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MISSING Hannah Kobayashi’s family claims police didn’t take them seriously for 10 days after the 30-year-old vanished when she missed a connecting flight to New York.
Kobayashi’s loved ones have flown from Hawaii to help try and find her, and volunteers joined them at a rally in Los Angeles on Thursday evening.
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Police have allegedly told the family she was last seen getting off a train at Pico station Downtown – just hours after she grew “paranoid” that someone had stolen her identity.
The bizarre case continues to unfold as the LAPD has now confirmed to The U.S. Sun they are investigating her disappearance.
Relatives are concerned she could have been trafficked or kidnapped as she allegedly doesn’t know anyone in the city, and her phone has been off since November 11.
Her aunt Larie Pidgeon, who helped organize the rally, told The U.S. Sun Kobayashi’s mom, Brandi, remains in Hawaii and is “not doing well,” while her dad Ryan flew to Los Angeles to help search for her.
Standing close to the station, she said, “This area at night is very nefarious and scary, so that’s why the family is so alarmed and concerned, and that was 11 days ago.
“She was seen with an unidentified person. I’m hoping that if the police are willing to release it to get it out there.
“It’s alarming because Hannah doesn’t know anyone in LA, her family doesn’t know anyone in LA, and she was traveling alone.
“We were questioned, my sister who was the last to speak with her, was questioned today, 11 days later.
TRAFFICKING FEARS
“So I think that they realize that we’re not going away, we’re not going away until they take this seriously.
“In police terms, there’s got to be this series of events, she’s got to be sick or old or young, but why?
“They were saying she was just avoiding the family and wanted to stay in LA, but we’re the family, and we know all the information.”
She said her niece had spent $2,000 on a hotel room in New York and had landed her first photography gig at a concert.
She had also made detailed plans for the trip and planned to meet up with family.
After missing her connecting flight on November 8, family and friends began receiving strange texts from her saying she was scared and someone was trying to take her funds.
“It’s not that I have anything against the LAPD; I just want them to hear us; I want them to listen to our voices that this is not like her,” Pidgeon said.
“When you don’t hear from a loved one for 11 days, and I personally talk to her every other day for two hours, our family is close. What can you think?
“You’re not thinking that she’s on a vacation; she’s tootling around LA and having a great time.
“You’re going to words like trafficking, you’re going to words like abduction, really bad things.”
Kobayashi was due to meet with another aunt, Geordan Montalvo, and her husband Bob when she arrived in New York and they have now spoken to police as her aunt was the last to speak with her.
Going through the timeline of events, she told The U.S. Sun, “She got paranoid. She started saying, ‘How do you know it’s me?’
Timeline of Hannah Kobayashi’s disappearance
HANNAH Kobayashi, 31, has been missing since she missed her connecting flight at the Los Angeles airport last weekend.
Friday, November 8: Kobayashi leaves her home in Maui and arrives in Los Angeles for her connecting flight to New York City. She has 42 minutes to make the flight at 11 pm.
Saturday, November 9: Kobayashi is meant to land at JFK airport in New York City at 7am but never arrives.
Sunday, November 10: Kobayashi sends a message saying she’s scared and worried about someone trying to steal her money and identity alongside a number of other cryptic texts.
She’s later seen at an event at The Grove in Los Angeles, about an hour away from LAX.
Monday, November 11: Kobayashi’s phone puts her back at LAX. She posts a picture on her Instagram account. She turns her phone off.
Wednesday, November 13: Family files missing person’s report.
Thursday, November 14: YouTube video of the Nike event at The Grove is posted, placing Kobayashi in Los Angeles.
NIKE EVENT
“And that’s when we were like, ‘Hannah, what is going on, are you okay? What’s happening?’”
One of her texts read, “Deep Hackers wiped my identity, stole all of my funds, & have had me on a mind f*** since Friday,” later telling her family it was a “long story.”
“Then we spoke on the phone, she sounded paranoid. I said are you with people, she said yes. But it was vague.
“I said, ‘Do you feel safe?’ She said, ‘I think so.’
“She said she was going back to LAX to see if she could reschedule her flight and talk to American Airlines. She said I love you, I said I love you too.
“I was giving her instructions.”
After missing her flight, she was seen by employees at the Taschen bookshop in The Grove shopping mall, about 10 miles from LAX.
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She then attended a Nike and LeBron James event the following day and posted about it on Instagram.
It is not known where she was staying overnight after missing her flight.
Around this time, her family says she started sending strange messages but told them she was returning to LAX to sort out her flight and be reunited with them in New York.
“She didn’t tell me why she went to the event at The Grove. She said, ‘I’ve just finished a spiritual journey, an awakening, and I’m going back to the LAX airport now,’” Montalvo said.
Her aunt insists she is not into drugs and is more of a bookworm and a spiritual person.
One of the texts read, “I got tricked pretty much into giving away all of my funds. For someone I thought I loved.”
Her aunt said, “She’s definitely of sound mind, no mental illness. But it was just extremely odd.
STATION SPOTTING
“She’s very artistic. It seemed she had to go off for a minute, and see some things, and then she was like, ‘Hey I’m done, I’m going to the airport, ready to go to New York City, can’t wait to see you.’
“She did ask me for money, if she needed help getting to New York, I said yes of course, but let’s see what you can do first because you did already pay for this thing, see if you can reschedule.
“I said how is it going? And she left it on read. That was the very last text message. That was about 2.50/3pm here this past Monday, the 11th.”
One of her last texts read, “Hi loves. I just finished a very intense spiritual awakening. I’m charging my phone and heading back to the airport to get to NYC. I might need some help getting there, it’s a long story. I’ll keep you posted. I think I still have my hotel room.”
But hours later, police told the family she was seen getting off a train in Downtown Los Angeles around 10.03 pm. She has not been seen or heard from since.
“It’s bizarre and concerning not to hear from her. She’s not inconsiderate; she wouldn’t want us to worry, and she would not do this to us,” her aunt added.
“I really appreciate the police and the local community; LA is very kind. I just can’t wait to find her and get mad at her. I wanna see her and get mad at her. I love her.”
Her father, Ryan, told The U.S. Sun the situation has been “very traumatic” and it’s “every parent’s worst nightmare” as they continue to frantically look for his daughter and hand out fliers.
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