The family of a Hawaii woman says she went missing after flying into Los Angeles earlier this month, with her loved ones receiving concerning text messages ahead of her disappearance, multiple outlets reported this week.
Hannah Kobayashi, from Maui, is said to have landed in California on Nov. 8 while en route to New York. Kobayashi’s family told the media that the woman had only a short layover in LA, which apparently caused her to miss a connecting flight.
The family said that Kobayashi’s ex-boyfriend had the same itinerary, as they had booked their tickets before breaking up. Since the two were unable to get refunds, they kept their flights but were planning to part ways upon landing in New York, Sister Sydni Kobayashi told CNN. The family said the ex-boyfriend made it to New York and has been cooperative since then.
Meanwhile, Hannah Kobayashi apparently left the Los Angeles airport and ended up at The Grove, a shopping mall in the Mid-City West neighborhood. A Nov. 10 post on Instagram from an account belonging to Kobayashi showed a sign from a Nike event at The Grove.
According to her family, Kobayashi returned to the airport the following day but did not board a flight. The family said she was also seen on surveillance footage near a Metro station in downtown Los Angeles with an unknown individual.
“We try not to think the worst,” Larie Pidgeon, Kobayashi’s aunt, told CNN on Tuesday.
“We’re trying to keep hope alive, but it has now been basically a week and a day since November 11, when she was last spotted with this unknown person and didn’t seem to be OK.”
Her loved ones also said they received strange messages from Kobayashi’s phone.
“Hannah’s last message to us was alarming — she mentioned feeling scared, and that someone might be trying to steal her money and identity,” Pidgeon said Thursday on Facebook.
“She hasn’t been heard from since, and we are gravely concerned for her safety.”
One of the messages reportedly said, “Deep Hackers wiped my identity, stole all of my funds, & have had me on a mind f**k since Friday.”
“I got tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds,” another read, with a follow-up adding, “For someone I thought I loved.”
The Los Angeles Police Department told HuffPost that it did not have any updates and that the investigation into Kobayashi’s disappearance is ongoing.