Hannah Kobayashi’s family speaks out after police say she traveled to Mexico

Hannah Kobayashi’s family speaks out after police say she traveled to Mexico

Hannah Kobayashi’s family is speaking out after police said what appeared to be a weeks-long missing person case was actually Kobayashi’s “voluntary” decision to travel to Mexico.

“We are deeply grateful for the urgency and commitment of law enforcement in the investigation of Hannah’s disappearance,” Kobayashi’s family said in a statement to NBC News and NewsNation.

Kobayashi, a 30-year-old woman from Hawaii, appeared to have disappeared from Los Angeles in early November after failing to board a flight to New York, where she had traveled from Maui, her family said.

Police began investigating in the following days and the case attracted national attention. Kobayashi’s relatives also said she sent strange text messages before contact was lost.

“We’re terrified,” her aunt Larie Pidgeon previously told PEOPLE. “We’re really scared.”

On Monday, December 2, LA police said they determined through surveillance footage that Kobayashi decided to cross the border into Mexico on November 12, a day after her family said her phone had the The last time I rang the bell was at the LA airport.

“We urge Ms. Kobayashi to contact her family, law enforcement or U.S. Embassy personnel to let us know that you are safe,” LA Police Chief Jim McDonnell said at a news conference.

“She has a right to her privacy and we respect her decisions, but we also understand the concern her loved ones feel for her,” McDonnell said. “A simple message could reassure those who care.”

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Hannah Kobayashi.

Emi Ko/GoFundMe


McDonnell said that Kobayashi “was alone with her luggage and appeared unharmed” as she traveled to Mexico and that there was no evidence that she “was trafficked or was the victim of a crime.”

The investigation also found that Kobayashi had in the past “expressed a desire to move away from modern connectivity,” McDonnell said.

Her family said in a statement of their own that they were “committed to doing everything we can to bring her home safely.”

They also warned against so-called “speculative conclusions.”

“It is critical to raise awareness and share verified information about her case, and we greatly appreciate your continued support in these efforts,” they said.

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