Woman who went missing while traveling to 'bucket list' vacation found safe after father died looking for her
Topics: Hawaii, New York, Los Angeles, Travel
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: LAPD/Facebook
Topics: Hawaii, New York, Los Angeles, Travel
A woman who vanished while on vacation has been 'found safe and well', her family have announced.
Hannah Kobayashi had been traveling from her home in Maui, Hawaii, to get a connecting flight to New York via Los Angeles in November, but never boarded her flight at LAX.
This caused a stir amongst her family who eventually travelled to the city to look for her before placing a missing person’s report.
Los Angeles Police previously confirmed that they had spotted Kobayashi on video surveillance.
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Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said: “As the family is aware, late yesterday after traveling to the US-Mexico border we reviewed video surveillance from US Customs and Border Protection which clearly shows Kobayashi crossing United States border on foot into Mexico."
In an update provided on Wednesday (December 11), Kobayashi's family have issued a statement.
"We are incredibly relieved and grateful Hannah has been found safe," the statement shared with the Mail Online reads.
It remains unclear at this stage where Kobayashi has been and what she's been doing for the best part of a month.
Police previously gave a rundown of Kobayashi's disappearance, though that caused quite the stir with the family.
McDonnell added: "On November 8, 23 year-old Hannah Kobayashi missed her connecting flight from LAX to New York which the investigation determined was intentional.
“Over the next few days she maintained contact with her family and was active on Instagram. However, the family last heard from Hannah on November 11 after receiving concerning text messages and losing further contact her family traveled to LA on November 13 and filed a missing person report.”
“On November 15, our missing person’s unit assumed investigative responsibility, detectives have been diligently reviewing video surveillance and employing various investigative technique to locate Hannah, while her family has continued their personal search efforts.
“Tragically on November 24, during the search for his daughter, Hannah’s father Ryan Kobayashi was found deceased. Preliminary findings indicate his death was by suicide.”
During their investigation, police also dismissed speculation Kobayashi was involved in any type of criminal activity.
"To date the investigation has not uncovered any evidence that Kobayashi is being trafficked or is the victim of foul play. She is also not a suspect in any criminal activity," police added.
“She has a right to her privacy, and we respect her choices but we also understand that the concern her loved ones feel for her.”