The sister of missing 30-year-old Hannah Kobayashi said Tuesday the police conclusion that she is a “voluntary missing person” is not satisfactory.
Appearing, with family lawyer Sara Azari on Top Story with Tom Llamas, Sydni Kobayashi said relatives should have been shown the video that Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said during a Monday night news conference shows Hannah crossing into Mexico alone at a pedestrian port of entry in San Diego on Nov. 12.
McDonnell said there’s not much more the department can do, and it has classified the case as one of a voluntary detachment with no foul play suspected.
“We’re just as confused and just as frustrated more than anything now,” Sydni Kobayashi said.
Azari agreed, questioning how the LAPD could come to such a conclusion without involving those closest to Hannah, who disappeared after landing at Los Angeles International Airport from Honolulu on Nov. 8 and missing a connecting flight to her final destination, New York City.
“They just reached this conclusion … without showing them any footage,” the lawyer said, referring to family members. “It takes a lot more digging and investigation to be able to say it’s voluntary.”
Sydni Kobayashi said she still fears Hannah, who’s from Maui, may be the victim of human trafficking, which McDonnell said Monday is not suspected. She said she can’t see how Hannah can remain out of touch nearly a month after leaving Hawaii.
“She always kept close to me more than anyone in our lives,” she said.
The LAPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the sister’s remarks Tuesday night.
Azari said the family would be deploying supporters to look for Hannah in Mexico.
In the meantime, her sister urged Hannah to reach out.
“I can’t stress enough how loved you are, how supported you are,” she said. “We’re really worried about you. No matter what situation you’re in, you always have a home to come to.”
The family has kept the case alive for three weeks as they navigated fear, threats and tragedy, and now its members must face the possibility that Kobayashi may have wanted to be left alone.
A collective statement from Hannah’s family on Tuesday was less mistrusting, as it expressed gratitude to police and said the search will continue if only to ensure she’s safe.
“The search is far from over, and we are committed to doing everything possible to bring her home safely,” the statement said.
On Monday evening, McDonnell said he saw the need for relatives to communicate with Hannah, and he urged her to reach out.
“She has a right to her privacy, and we respect her choices, but we also understand the concern her loved ones feel for her,” he said. “A simple message could reassure those who care about her.”
After missing her connecting flight, Hannah spent the next few days sightseeing in L.A., sending texts to relatives that one family member described as “alarming,” and being captured on security video with an unknown man, according a family timeline posted to Facebook and to other statements made by relatives.
McDonnell said at Monday’s news conference that family reported her missing Nov. 13 and the LAPD took over the case two days later.
In an interview last month, aunt Larie Pidgeon said Hannah was looking forward to spending time at New York art and photography venues, as she aspired to be an artist and photographer.
She said Hannah’s last text to family, around Nov. 11, concerned its members. That was also the day that security video surfaced of Hannah being accompanied by an unknown man, according to family and police.
“Hannah’s last message to us was alarming — she mentioned feeling scared, and that someone might be trying to steal her money and identity,” the aunt said on Facebook last month.
On the morning of Nov. 12, police said, Hannah was seen unaccompanied at a Greyhound bus terminal at Union Station, the downtown Los Angeles train depot.
At 12:13 p.m. that day, according to police, U.S. Customs and Border Protection video showed Kobayashi willfully crossing into Mexico at one of the busy land ports in San Diego. She hasn’t been spotted since.
Family members said they were surprised and frustrated when the LAPD chief told the city’s police commission as part of his routine reporting duties last week that Kobayashi intentionally missed her connecting flight on Nov. 8, NBC Los Angeles reported. They said they had not been informed of the finding until then, according to the station.
In their statement Tuesday, the family praised police: “We are deeply grateful for the urgency and dedication law enforcement has shown in investigating Hannah’s disappearance,” it said.
On Monday evening, McDonnell announced that Hannah was voluntarily separated from her day-to-day world and is not the subject of trafficking or foul play.
He also said she had luggage that went to New York City rerouted back to Los Angeles International Airport, where she picked it up the day before crossing into Mexico.
Lieutenant Douglas Oldfield, of the police department’s Missing Persons Unit, said at the news conference that investigators who reviewed her social media concluded, but not with total certainty, that Kobayashi “wanted to disconnect.”
Family members, including Kobayashi’s father, Ryan, gathered in Los Angeles starting in mid-November to direct volunteer search efforts and sleuth on her whereabouts, they said.
On Nov. 24, her father died by suicide near Los Angeles International Airport, with the Los Angeles County medical examiner stating in preliminary findings that the 58-year-old died as a result of multiple blunt force trauma injuries.
“I’m very sorry to the family for all that they’ve been through,” McDonnell said Monday evening.
Family and supporters paused their Facebook page on the search for Kobayshi, “Help Us Find Hannah,” after saying in a statement Sunday that it was a channel for attacks and threats targeting relatives.
Other relatives indicated the news that Kobayashi may be isolating herself from her everyday world has not detoured their search because they still have a need to know, without doubt or theories, that she’s safe.
“We want answers and a resolution that ensures Hannah’s safety and urge law enforcement and the public to stay focused on finding her and to avoid speculative conclusions,” the family said in its statement Tuesday.
The statement continued: “Spreading awareness and sharing verified information about her case is crucial, and we deeply appreciate your continued support in these efforts.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call the network, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741 or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional resources.
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