Hannah Kobayashi is alive and “safe.”
If you didn’t know, the 30-year-old photographer had been missing after traveling from Hawaii to Los Angeles on November 8. She was supposed to go to New York, but missed her connecting flight. Police later said they believed she missed the connecting flight on purpose, as she used cash and her passport to buy a bus ticket to the border before walking into Mexico.
On Wednesday (December 11), about a month after she vanished in what police have called a voluntary disappearance, she’s now been found.
Keep reading to find out more…
“We are incredibly relieved and grateful that Hannah has been found safe,” her sister and mother, Sydni Kobayashi and Brandi Yee, said in a statement through their attorney, Sara Azari, via People.
“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,” the family continued.
“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.”
There are no further details about when, where or how Hannah made contact with her family.
Lt. Doug Oldfield told the outlet that authorities were separately notified that Hannah was located at the same time.
“We have not seen her and at this point we have no reason to compel her to see us,” he said. “It’s a big news story so she may decide to come with a lawyer, but she is not obligated to speak to us. We’ll see what happens next.”
“We have not received notification that she’s had contact with CBP [Customs and Border Protection] or crossed back into the U.S,” he added.
“When she crosses back, she’ll show as a missing person. We usually want law enforcement to determine a person is safe and make contact — in this case CBP could provide us with that info to take her out of the system,” he said.
In the weeks since she went missing, relatives publicly worried she might have become the victim of a kidnapping or human trafficking.
As they looked for Hannah, her father Ryan Kobayashi died by suicide in Los Angeles amid efforts to find her.
“He died of a broken heart,” Hannah‘s aunt Larie Pidgeon said at the time. Get more details about the tragedy.
Credit: yogossip.com
