After the Los Angeles Police Department announced Hannah Kobayashi, a Hawaii woman who was reported missing after landing at Los Angeles International Airport last month, went to Mexico by crossing the border on foot by herself without any sign of foul play, her family released a statement Tuesday, thanking those who helped in search efforts.
Laire Pidgeon, Kobayashi’s aunt, said she was not informed about Kobayashi’s whereabouts until hours before Monday’s news conference led by LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell.
“I have not seen the footage myself, but I trust the LAPD has done their due diligence to confirm it was her,” Pidgeon said in the statement.
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The LAPD had said its investigators reviewed surveillance video from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which “clearly” showed Kobayashi crossing the border into Mexico on foot alone with luggage on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at around 12:13 p.m..
There have been no confirmed communications with her since then, and authorities said they suspect Kobayashi may have left her cellphone somewhere in Los Angeles.
But her aunt still maintains that cutting off contact with her family “is not who she is.”
“Hannah never mentioned any plans to travel to Mexico, and no one in her life knew she intended to go there,” Pidgeon said. “What alarms me even more is her complete disconnection from her phone, her social media, and her world.”
Kobayashi had alluded on social media, expressing her desire to “step away from modern connectivity,” according to LAPD Chief McDonnell.
Law enforcement sources also told NBC Los Angeles' Investigative Reporter Eric Leonard that this is not the first time Kobayashi has gone missing as there have been other incidents previously. The sources did not elaborate on when or where those occurred.
“I want to be clear - this search is not over. Knowing Hannah crossed the border does not provide the answers I need nor does it ease the heartbreak I feel,” added Pidgeon, who has been speaking with NBC Los Angeles and other media outlets since Kobayashi was first reported missing.
The heavily publicized search effort by the family took a tragic turn on Nov. 24, when Kobayashi's father, Ryan, 58, killed himself. He was found near an LAX parking structure from which he may have jumped.
"After tirelessly searching throughout Los Angeles for 13 days, Hannah's father, Ryan Kobayashi, tragically took his own life,'' according to a statement from the family at the time. "This loss has compounded the family's suffering immeasurably.''
