The family of missing Hawaii woman Hannah Kobayashi have revealed the sinister evidence that suggests she’s been ‘taken’.
Kobayashi, 31, was traveling to New York from her home in Maui via Los Angeles on November 8 to visit her aunt Larie Pidgeon when she seemingly vanished into thin air.
She never boarded her connecting flight, and has now not contacted family in over a week, which is wildly out of character.
Now, Pidgeon has revealed to ABC News that the family ‘fears that someone has taken her.’
The family received strange texts before she vanished. Among them was one that referred to someone as ‘hun’ – something Hannah would never say.
‘I personally don’t think that was my sister,’ Hannah’s sister Sydni told CNN this morning.
‘She doesn’t use the word »hun.» »Love» and »babe,» but never »hun.» Even her close friends have said the same.’
Kobayashi, 30, was traveling to New York from her home in Maui via Los Angeles on November 8 to visit her aunt Larie Pidgeon when she seemingly vanished into thin air
She was seen on CCTV getting off her plane in LAX
‘We’re trying to stay positive, we are trying to keep our spirits up, but unfortunately, we cannot give too much information because we don’t want to hinder any investigation, but we fear that someone has taken her,’ Pidgeon said.
Sydni said her sister is a ‘free spirit’ but would never leave her family to worry like this intentionally.
‘We’re so close and I’ve known her to always be very grounded and she’s always had a calm and collected demeanor. Yes, she’s a free and independent spirit and she likes to travel… but she’s never done anything like this on purpose.’
Pidgeon said it was these text messages that sparked enough concern among Kobayashi’s loved ones that they decided to reach out to authorities in LA.
Upon missing her connecting flight to New York on November 8, Kobayashi left the airport and traveled into downtown Los Angeles.
She was spotted at a book store in The Grove on November 9, and then on November 10 was seen in the background of a YouTube video at a Nike event in the same location.
Kobayashi shared a photograph to her Instagram from that Nike event.
According to Sydni, Kobayashi sent Venmo payments to two separate people. The family did not recognize either name.
On November 11, Kobayashi’s mother Brandi Yee sent her a text message asking if she made it to New York. She responded saying: ‘Not yet.’
Mother Brandi Yee, and sister Sydni Kobayashi think Hannah left the airport and attended an event based on a series of texts suggesting she ‘had a spiritual awakening and was heading back to the airport’
In a YouTube video, Hannah was seen in the background at an event in The Grove
A friend received strange texts from Kobayashi’s phone – indicating that she may be in trouble
That same day, she text a friend to say she was scared and had been scammed.
‘Deep Hackers wiped my identity, stole all of my funds, & have had me on a mind f**k since Friday,’ one message read.
‘I got tricked pretty much into giving away all my funds,’ she wrote to the friend, followed by a message saying ‘for someone I thought I loved.’
‘I’ve been on the streets,’ she added.
Then, on Sunday, her distressed family revealed there had been another development in the mystery.
Her family said she’s since been seen on surveillance video 20 miles away from the airport in downtown LA.
‘In the footage, it is evident that Hannah does not appear to be in good condition and she is not alone,’ Kobayashi’s aunt Larie Pidgeon revealed.
The CCTV is within ‘the vicinity of Pico Station by Crypto Arena in downtown LA,’ the family said.
A series of texts suggest she ‘had a spiritual awakening and was heading back to the airport’
Hannah Kobayashi, 30, flew from her home in Maui on November 8 and was meant to arrive in New York City the next day
Kobayashi’s final post was shared on the 11th of November. It is understood she was attending an event in Los Angeles
It was taken in the evening of the 11th of November, three days after she arrived from Hawaii.
Spokespeople from The RAD Movement, a not-for-profit assisting in the search, revealed ‘there is a lot more known than is being posted’ because authorities investigating her disappearance have asked relatives to refrain from sharing certain details with the public.
‘The areas that need to be really watched right now are downtown LA, skid row specifically, compton,’ the spokesperson said.
Her tearful aunt shared a video pleading with Kobayashi to get in contact or to come home if she’s able.
Her desperate family claim they are now ‘working tirelessly to get as much [information] as we can.’
But her sister Sydni Kobayashi said both ‘LAPD and LAX are not making it easy for us.’
She wrote in a Facebook group looking to help track Kobayashi down: ‘We have the FBI involved helping to expedite a subpoena for camera footage, Hannah’s phone logs, credit/debit card statements and also to get into her personal accounts.’
The family also noted that the young artist’s phone has been off since November 11. The last known location it pinged at was at the Los Angeles International Airport that day.
Both mother and daughter also believe that the messages ‘did not sound like her’ and wonder if it was Hannah who sent them
The family noted that the young artist’s phone has been off since November 11 and her last pinned location was at the Los Angeles Airport
Based on a series of texts sent from Kobayashi’s phone, her family believe she ‘had a spiritual awakening and ahead of returning to the airport.’
A text to her aunt reportedly read: ‘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.’
‘She was at LAX, and she said that she was scared,’ Yee said.
Yee said, ‘we share location’ to which Sydni added: ‘And we know her phone’s off because it goes straight to voicemail.
‘We’ve been trying to call and call and call, text. None of the texts are getting delivered. We can’t locate her phone.’
The family has filed a missing person’s report with the Los Angeles Police Department and requested anyone with information to come forward.
Kobayashi’s ex-boyfriend was also traveling on the same flight from Maui to LAX.
But the duo did not sit together or speak on the flight. They purchased the trip before splitting up.
‘Please help her, if you can. If you know where she’s at, or you have the chance to just help her, please. We just want to bring her home,’ the mother said
Her father, Ryan Kobayashi, has maintained that her former partner has been cooperative and boarded the connecting flight to reach New York.
‘A lot of worrying, a lot of confusion. Everything is just a blur it seems because I haven’t slept well since I’ve heard the news, and I really don’t know … it’s just really concerning.
‘We’re just trying to get us as much information as we can,’ he said.
