The case of Hannah Kobayashi, a 30-year-old Hawaii woman who the Los Angeles Police Department believes “voluntarily” disappeared in early November, has generated much national attention as her family and supporters have tried to figure out exactly what happened to her.
On Dec. 11, exactly one month since Kobayashi’s family said they last heard from her, her family issued a statement through their attorney saying they “are incredibly relieved and grateful” that she “has been found safe.”
Statement On Behalf Of The Family Of Hannah Kobayashi
We are incredibly relieved and grateful that Hannah has been found safe. This past month has been an unimaginable ordeal for our family, and we kindly ask for privacy as we take the time to heal and process everything we have…
— Sara Azari (@azarilaw) December 11, 2024
Here’s a detailed timeline of events and updates that Kobayashi’s family and the LAPD have made public Kobayashi since was reported missing in early November.
Nov. 8: Both Kobayashi and her ex-boyfriend take a flight from Maui to New York, with a layover in Los Angeles. Kobayashi’s ex-boyfriend boards the flight to New York while Kobayashi tells her family she missed the connection.
Nov. 9: Kobayashi texts her family to say that she’s going sightseeing in Los Angeles and visits the Grove shopping mall and downtown L.A.
Nov. 10: Kobayashi revisits the Grove for a Nike event. She is caught on video at the event and later uploads a photo from the event to her public Instagram account.
Kobayashi also sends money over Venmo to two people who are unknown to her family — transactions that Yahoo News was able to verify since Kobayashi’s Venmo account is public.
Nov. 11: Kobayashi tells her aunt, Larie Pidgeon, that she is returning to LAX for a new flight to New York. According to an interview Pidgeon gave to USA Today, Kobayashi spoke with an American Airlines agent sometime between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. local time. But she never boarded the flight.
In other media interviews, multiple family members have described Kobayashi’s texts from that day as strange and out of character. She allegedly told relatives that she had been “hacked” and “tricked” into giving money to “someone I thought I loved.”
One of her last texts reportedly said, “I just finished a very intense spiritual awakening. I’m heading back to the airport to get to NYC. I might need some help getting there.” This was the last day Kobayashi is known to have communicated with her family and friends.
Nov. 12: Kobayashi’s family files a missing persons report in California. According to Kobayashi’s family, this is also when her father, Ryan, flies to Los Angeles from Hawaii to help look for her.
Nov. 15: The Los Angeles Police Department posts about Kobayashi’s disappearance on Facebook.
Nov. 17: Kobayashi’s sister, Sydni, issues a statement saying that the family had seen surveillance footage of Kobayashi walking around the downtown L.A. Metro train station the night of Nov. 11.
Nov. 21: A group of volunteers — including Kobayashi’s father, Ryan — search downtown L.A. and hang posters of Kobayashi just blocks away from where she was last believed to have been seen.
Nov. 23: In an interview with NewsNation, Pidgeon says that Kobayashi had sent her mom a detailed itinerary for her stay in New York, including places where she wanted to eat, museums she wanted to visit and a photography assignment “that had been on her bucket list forever.” Pidgeon also claimed that Kobayashi said she paid “a couple thousand dollars” for a hotel reservation as well.
Read more from Yahoo News: Hannah Kobayashi still missing: Here’s what her family has pieced together so far
Nov. 24: Kobayashi’s father, Ryan, is found dead in a parking lot near Los Angeles International Airport at around 4 a.m. The county coroner’s office later confirmed that he died by suicide.
Nov. 26: At a police commission meeting, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell says that Kobayashi “missed her connecting flight from LAX to New York, which the investigation determined was intentional.”
Nov. 30: Kobayashi’s sister Sydni and her mom post a statement on Facebook reacting to McDonnell’s statement in which they dispute the suggestion “that Hannah intentionally missed her flight.”
Dec. 2: At a news conference, McDonnell says that the LAPD “reviewed video surveillance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which clearly shows Kobayashi crossing the United States border on foot into Mexico. She was alone with her luggage and appeared unharmed.”
According to some news outlets, there was a post in the “Help Us Find Hannah” Facebook group — a private page that has over 25,000 members — that said the family would be shutting down the Facebook group and would not be responding to any messages about the case. It is not clear whether this post was shared before or after the LAPD’s latest news conference.
Read more from Yahoo News: Hannah Kobayashi still missing: LAPD says she voluntarily crossed into Mexico alone
Dec. 3: In an interview with NBC News, Sydni says the family was “shocked” and “frustrated” to learn Kobayashi had gone to Mexico. Sydni also rejects the LAPD’s conclusion that Kobayashi voluntarily cut off communication with her family before leaving the country.
“She’s gone to different places, but she’s always checked in,” Sydni said. “She always lets us know what’s going on.”
Dec. 4: Kobayashi’s family issues a statement, shared on X by their attorney, saying “the search is far from over” and “learning just two days ago that Hannah may be in Mexico has only heightened our fears.”
“It has been 22 agonizing days since we last heard from her, and not knowing where she is or if she’s okay is heartbreaking,” the statement continued. “Like everyone else, we are learning updates through the media, as LAPD has not been fully forthcoming in sharing critical developments directly with us.”
Los Angeles Magazine publishes a report claiming the family thinks Kobayashi may have “engaged in a secret marriage for money” and added that sources alleged the “secret new husband” was on the flight to Los Angeles.
After the article goes live, the family attorney issues another statement on X, saying, “We want to stress that the family has not publicly announced any information regarding an alleged marriage because we did not have the facts or the necessary documents to verify the legitimacy of this information.”
Dec. 11: The family issues another statement through their attorney announcing that Kobayashi has been “found safe.”
“This past month has been an unimaginable ordeal for our family, and we kindly ask for privacy as we take the time to heal and process everything we have been through. We want to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported us during this difficult time. Your kindness and concern have meant the world to us.”