Hannah Kobayashi, a 30-year-old woman from Hawaii, has been found safe, her family announced on Wednesday, more than a month after she was reported missing in Los Angeles.
In a statement issued through their attorney to local media, the family expressed relief, saying, “We are incredibly relieved and grateful that Hannah has been found safe.”
They also requested privacy, noting, “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.”
Kobayashi’s safe recovery comes after she was seen on surveillance footage crossing the border into Mexico last week, seemingly by her own choice.
Her disappearance triggered a widespread investigation that began on November 8, when she lost contact with her family after missing a connecting flight from Los Angeles to New York.
Before vanishing, Kobayashi had sent several cryptic text messages to family and friends, referencing a “spiritual awakening” and claiming she was “tricked.” Additionally, she had been spotted with an unidentified man shortly before she disappeared.
Her family, including her aunt Larie Pidgeon, speculated that Kobayashi may have been kidnapped or trafficked. Meanwhile, online communities offered their own theories, ranging from a mental health crisis to possible involvement in a cult or conspiracy linked to her ex-boyfriend, with whom she had traveled to Los Angeles.
As the investigation unfolded, the FBI looked into the possibility that Kobayashi had become entangled in a green card marriage scheme with an Argentine national.
The ordeal took a tragic turn when Kobayashi’s father, Ryan, died by suicide just two weeks after arriving in Los Angeles to search for his daughter.
According to Pidgeon, he may have been overwhelmed by the harassment and online trolling surrounding the case.
