Hannah Kobayashi, the Hawaii woman who was believed to be missing in Los Angeles, was seen on surveillance footage crossing the border into Mexico after she vanished last month, authorities said Monday.
Kobayashi, 30, was reported missing after her family said she missed a connecting flight from Maui to New York City at the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Nov. 8. She was then captured on surveillance video and images at various locations around Los Angeles over the next few days, according to police.
Larie Pidgeon, Kobayashi’s aunt, previously told USA TODAY that the family became alarmed after they received texts from Kobayashi that were out of character. The family said they last heard from Kobayashi on Nov. 11.
On Nov. 12, Kobayashi’s family said they filed a missing person report. The Los Angeles Police Department announced her as a missing person on Nov. 15.
Family members and friends flew to Los Angeles to form a search party following Kobayashi’s concerning behavior and lack of communication, with volunteers joining the effort as the case garnered national attention. On Nov. 24, her father, who had been trying to find his daughter, was found dead near LAX by apparent suicide, police said.
On Monday, the Los Angeles Police Department said Kobayashi was voluntarily missing. The announcement came about a week after LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said investigators determined that Kobayashi intentionally missed her flight.
During a news conference Monday, McDonnell said LAPD Missing Persons Unit investigators traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border on Sunday and reviewed surveillance footage from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The footage “clearly” showed Kobayashi crossing into Mexico on foot, according to McDonnell.
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“She was alone with her luggage and appeared unharmed,” McDonnell said. “At this time, Kobayashi’s case has been classified as a voluntary missing person.”
‘Died of a broken heart’:Aunt of missing woman Hannah Kobayashi explains father’s death
Footage shows Hannah Kobayashi crossing U.S.-Mexico border
According to McDonnell, investigators had conducted extensive witness interviews, reviewed surveillance footage, and collaborated with local and federal law enforcement agencies over the last three weeks.
Investigators later determined that Kobayashi had decided not to board her flight to New York City, which her family had disputed, the Los Angeles Times reported. While Kobayashi checked in her bag through to New York, LAPD said Kobayashi requested her bag be returned to her at LAX and surveillance footage showed her retrieving it from the baggage carrousel on Nov. 11.
Further investigation revealed that Kobayashi “knowingly” left LAX with her bag on Nov. 11, according to LAPD. She then traveled to Los Angeles Union Station — the main train station in the city — where she used her passport to buy a bus ticket for a destination near the California-Mexico border.
LAPD said Kobayashi traveled from Union Station to San Ysidro, California, the next day and crossed the border into Mexico.
