayashi’s father Ryan Kobayashi is found dead in a parking lot in L.A.
LAPD confirmed to ABC News that his body was found on Sunday around 4 a.m. at 6151 W. Century Blvd, a business near LAX.
The suspected cause of death was not provided by the LAPD, however the death appears to be an apparent suicide, according to missing persons not-for-profit group The Rad Movement
“The Kobayashi family endured a devastating tragedy today. After tirelessly searching throughout Los Angeles for 13 days, Hannah’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, tragically took his own life. This loss has compounded the family’s suffering immeasurably,” The Rad Movement said in a statement posted to Facebook yesterday.
“Again, it is the family wish that the public keep the focus on locating and recovering Hannah safely,” the Rad Movement added.
Newsweek has emailed The Rad Movement for comment.
If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours every day.
The post Hannah Kobayashi Missing: Timeline and What We Know appeared first on Newsweek.
