A 30-year-old Hawaii woman who checked out of her life under suspicious circumstances sparking a viral search and leading her father to kill himself has been found alive and well, according to a statement from her family.
What Hannah Kobayashi was doing, why she ghosted her family, where she went, what her mental and physical health are like, who she was with, why she vanished from Hawaii and the circumstances surrounding her miraculous reappearance remain a mystery.
Hannah’s sister, Sydni Kobayashi, did not return Honolulu Star-Advertiser messages seeking comment about how she was found and what happened to her. The Los Angeles Police Department noted that Hannah desired to disconnect from the world.
The family said nothing to dispel the multiple speculative stories about what happened to Hannah and offered the public no explanation after weeks of pleading for their help.
It is not immediately known if the Kobayashi family was questioned by law enforcement about Hannah’s voluntary vanishing.
Among the many reports about Kobayashi’s whereabouts is that the FBI is investigating whether she was “scammed out of the proceeds” of a purported “immigration scheme possibly concocted by her former partner, who left Maui with Kobayashi on Nov. 8 and landed at LAX with plans to catch a connecting flight to New York City,” according to a Dec. 4 story published by Los Angeles Magazine.
Also on the plane, according to the magazine, was Kobayashi’s “secret new husband, Alan Cacace, an Argentinian man whose own girlfriend, Marianna,” was also on the flight with Kobayashi’s former partner.
The family said she may have been trafficked or under the control of a stranger she met who she trusted and might have stolen money from her. Until the Kobayashi family shares Hannah’s story, the public is left with little more than rumors and speculation.
“To date, the investigation has not uncovered any evidence that Kobayashi is being trafficked or is the victim of foul play,” LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell told the Los Angeles Times earlier this week. “She is also not a suspect in any criminal activity.”
Sara Azari, a Los Angeles-based criminal defense attorney representing the Kobayashi family, posted a statement from the family on social media this morning, saying, “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 been through.”
Azari and the Kobayashi family did not respond to questions about whether they have been questioned by law enforcement regarding Hannah’s reappearance.
The statement gave no details on where Kobayashi was found, how she was found or what she was doing.
“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,” said the statement on behalf of her mother and sister, Brandi Yee and Sydni Kobayashi.
A GoFundMe set up to pay for search efforts, legal fees, Ryan Kobayashi’s funeral, communication devices, a media campaign and other efforts designed to find Hannah Kobayashi had raised more than $47,600 by Wednesday evening with a stated goal of $50,000.
“We are following the protocol of GoFundMe and posting an update as recommended by them,” Azari said.
Ryan Kobayashi, the 58-year-old father, killed himself by jumping off a parking garage Nov. 24 after searching for his daughter in Los Angeles for two weeks. Some of the GoFundMe money was used to pay for his funeral.
The FBI’s Los Angeles Field office provided assistance to LAPD, which is leading the missing-person investigation.
“As far as any new allegations of criminal activity, the FBI neither confirms or denies the existence of an investigation per longstanding policy,” Laura Eimiller, a spokesperson for the FBI’s Los Angeles Field office, previously told the Star-Advertiser.
She boarded a flight from Maui on Nov. 8 bound for New York after a stop in Los Angeles.
She landed at Los Angeles International Airport but missed her next flight, appearing instead to visit the Grove shopping center, where she went to a Nike event Nov. 10. The next day, she allegedly went back to the airport but didn’t get on a plane.
