After Los Angeles police announced that Hannah Kobayashi, a Hawaiian woman who was reported missing last month after landing at Los Angeles International Airport, crossed the border into Mexico alone on foot without showing any signs of crime , her family released a statement on Tuesday thanking those who assisted in the search efforts.

Laire Pidgeon, Kobayashi’s aunt, said she was not informed of Kobayashi’s whereabouts until hours before Monday’s news conference led by LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell.

“I have not seen the footage myself, but I trust that the LAPD did their due diligence to confirm that it was her,” Pidgeon said in the statement.

The LAPD said its investigators reviewed U.S. Customs and Border Protection surveillance video that “clearly” showed Kobayashi crossing the border into Mexico alone with luggage at approximately 12:13 p.m. on Tuesday, November 12.

There has been no confirmed communication with her since then and authorities suspected Kobayashi may have left her cellphone somewhere in Los Angeles.

But her aunt still claims that cutting off contact with her family is “not her thing.”

“Hannah never mentioned plans to travel to Mexico, and no one in her life knew that she had any intention of going there,” Pidgeon said. “What concerns me even more is her complete disconnect from her phone, her social media and her world.”

According to LAPD Chief McDonnell, Kobayashi had alluded to this on social media, expressing her desire to “step away from modern connectivity.”

Law enforcement sources also told NBC Los Angeles investigative reporter Eric Leonard that this is not the first time Kobayashi has gone missing, as there have been other incidents before. The sources did not provide details about when and where these events took place.

“I want to be clear: this search is ongoing. Knowing that Hannah has crossed the border does not give me the answers I need or ease the heartache I feel,” added Pidgeon, who has spoken to NBC Los Angeles and other media outlets since Kobayashi first appeared was reported missing.

The family’s highly publicized search operation took a tragic turn on November 24 when Kobayashi’s father Ryan, 58, killed himself. He was found near a LAX parking garage, which he may have jumped from.

“After searching tirelessly for 13 days in Los Angeles, Hannah’s father, Ryan Kobayashi, tragically took his own life,” the family said in a statement at the time. “This loss has immeasurably worsened the family’s suffering.”